Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2007 | Page 25

INTERVIEW

life

Photos above: Left Julia and co-worker, Arreton Manor front, Andy Gray-Ling in studio

they’re falling over in places,
but they’re really secure. I
couldn’t wait to get in, I was so
excited about it,” he goes on in
characteristic measured tones.
With the house structurally
sound, they could put their
money into furnishing it. “Just as
well,” says Julia. “It was empty,
and I mean completely empty.
They’d taken the light bulbs and
loo roll holders, everything.”
Furnishing the place was
fun but required the sort of

dedicated eye for detail that
Andy has. He is also fortunate
in finding a skilled restorer
in Newchurch. “Denis is a
genius. You buy a piece, he
restores it, you’d never know,”
he says. “I found stuff on the
internet mainly: it’s impossible
to find anything local. When
you’re looking for 17th century
furniture there’s a difference
between finding the odd
piece and having a choice.
I’d rather have a choice.”

Choices scare some people
but this couple seem to thrive
on them. Taking the garden
in hand was as necessary
as getting the house right,
but Andy went against the
trend of slavishly returning to
what was originally there, to
create his own little piece of
Hertfordshire’s Hatfield House.
“I’d fallen in love with the idea
of symmetrical parterres and
knot gardens. A bit grand for
this house maybe, but the right

period. The only original bit
of the garden was the apple
orchard, and to be honest
it was a pretty uneventful
apple orchard. Now this is
the only house on the Isle of
Wight with a knot garden.”
In fact for all that he is owner,
manager and meticulous
researcher, Andy is at heart a
bit of a backroom boy. Not for
him is employing contractors
and letting them get on with
it. Once he had decided on

Photo below:Andy and Julia Gray-Ling

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