Inside the Old Cider House in Bredon, Worcestershire.

Here’s how to make cider in days gone by (but not actually THAT long ago in the Cotswolds).

First prepare your barrel of crushed apple juice. Then shoot a rat (plenty of them in an old-time farmyard.

‘Then drop the rat into the barrel,’ says Nicola Blackwell. ‘You have to add protein to make the juice ferment into cider. Beef and lamb were a luxury back then and a rat was the cheapest option.’

This spacious house began as a farmhouse at least 300 years ago, but unfortunately the deeds were lost during the floods in 2007 so no-one is sure of its age. Previous owners added the conservatory and utility room (Image: Heather Gunn) Nicola learned this interesting tip from the previous owner of her home The Old Cider House in Bredon, Worcestershire. As a young lad he would help his uncle make the cider – ‘and about four weeks later they would check to see if the cider had “yut” (eaten) the rat,’ she says. ‘It always had, and the boy was given a sieve to skim the surface to collect the residue – usually just the tail and pads of its feet!’

This extra-tasty cider was later sold for a penny a jug through the kitchen hatch.

Nicola adds, ‘It doesn’t seem to have done anyone any harm, as the same family had been living here for at least 300 years until we bought the place in 2018.’

Seemingly, the acid in the cider is brilliant at killing bacteria and not the consumer.

The ancient well, which was originally in the garden until the conservatory was built round it (Image: Heather Gunn) Originally the Grade 2-listed farmhouse had a well in the garden, a pigsty and an old barn.

‘I know it’s a cliché,’ Nicola continues, ‘but my husband Simon and I just loved the place as soon as we walked in. It was a cold winter’s day, and the owners had lit a fire, so it all felt so cosy.’

With five bedrooms, there was easily enough space for their children Ella (19), Annabel (17) and Edward (13), not to mention their two golden retrievers, a cat called Leo, and two ducks, Quackers and Cheese. Plus, the house had some lovely old features such as the ancient oak beams in the attic, the equally ancient well, and the old stone wall round the garden.

The conservatory which Nicky has painted in ‘Brewers Green’ from Coat Paints. The rattan chairs are from Marks & Spencer, and the table from Oak Furniture Land (Image: Heather Gunn) However, what really clinched things was the barn as Nicky could see it would make a perfect work space for her bespoke curtain design business Studio Blackwell. ‘I started off designing and sewing curtains, blinds and other soft furnishings myself,’ she says. ‘But now I have a small team, including my daughter Ella from time to time.’

As for the pigsty, there was no sign of it until the couple began redesigning their third-of-an-acre garden during lockdown. ‘There were no flowerbeds, so we hired a digger and created lots of big borders, plus a pergola and a barbecue area. Then we came across an old bricked-over patch and pig trough, and the previous owner told us it had been the sty. He added that after killing the pigs they hung them from hooks in what is now our kitchen, and the workers would throw salt at them to cure them. Our plasterer later told us he found the kitchen walls were just oozing salt.’

As for the well… ‘It had been outside, but the previous owners had built a conservatory around it and added lights and a glass cover to make it into a feature,’ says Nicky. Over time various plants started growing in it, too.

The Dunham range units in ‘Rose’ and ‘Linen’ are from Magnet, with ‘Calcutta’ gold quartz worktops. The lighting above the island is from Neptune, and the hanging wicker light above the sink is by Matilda Goad (Image: Heather Gunn) ‘We can see the water, which is about eight feet down, and its level has always remained stable, despite the flooding in 2007. It must be as old as the house, if not older.’

The first thing the couple did was to redecorate the entire house, much of it by themselves, although they also employed a decorator. They used a variety of paints, such as Edward Bulmer, Farrow & Ball, and Neptune. They also redesigned the lighting, and all the curtain blinds, cushions and soft furnishings were designed and made by Nicky and her Studio Blackwell team.

‘Then after lockdown we had a new Magnet kitchen installed,’ says Nicky. ‘The old one was of painted pine with about three layers of tiles on the walls. We’ve put in dusky pink units as it was the right colour for the natural light that comes in. There are also quartz worktops, an Aga and a floor of porcelain tiles from Mandarin Stone.’

The Blackwells installed the Aga; the stone cladding was already there. The bar stools are from Garden Trading, and the hanging wicker light above the sink is by Matilda Goad (Image: Heather Gunn) They also gave the utility room an extra purpose as a joint utility/boot room and refurbished the downstairs cloakroom. ‘We put in new fittings and, as it had only cold water, we’ve replumbed it to get hot water.’

Among other things they have put a wood burner into their lower sitting room and removed a very big 1960s fake-stone fireplace in the upper sitting room to reveal a simple one from the 18th century.

‘And Simon has built a box bed in the attic which fits under the slanting eaves,’ says Nicky. ‘He’s very good at DIY, and has made it really cosy with lighting inside it too as it can be rather chilly up there.’

But now the family are on the move because of Simon’s job. Will Quackers and Cheese be going with them? ‘Yes, definitely,’ says Nicky. ‘One day a baby mallard arrived in our garden, so we looked after him for a while. We bought our two ducks to keep him company but then one day he flew off – well, he was a wild duck – so Quackers and Cheese remained and now they’re part of our family.’

For sale through Knight Frank of Cheltenham.

The Dunham range units in ‘Rose’ and ‘Linen’ are from Magnet, with ‘Calcutta’ gold quartz worktops. The lighting above the island is from Neptune (Image: Heather Gunn) Nicky thinks the stone cladding behind the bench in the breakfast area was added as a feature because the house is built of brick. The bench is upholstered in fabric from A Rum Fellow from Studio Blackwell, as are the cushions. (Image: Heather Gunn) The lower sitting room: The Blackwells put in the wood burner, which was supplied and fitted by The Fireplace Gallery, and the sofa is from Marks & Spencer. The curtains are in Rapture & Wright fabric made by Studio Blackwell (Image: Heather Gunn) The old vertical beam in the upper sitting room is oak and thought to be original. Nicky designed the ottoman, which was made locally by Sophie Bullingham of Upholstery Techniques in fabric by A Rum Fellow. The pink sofa is from Loaf (Image: Heather Gunn) Looking from the upper sitting room to the lower. All soft furnishings are made by Studio Blackwell Ltd, and the carpet is by Crucial Trading from Corinium Carpets (Image: Heather Gunn) The attic with its ancient oak beams. On the right is the box bed which Simon designed and made to fit under the slanting eaves (Image: Heather Gunn)

ADDRESS BOOK

Corinium Carpets, 01242 362882, coriniumcarpets.co.uk

Loaf, 0203 141 8300, loaf.com

Rapture & Wright Fabrics, 01608 652442, raptureandwright.co.uk

Studio Blackwell, 07778 790668, studioblackwell.co.uk

The Fireplace Gallery, 01242 680076, fireplacegalleryfires.co.uk

Sophie Bullingham Upholstery Techniques, 07778 911030.