The artist’s residence
Toby and Nina Harris have transformed two dilapidated buildings on their farmland into a stunning space that’s filled with unique family artwork
WORDS VICTORIA JENKINS
PHOTOS WILLIAM GODDARD
Toby and Nina Harris bought a Grade II* listed farmhouse and 20 acres of land near Glastonbury two decades ago. Toby is a builder who specialises in restoring old houses, and this was one of his projects. “It had a stream running right through it when we bought it,” says Nina. “the star listing comes from the amazing elm cruck roof, which, along with the farmhouse dates back in part to the Tudor period. We know it existed around the time of the enclosures.” this historical incident saw small landholdings consolidated into larger farms, which were allocated to those deemed to have rights to it. “In those days there was a path dividing our farm from another,” says Toby. “It’s now a road. But the farm on the other side of the track kept all the land on that side, while our farm got all the land on this side.”
Flanking one side of the couple’s farmyard was a double-height barn with old stables on the right and a cowstall on the left. the structures were about 150 years old, built from the local blue lias, and in very poor condition. “We used to store hay in the barn, with animals in one part; the right side was for horses and the other for storage. But after several years the roofs were caving in and the buildings were in disrepair,” says Toby.