When Alice Gates, the Co-Founder of fabric and wallpaper brand Barneby Gates, became the custodian of Marratons, the remote North Cornish house which has been in her family for over 85 years, it was the perfect opportunity to breathe new life into it, learns Katrina Harper-Lewis.
MARRATONS IN NORTH CORNWALL. IMAGE: BEN PHILLIPS
In the village of Morwenstow, around eight miles north of the perennially popular beach destination and surfer’s paradise of Bude, you’ll find Marratons – a whitewashed double-fronted slate-roofed farmhouse, set within five acres of land. With its windows framed by sky blue painted woodwork to mirror the coastal hues, the house exudes a quintessential Cornish charm. Being just a mile inland from the rugged, wind-battered cliffs (some of the highest and most dramatic in Europe), and down a private woodland flanked drive, Marratons enjoys blissful near isolation from the throngs of holidaymakers that flock to the Cornish coast each summer.
In fact, it’s the remote location which brought fabric and wallpaper designer Alice Gates’ grandparents here in 1937 – although not by their own design. “They’d got in with a ‘fast set’ in Hereford, where they were living at the time, and were spending too much money,” Alice explains. “My grandfather was from a wealthy family and his trust decided that they should move away, so as not to run through their finances. Marratons really couldn’t be much more in the middle of nowhere!” The house was bought for £1,000, and the couple set up home, with Alice’s mother born later that year.
“The west part of the property is the original early 18th century farmhouse, which consisted of just two rooms. Later additions were made at the beginning of the 19th century and my grandparents made some further alterations when they moved in – we still have the original deeds and all the architect’s drawings.”
Alice’s mother was one of three, and lived at Marratons until the age of 13, where she was taught by a governess. Meanwhile, her two brothers – one of whom is Jonah Barrington, who became a world champion squash player and something of a local icon – were sent to boarding school in Ireland from the age of six.
(LEFT) ALICE’S MOTHER AND UNCLES ON THE BEACH NEAR MARRATONS. (RIGHT) HER MOTHER AND UNCLES WITH THEIR FATHER AND UNCLE. IMAGES: COURTESY OF ALICE GATES
When Alice’s grandparents passed away, before she was born, her parents decided to buy out her uncles; they’d both set up home in Cornwall but neither of them wanted to live at Marratons as it was so remote. Alice, her parents and two half-siblings spent every holiday there. “Dad worked in London so we couldn’t move there, but we never went abroad for the holidays, always to Cornwall,” Alice recalls. “Our summers were spent rock jumping, swimming and surfing. My uncles told us that there was a secret passage hidden in the house, so we’d preoccupy ourselves with trying to find it. I really did believe it existed until we did the renovations and realised it wasn’t there!”
Marratons was left to Alice, the only child of her mother, who died five years ago. As the third-generation custodian, and with all those memories in the walls, was it a difficult decision to renovate? “Not really,” Alice admits. “I could never have said this to Mum as she was so happy there and wouldn’t have changed a thing, but the house was really impractical for modern life. It was incredibly uncomfortable, as we all had to squeeze into these tiny, cold rooms, and there was nowhere else for the kids to go. Plus, there was never enough hot water or bathrooms.”
The renovation began in 2021 and took around 18 months but was nearly stopped in its tracks before it even got going. “We couldn’t find a builder as it was too far away for anyone to come – we tried about 17 and eventually found one who used to live next door and play football with my uncles, so we knew he’d be sympathetic to our wishes.” Substantial changes were made to the layout, which included merging the former kitchen, dining room and smart sitting room, which had housed her grandfather’s model railway and army figures during her mother’s childhood. “Now it’s a lovely open space where no one is on top of each other and it flows far better than it ever did before.”
“Nearly all the furniture is original,” Alice says. “It was important for me that those familiar pieces that I grew up with were still there because we did change the look quite a lot. For example, in the dining room we had all the Jubilee plates and mugs, which are now displayed in the panelled room.” Alice’s mum was an art collector too, and many of her pieces have been kept and featured in the new-look rooms. “There’s one painting of three boys in an art lesson, which was really dark and the builders put a hammer through it, but it was a blessing in disguise as we had it cleaned when it was fixed and it’s so much better now.”
THE SITTING ROOM, WHERE ALICE’S MOTHER’S ART COLLECTION IS PROUDLY DISPLAYED. IMAGE: BEN PHILLIPS
Alice also wanted to expose the stunning circular staircase, which was boxed in and hidden from view. By opening up the downstairs space and knocking down a wall, she was able to create a double height hall to show it off in all its glory. Clad in Barneby Gates’ Starfish wallpaper, it’s now a striking feature and key focal point in the house. And how did it feel for Alice to use her own prints at Marratons? “Mum did have a couple of our wallpapers already, but it was lovely to bring a lot more colour into the house and to use some of our prints that I haven’t got at home,” explains Alice, “As well as the Starfish print, I’ve used Anchor Tile and Scallop Shell – all of which were inspired by growing up in Cornwall.” But Alice was also wary of overdoing it. “I didn’t want the house to become a pastiche of endless beachy motifs, so it was about weaving them in to make it feel grown up but also playful.”
It was never a difficult decision for Alice to rent Marratons, as her grandparents had been doing it since the 1940s, so the house has seen a flurry of guests come and go through the years. “My grandfather wasn’t keen on working, so split the house in two and rented out the other half. We still have the newspaper advert in a frame,” Alice explains. “They were very sociable with their tenants, so much so that the son of one family became my godfather.”
It’s clear that Marratons has held a special place in the hearts of not only Alice’s family, but also their many friends who have visited over the years, too. Not least the Tolstoys – descendants of War and Peace author, Leo Tolstoy. Alice’s uncles befriended Count Nikolai Tolstoy, during their student days at Trinity College in Ireland. “He used to come back with them during their university holidays, and our families became great friends,” explains Alice. Just recently Nikolai’s daughter, Alexandra – an equine adventurer, broadcaster and founder of vintage interiors collection, The Tolstoy Edit – returned to the house with her children, some three decades after her last visit and mused that it was a “most moving, happy week… every minute was an adventure”.
There certainly seems to be an abundance of carefree Blyton-esque freedom here. “Our nearest beach is about half a mile away and it’s a really beautiful walk down the cliffs. You never see anyone else there, even in the height of summer,” says Alice. “The beaches change with the storms and the tides but there’s always been this one big flat rock where my mum used to take us for picnics. She went there with her parents and it’s exactly the same place that I take my kids to now.”
(LEFT) ALICE AND HER FAMILY CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS AT MARRATONS. (RIGHT) THE FAMILY TAKING THEIR BRACING BOXING DAY SWIM. IMAGES: COURTESY OF ALICE GATES
Talking of traditions, the annual Christmas sea swim is non-negotiable. “It’s a three-line whip, so everyone except my dad has to go in. It’s pretty bracing,” laughs Alice. “We spent at least every other Christmas at Marratons when I was growing up. Mum would always get the best china and silverware out, we’d squeeze into the tiny dining room (which doesn’t exist anymore), and put up the really old-fashioned little glass decorations. There was also a cupboard packed full of old wooden toys, games and my grandfather’s lead soldiers – hundreds of them – which my kids loved playing with when they were younger.”
Alice’s three children are teenagers now and, since the renovation, Christmas at Marratons is a rather more comfortable affair. It now sleeps ten people in five en-suite bedrooms, which meant converting what would have been her mother’s nursery and the coal store – every effort was made to maximise the space available. “We were there last Christmas. My brother came over from Madeira and my sister from Somerset with their kids, and there was overspill into my dad’s house, too, which is just a quarter of a mile away.”
So how does Alice’s father feel about the changes she’s made to the house? “He thinks it’s wonderful,” says Alice. “You have to walk through his farm to get to the beach and he loves being on hand for the guests and showing the children his cows.”
“We’d never sell the house,” Alice continues. “There’s this feeling of immense relaxation you get when you’re there. We do everything together, so it’s quality family time, and the repetition of doing the same things and going on the same walks that we’ve done for our whole lives creates a wonderful sense of familiarity and nostalgia. Marratons is a very special place for all of us.”
THE OPEN PLAN KITCHEN, DINING AND SITTING ROOM, WHERE THE CIRCULAR INTERNAL STAIRCASE CAN JUST BE SEEN. IMAGE: BEN PHILLIPS
THE VIBRANT GREEN PAINT ALICE CHOSE MODERNISED THE DARK PANELLING IN THIS ROOM. THE FAMILY’S COLLECTION OF JUBILEE PLATES AND MUGS ARE PROUDLY DISPLAYED. IMAGE: BEN PHILLIPS
ALICE USED BARNEBY GATES WALLPAPER AND FABRIC THROUGHOUT THE HOUSE. IMAGE: BEN PHILLIPS
THE TWIN BEDROOM, WITH BEDS UPHOLSTERED IN BARNEBY GATES’ SCALLOP SHELL FABRIC, WITH KANTHA QUILTS FROM SOURCED BY HOLLY. IMAGE: BEN PHILLIPS
THE HALLWAY AT MARRATONS, WHERE THE CURVE OF THE CIRCULAR STAIRCASE CAN BE SEEN. IMAGE: BEN PHILLIPS
THE HALLWAY MIDWAY THROUGH THE RENOVATION. IMAGE: COURTESY OF ALICE GATES
THE GREENHOUSE AT MARRATONS. IMAGE: BEN PHILLIPS
Marratons is available for holidays lettings; marratons.co.uk
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