To step into the house we are visiting today is like time-travelling and I am fortunate to have a most amiable guide in the form of Bob, an engaging Australian who left his native land for England for good when he was just 21. “Nothing in Australia is really old,” he says, “so when I came here I could really indulge my passion for the Georgian period.”

To step into the house we are visiting today is like time-travelling and I am fortunate to have a most amiable guide in the form of Bob, an engaging Australian who left his native land for England for good when he was just 21

To step into the house we are visiting today is like time-travelling and I am fortunate to have a most amiable guide in the form of Bob, an engaging Australian who left his native land for England for good when he was just 21

These days the kitchen houses a more modern stove, but Bob loves to cook 18th century dishes. At Christmas he recreates a typical Georgian feast with what was then the traditional festive bird, roast goose, along with three types of pudding

These days the kitchen houses a more modern stove, but Bob loves to cook 18th century dishes. At Christmas he recreates a typical Georgian feast with what was then the traditional festive bird, roast goose, along with three types of pudding

The vertigo-inducing staircase leads up to Bob’s bedroom from the first floor

The vertigo-inducing staircase leads up to Bob’s bedroom from the first floor

Mirrors throughout the house magnify the sense of space

Mirrors throughout the house magnify the sense of space

A handsome mahogany chest-on-chest faces the fireplace and across the top of it Bob has arranged a large group of blue and white china jars.

A handsome mahogany chest-on-chest faces the fireplace and across the top of it Bob has arranged a large group of blue and white china jars.

Bob has spent twenty years collecting blue and white china

Bob has spent twenty years collecting blue and white china

Bob’s Sheraton-style bed was recreated from a photograph that he found in a Philadelphia museum

Bob’s Sheraton-style bed was recreated from a photograph that he found in a Philadelphia museum

More of Bob’s china collection is on display in the bathroom

More of Bob’s china collection is on display in the bathroom

The wonderful view across the rooftops; Bob’s passion for gardening is evident: “I wanted to be a gardener as a child, so although this is a small plot, I really appreciate it. I have a wonderful old apricot tree from which I can hang lanterns and I love plants, so my garden sort of spills over.”

The wonderful view across the rooftops; Bob’s passion for gardening is evident: “I wanted to be a gardener as a child, so although this is a small plot, I really appreciate it. I have a wonderful old apricot tree from which I can hang lanterns and I love plants, so my garden sort of spills over.”

  • words:
  • pictures: David Merewether
  • styling: Cherry Whytock

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