Couple prepare to move on as iconic Mobberley farmhouse goes on the market

Set in beautiful countryside, close to the prestigious Wilmslow Golf Club, they purchased a run-down farm and transformed it into a home for their family.

Now Pownall House Farm, in Warford Lane, Mobberley, is on the market for £2,295,000 as the hard-grafting couple aim to do it all over again, creating another dream property elsewhere.

“We wanted a piece of the countryside and, although it was rundown, we’ve raised it up to become an iconic farmhouse conversion,” says Josie.

With far reaching views to the side and rear over its own land, there’s no question the family found that piece of Cheshire they were looking for.

They set about renovating or removing dilapidated farm sheds and buildings once planning permission was secured. They turned the house 90 degrees so that it now sits in the middle of the plot.

Josie, a former teacher at Altrincham Girls’ Grammar School, project managed the development – the second time she had done so after overseeing a home build in Goughs Lane, Knutsford.

“I was laying hedges, building the log shed and working with the guys. I was always around,” she says.

Husband Stephen looked after the financial side of the development and together their skills proved a winning combination.

Working with North West companies such as Birchvale Construction they created a three-storey property in the Georgian style with some contemporary touches.

It covers around 5,000sqft providing four reception rooms, five bedrooms and five bathrooms.

Each of the formal reception rooms is set around an impressive galleried reception hall with a feature staircase and views over the front driveway.

They used a lot of natural materials and, where possible, local tradespeople. Companies such as Hetherington Newman of Knutsford who created a range of hand-painted kitchen cabinets for the heart of the home.

The beautifully fitted, open-plan room has bi-fold doors to the garden and paddocks beyond. It boasts a large central island, a comprehensive range of built-in appliances and stone worktops and is a huge open room, large enough for a substantial dining table and good-sized family space.

Next to the kitchen is a bespoke fitted wine cellar and a side corridor leads to a large utility room and games room/cinema, which could easily become a children’s playroom. Josie and Stephen worked with architect Dave Gowen and their goal was to create a modern family home with traditional character that avoided being “twee”.

“He looked at our ideas and we looked at his and together we came up with this ideal family home,” she says.

The main drawing room is large and dual aspect with banks of glazing overlooking the rear terrace and an inglenook fireplace.

On the first floor are four bedrooms, the master suite is a huge room with impressive vaulted ceiling, French doors to a walk-out balcony, walk-in fully fitted dressing room and huge en suite bathroom. The guest bedroom on this floor is another large double bedroom with en suite shower room and there are two further double bedrooms, both with en suite shower rooms.

On the top floor is a fifth bedroom with a small dressing room and en suite shower room.

You might think that leaving all this behind would be a problem for Josie and Stephen.

However, they are simply excited to be doing it all again with their next project.

“The most satisfying aspect to this has been proving that I am a good manager and then seeing people’s reactions to the house because they often just say ‘wow’,” she says.

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