Shearwater Cottage – Cley

‘IT’S AN UGLY BIRD!’

We inherited Shearwater from my French grandmère, Claudine. At the time, one of our new neighbours said of Shearwater, ‘It’s an ugly bird!’ and we thought they were referring to the house. It was only later that we realised they meant the little brown seabird the cottage is named after. The Shearwater spends its whole life flying over the deep ocean – it even sleeps on the wing – and this feels appropriate given that our ownership of the house has also been dominated by its relationship with the sea.

We love the sea, the seals, the seabirds and plant life – the sea lavender, bladder campion, thrift and sea pinks. Grandmère always encouraged us to swim whatever the weather. She said swimming in cold water was the secret of her invincible good health.

When we took possession of the house it was full of copies of the French magazine ‘Paris Match’, the loveliest antique linens and huge over mantel mirrors rescued from the family’s chateau in France. The chateau had 25ft high ceilings and here were the over mantels squeezed between the floorboards and rafters of a 2-up, 2-down Norfolk fisherman’s cottage!

The first thing to do was to empty the cottage completely. We knew we would convert the loft and create a large master bedroom suite with spectacular views over the salt marsh to the sea. There is nothing like waking up each morning and looking at the buff colour of the marsh topped by a blue line of sea. It is like an impressionist painting. We wanted the room to be redolent of a boathouse so we kept the ‘A’ frames of the roof visible and did not create a separate bathroom. Instead we let the lovely slipper bath be part of the room. I always say this bath is like ‘an armchair with hot water’ and it’s a terrific place to wallow with the windows open in high summer, or in the middle of winter when snow is falling outside but the room is toasty and the bath is steaming.

This room also has extraordinary light – we have often fallen asleep in the square of warm sunlight that strikes the bed on any sunny afternoon.

Our only regret was having to say goodbye to the beautiful antique French stove which grandmère referred to as her solid fuel radiator. It was enamelled in the most lovely deep blue sea shade and was such a striking feature of the sitting room but is was also very old and probably dangerous, and rotted inside to boot.

We wanted painted floors to make it easy to walk straight in from the beach – no need to worry about sandy feet because there is nothing to spoil – and we wanted no fuss in the interiors – just clean lines and good colours.

We always intended Shearwater to be comfortable and beautiful to look at but unfussy; more about art and writing and proximity to the sea than anything else. We have many happy memories of spending all day on the beach with Virginia Woolf’s ‘The Years’ – or one of William’s novels which are often set by the sea. There is something about the vastness of the landscape that inspires the imagination.

The monochrome paintings in the house are after the French painter Yves Klein. The little sea picture in the sitting room is by my mother. The books have been collected by William, some for research and some just for fun.

The little courtyard garden is planted with olives, camellias and the large japonica was grandmère’s from way back and somehow survived the refurbishment. It was obscured by scaffolding for six months but reemerged as vigorous as ever, in spite of growing in a relatively small pot – Just like Claudine herself who thrived in this traditional Norfolk flint cottage a long way from her native France.

If you would like to find out more about Shearwater Cottage in Cley or to book click here..https://bigskiesholidaycottages.co.uk/property/

Fancy a wander around Shearwater?  Have a look at our tour with Hetti.