Open Lightbox: (new)  Collection contains 38 images

Little Farringdon House

Large manor house in Gloucestershire restored and decorated on a tight budget

Little Farringdon House in Gloucestershire has been the family home of the Abdy-Collins family for generations. The present owner Jamie Abdy-Collins and his wife Emma decided that the house would have to own its keep. As it is neither large enough nor of sufficient architectural merit and not endowed with important works of art, opening it to the public in the conventional way was not an option. However,opening the house to the public is what Emma and Jamie did. The Abdy-Collins are well connected to London’s media and art circles and make their house available for weekend country house parties, be they to celebrate a wedding, a birthday, or even a record or book launch. The house was decorated on a tight budget, much of the work done by Jamie and Emma themselves. The furnishings and decorations are a truly eclectic blend of ancestral pieces, flea market finds and the results of frequent trips to Ikea and habitat. There are 9 en-suite double bedrooms, a ball room that seats 60, a fabulous home cinema with surround sound system and over 50 acres of English parkland. People such as Kate Moss, the artist Jake Chapman and Matthew Freud and his wife Elizabeth Murdoch are friends and neighbours. James Bond actor Daniel Craig is rumoured to be buying a property nearby. If you take the entire house for a weekend bash, the Abdy-Collinses will throw in a housekeeper and a chef and the whole thing will set you back about £ 10,000.