When Will Angell-James and his wife, Kassidy Heath, became the custodians of Berwick House, a grand country house in Shropshire, they were resolute in their calling to return it to its former glory – and make it earn its keep. Kassidy shares the emotional journey with Katrina Harper-Lewis.
THE STATELY BERWICK HOUSE IN SHROPSHIRE. IMAGE: MIKE GARLICK
You’d be forgiven for thinking you’d stepped on to the set of Bridgerton or Downton Abbey on first impression of Berwick House – an imposing Grade II*-listed Georgian-Victorian mansion, set in 3,000 acres of Shrewsbury countryside. For the South Floridian teenager, Kassidy Heath, her first visit in the summer of 2015 was a culture shock to say the least. It was the formative family home of her boyfriend, Will Angell-James, who she’d met at university in Boston. “My upbringing and background couldn’t have been more different from Will’s. If I’d lived at Berwick in the past, I’d have been lucky to have been a laundress,” laughs Kassidy, now Will’s wife and Director of Berwick House. Little did she know that within just a few years she’d become chatelaine of this grand house.
“It was the most incredible Summer. Will and I would sleep in until the afternoon, before walking down to the farm to skim a pint of cream off the top of the milk tank to eat with Coco Pops. We spent most of our time on Berwick’s roof playing chess and sharing a two-litre bottle of Strongbow,” Kassidy reminisces.
At that time Will’s father, Henry, was living at Berwick with his second wife and their younger son. “To be playing Minecraft with Will’s half-brother in a nearly three-hundred-year-old Georgian Library felt faintly ridiculous,” Kassidy recalls. “Games of ping pong in the middle of Berwick’s Main Hall were giddy – moving antique vases and scurrying beneath the grand piano to retrieve the ball. The juxtaposition between everyday life and the grandeur of the surroundings was so charming. It didn’t quite feel like real life.”
Kassidy continues: “I was itching to uncover the house’s mysteries: the door in the cellar that was locked from the inside; the rumoured tunnel between the House and the Chapel; the origin of the taxidermized pets… Berwick had, and still has, many secrets to spill.”
However, Berwick had fallen into disrepair over the years. “Only a fraction of the house and grounds were in use, and the areas that weren’t were crumbling. “Henry only had two live-in members of staff – a housekeeper and her husband, the groundsman – doing the work that 18 people would have done historically.”
Berwick House was built in 1721 by Thomas Powys on the ruins on a former medieval manor and deer park. In 1875 a cheesemonger and self-made businessman from Birmingham purchased the estate for just £192,000. That gentleman was Will’s great, great, great grandfather. The house passed down through the generations and Henry, Will’s mother, Edwina, and their three children moved in in the early 2000s.
THE BEAUTIFUL PANELLED LIBRARY USING MUCH OF THE EXISTING FURNITURE TOGETHER WITH CAREFULLY SOURCED ANTIQUES FROM LOCAL DEALERS AND AUCTION HOUSES. IMAGE: MIKE GARLICK
(LEFT) WILL ANGELL-JAMES AND WIFE KASSIDY HEATH HAVE WORKED TIRELESSLY TO RETURN WILL’S ANCESTRAL HOME OF BERWICK HOUSE TO ITS FORMER GLORY; (RIGHT) THE DINING ROOM WITH FURNITURE FROM THE FAMILY. IMAGES: MIKE GARLICK
“Will recalls playing cricket with his brother in Berwick’s corridors, occasionally smashing a pane of stained glass – casualties that he and his wallet regret to this day,” Kassidy shares. “They raced about the house on Razor scooters shooting Nerf guns at one another. We still find Nerf bullets wedged in crevices now! And games of hide-and-seek would have to be limited to one floor due to the sheer scale of the house.”
When Henry suddenly and unexpectedly passed away in 2017, leaving behind his four children aged between nine and 23, the family were devastated. Therein began the long and difficult process of deciding the best steps forward. Henry had been funding Berwick House as a private family home, which none of his children could financially continue to do.
Then COVID hit. The siblings and their mother, Edwina, moved into Berwick House during lockdown – Henry’s second wife had moved out by then and his half-brother was at boarding school. “Obviously lockdown ended up being a lot longer than we all expected,” Kassidy recalls. The family stayed for the duration and Kassidy joined them later from Boston. “We were simultaneously alone in the house but on top of each other.”
The house had 24 bedrooms, but only three toilets, two showers and virtually non-existent heating. So, with her Floridian roots, how did Kassidy take to living in a drafty English mansion? “I was so miserable,” she admits. “We only had heating on the ground floor so it was really difficult to get out of bed in the mornings – you could see your breath. And we never knew if we’d get a hot shower or just icy water. I used to put a hot water bottle in my trousers!
“We were all desperate to keep the house, but there wasn’t a clear path forward,” explains Kassidy. Eventually Will and his eldest brother drafted a plan for the house to operate as a wedding and events business, as well as a private home, providing financial stability.
(LEFT) THE SWEEPING APPROACH TO BERWICK HOUSE; (RIGHT) THE HALLWAY WITH THE UPPER WALLS IN GREEN SMOKE BY FARROW & BALL AND AN EXTENSIVE SKY LIGHT OF STAINED GLASS FEATURING HISTORICAL FIGURES. IMAGES: MIKE GARLICK
In August 2022, the family entrusted Will and Kassidy to take the helm. “We hadn’t expected it. It was a huge decision and a big turning point for us,” Kassidy muses. “Most of our deliberation had been settled before we moved in, so when we had the opportunity to run at it, we sprinted.” Will and Kassidy resigned from their respective jobs in Software Engineering and Business Development, so they could fully focus on making Berwick a success.
“We started by replacing the Victorian boiler, which had been condemned in 1950. It was in the cellar and the size of a small lorry. Then we drafted a massive planning application for lighting and plumbing.” Next, they set about clearing out the house. “It was a hoarder’s nest – rooms were piled to the ceiling with old furniture in need of reupholstering, microwaves from the 1950s and generations worth of family history. We also came across crawl spaces; in one beneath the stairs, we found old silver, dinnerware and newspapers from 1910.”
Berwick has always been a magical place for Kassidy. “You could disappear into disused rooms for hours and pore over handwritten letters from the 1800s. I’d find locks of hair, travel journals and theatre pamphlets from the early 1900s. Wardrobes were full of Victorian dresses and top hats still in their boxes, costume jewellery, sketchbooks and mysterious vials of old medications with dubious contents. We still have it all and are looking for opportunities to share it.”
Whilst they haven’t made significant structural changes, the original 24 bedrooms have been reduced to 18 to make way for ensuites, for guests staying at the main house for weddings and events. “We moved into what used to be the servant’s quarters – a two-bedroom wing – put in a modern kitchen and made it feel separate to Berwick House, so we could have some work-life balance. And it’s got its own boiler so I can set it to Florida temperatures!” Kassidy laughs.
(LEFT) ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL BEDROOM WITH ANTIQUE FURNITURE, DUCK EGG VELVET CURTAINS AND A STUDDED BED FRAME BY OKA ; (RIGHT) INTERIOR DESIGNER LUCINDA MARTIN AT BERWICK HOUSE. IMAGES: MIKE GARLICK
As for the décor, nothing quite hung together, so Will contacted interior designer Lucinda Martin. “We had no budget, so it was a very slow start. She gave us some ideas, but we didn’t act on them until a year later.” Kassidy continues: “Hiring Lucinda was the best decision we made. She had a real appreciation for the bones of the house and the history we were so desperate to preserve. And she could see how much risk we were taking by doing it. We had such decision paralysis that just choosing paint was overwhelming.” Room by room Lucinda helped to pull all of the disjointed pieces together. She cleverly took inspiration from features in each room, such as fireplace tiles or tattered pieces of furniture.
For the young (then in her 20s) and talented Lucinda – a mentee of Caroline Lawson of Chelsea Decorators, whose clients included Margaret Thatcher and Freddie Mercury – this was a dream project. Lucinda shares: “The house has such gravitas from the outside, but it hadn’t been touched for 100 years. When Will first showed me around it was immediately clear the scale of the renovation needed. Grand swags and tails hung in ribbons around the window and it reminded me of Miss Havisham’s house in Great Expectations, but with so much potential to be great again.”
Fastidious in her research on both the family history and house itself, Lucinda was determined to reimagine the grandeur of old, with historic drapery and unique details, combined with contemporary elements, such as wallpaper and warm colour schemes. “This was first and foremost a family home, which deserved respect and care,” explains Lucinda. “I felt a tremendous responsibility to ensure the designs were timeless and would bring contemporary standards of comfort without compromising the house’s integrity.”
Over the two years that Lucinda worked on the house she became great friends with the couple. She recalls “hours of sifting through dusty furniture and old family trinkets”, as well as long day trips with Kassidy to source antiques. Lucinda continues: “Kassidy has a very creative eye and can-do attitude, whilst Will had a wonderful vision of what he wanted to create – together they had gumption! I just helped to knit it all together.”
Lucinda describes the new style of the house as “elegant and quirky – reflecting the evolution of the family who have lived there for generations.” But, the question that hung heavy on Will and Kassidy was how would the family feel about the changes they’d made. “They have given us their complete trust,” says Kassidy. “I can sense a shift in the relationship where there’s respect for us and what we’ve done, which means a lot to me.”
Will’s sister lives in America but has seen the virtual tour. “Her response was, “It’s not really Berwick anymore”. Initially I thought we’d missed the mark somewhere or lost its essence, but now I realise she was referencing the cold and unhomely aspects of the house.”
Kassidy adds: “The privilege of living at Berwick today isn’t lost on me. I have huge respect for Will’s ancestor for creating his own wealth to buy it, and for the generations thereafter who preserved Berwick and its records so meticulously.” She continues: “I am looking after a house that is over 50 years older than my home country – the most intimidating thing for me is not its scale, but honouring its history. Our goal has always been to preserve and protect the history of the house. Yes, we’ve changed its fabric by adding light, plumbing, fresh coats of paint and new furnishings, but Will and I realised that to ensure the longevity of Berwick, the house needed a transformation.”
A LIGHT-FILLED BEDROOM WITH BED FRAME BY OKA AND CURVED BOUCLE SOFA AND CHAIRS BY HOME ELEMENTS. IMAGE: MIKE GARLICK
Berwick House is now fully operational as a wedding, events and filming venue. Kassidy predominantly looks after enquiries and bookings, while Will looks after the bills, compliance and contractor relations. “The house was a construction site when we first opened in 2023, so I had to sell a vision and convince couples that we could pull this off. Somehow, we did,” says Kassidy. In their first year the couple ran 11 weddings, doing everything themselves. Their goal for 2025 is 30 weddings, with the help of some new members of the team. “It’s hilarious when people turn up to Berwick expecting a tweed-laden aristocrat and are instead greeted by a Floridian who’s not yet 30!” Kassidy laughs. “I am fully aware that we are ridiculously lucky to be here, but it is so rewarding to be able to share Berwick and give guests the opportunity to experience it, too. Berwick used to host balls and events, so it’s like we’re heralding in its second era and reviving its original purpose as a venue.”
“We refer to Berwick House as our very needy child. It’s all-consuming, for better or worse, but we feel like the more we look after the house the more it will look after us.” Kassidy muses. “It has given us a huge sense of purpose and a strong connection to Will’s ancestry. It’s just the beginning for us and we’re very excited about the future.”
(LEFT) A BATHROOM WITH A VIEW, FEATURING THE WINDSOR DOUBLE ENDED BATHTUB BY BURLINGTON, THE ORIGINAL CHANDELIER AND A RUG BY ALTERNATIVE FLOORING; (RIGHT) BATHROOM WITH WALLPAPER BY LEWIS & WOOD. IMAGE: MIKE GARLICK
THE GRAND PROPORTIONS OF THIS BEDROOM ARE COMPLEMENTED BY A BEAUTIFUL BLEND OF ORIGINAL ANTIQUE PIECES AND MORE CONTEMPORARY ADDITIONS. IMAGE: MIKE GARLICK
(LEFT) A PANELLED BATHROOM WITH A GRAND DOUBLE ENDED ROLL TOP SLIPPER BATH WITH A VIEW; (RIGHT) BEDROOM WITH ALBERTINA WALLPAPER BY THE DESIGN ARCHIVES. IMAGES: MIKE GARLICK
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