THIS is the story behind the historic Stretton House, a 17th-century grade II listed building.

The property, based on Northwich Road, was bought from the previous owners who had lived there for nearly 50 years.

It was a place of great memories for the Harper couple, who proposed there and grew up with their two children there.

Following a period of two years of it being empty, Carla and Paul Mullin moved to the property from Lymm as they were enchanted by its charm.

The house consists of the main residence, a two-bedroom cottage, substantial gardens, a tennis court, nine acres of land and various outbuildings.

Carla, 47, said: “We are in the process of redeveloping Stretton House. Our aim is to bring this once beautiful family back home to its former glory.

“To facilitate this we are opening the tennis court and fields to the public. This is part of our effort to enhance the local area and help fund the renovation of this historic residence.

“Our aim is to provide a safe, accessible and enjoyable community space where people can meet, engage and enjoy what our beautiful part of the world has to offer.

“Our long term quest is to provide facilities which benefit the community now whilst further enhancing a heritage asset for future generations.”

The couple have tried to use solar energy, composting and recycling where possible to help make it as eco-friendly as possible.

But the project might not have been taken on by them as on paper, the house was perhaps too small.

 

How the bathroom looked before and after

How the bathroom looked before and after

 

Paul, who has four children with Carla, added: “We wouldn’t normally have looked at it as it had only four bedrooms. Carla thought it was a lovely looking house, it’s a shame it wasn’t big enough but we will have a look at it anyway to see if there is a possibility there and there was.

“It’s a bit bigger than it seems and there’s more going on there.

“The couple probably did everything when they first bought it. The main house was looked after but there wasn’t any other substantial work for nearly 50 years.

“We bought it and it needed some love and attention.”

The date stone on the house reads 1788 and the core of the house predates this and goes back to the 1600s.

The two oldest rooms - the hallway and kitchen were built around these three times, leaving the property there today.

 

The before and after of the tennis court now open to the public for hire

The before and after of the tennis court now open to the public for hire

 

Even the landing, which now houses one of their son’s, was used to school children in past times.

Carla, who lived with Paul in Lymm for 15 years, continued: “The house, by virtue of it having laid empty for some time before we arrived, had fallen into some disrepair and the cottage which lies adjacent to the main house had been empty for over 35 years.

“Most of our time since moving in has been spent restoring the cottage into a self-contained residence. This will be available as a holiday let to generate an income to be able to continue the house. We also hope that this will bring a wider audience to our area.

“A tennis court laid over 30 years ago which was unused for the last decade or so has been fully restored and opened for public use.

“We are lucky to have plenty of outdoor space and, to make this accessible, we now provide a dog park, where people can bring their dogs to play at their leisure, in a contained and safe environment. “Our hope is that we can play our part in bringing communities together and, following the pandemic to provide a real reason for people to enjoy what is on their doorstep and the outdoors generally.

They have submitted a planning application to the outbuildings as Carla says they are in very poor condition and require extensive attention to preserve them and return them to a usable condition.

 

The property also provides a dog park

The property also provides a dog park

A picture of Stretton House in times gone by

A picture of Stretton House in times gone by

 

Carla continued: “We also very much hope that an improvement in the state of the outbuilding, which is visible to everyone who passes will only enhance the local area.

“We feel very privileged, as custodians of Stretton House to dedicate our time and energy towards restoring what was once a glorious example of a house.

“We are a long way from completion; however, I hope that, through some of the photographs here, you can see what steps we have taken in our time in providing the area, the people of the local area and farther afield with a heritage asset.

“It is important to emphasise that our efforts are very much to bring Stretton House back to what it once was.”

Paul takes great privilege in the task at hand.

“It’s an honour to take it on,” said the 42-year-old.

“With a listed building, you are looking after it and trying to preserve it.

“We are plugging on trying to undo about 30 years of nature’s attack on the place and renovate it to get it into the condition it used to be in.”