7/14/2019 Enjoy your own luxury pop idyll in a mansion fit for a rock legend

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August 4 • 2013  The Mail on Sunday

By Paul Drury

TO me, the Royal Burgh ofDunfermline has always beensynonymous with two things –

magic music and brilliant build-ings. It produced the key playersof bands such as Nazareth and

Jethro Tull, and gave us The Skids as well asrenowned singer Barbara Dickson.

Both of the Fife’s town’s claims to famecome together in Balmule House, a countrymansion on the outskirts that boasts a five-century pedigree.

In the 1980s, it was home to Stuart Adam-son, lead singer of another local band thatmade the big time, Big Country.

For a local lad who grew up in a flat above achip shop, buying the old stone house atBalmule must have seemed like landing thekeys to a fairytale castle.

It’s for sale again but while it would betempting to suggest a rock star’s lifestyle wason offer, the truth is that Balmule is farremoved from the property left behind byAdamson, who died in 2001.

Over the past five years, owner FrancJeffrey has set about a renovation pro-gramme breathtaking in scale and admirablein achievement. He explained that when hebought the property in 2008, Balmule had 78windows, none of which opened. In fact, mostwere nailed shut.

Successive owners had systematicallyretreated from its extremities over five dec-ades, presumably because of huge heatingbills. As a result, Mr Jeffrey said, a four-storey house had been steadily reduced totwo as the top floor and basement were lockedup and effectively abandoned.

‘Within minutes of coming up the drivewayhere, I knew this was a building that neededhelp,’ said Mr Jeffrey, a successful travelindustry entrepreneur.

‘My hobby is buying old buildings and reno-vating and modernising them. I find the placebecomes part of you, becomes personal. Thiswas never just a bricks and mortar job.’

Had it been a strictly business venture, it’sunlikely any bank manager would haveapproved the no-expense-spared approachthat has resulted in one of the best-appointed

properties in the country.It consumed 13 gallons of white egg-shellwindow paint, 16 chimneys were repointedand repaired, 43 ceiling lights were refur-bished, 12 new gates were installed and thegrounds were returfed.

The kitchen boasts a four-oven Aga and the

basement has been reclaimed to provide arecreation space and a billiards room.

Upstairs, there are luxury bathrooms andbedrooms galore.

Sadly, the recording studio that Adamsoninstalled in the coach house became a victimof its own success.

It was so well-soundproofed that no freshair could get inside, causing it slowly to decayover the years.

Stripped back to the walls, there are nowplans to have the space converted into a four-bedroom holiday cottage.

On the ground floor and in the basement ofthe main house, a new air conditioning sys-tem allows the rooms to be cooled or heatedwithin five minutes.

MR Jeffrey said: ‘Now, thereis underfloor heating in all thebathrooms. Parts of the houseare 500 years old but now theyhave got all mod consin them. Nowadays, I am

travelling a lot. It would be easier for me tohave a small place in Edinburgh and anotherin the States.

‘There will definitely be another project. Iwill either build something from scratch orI’ll find a smaller place where I don’t have tobe all the time. I’ve just spotted one possibil-ity in Boston.’

Unusually, Mr Jeffrey elected to hire amarketing company to promote the sale ofBalmule. He had spoken to estate agents but,in a crowded market, he was not convincedthey had the desire to make his place standout from the rest.

Lianne Bootland of Midas Property Consult-ants developed a colourful, eye-catching brochure which has asmuch appeal online as in its printedform.

The brochure includes a timelineshowing Balmule’s role in past,turbulent times.

For example, the building wasset alight in 1845 by local clothworkers complaining about poorwages and conditions.

To illustrate how long ago thatactually was, the timeline help-fully explains that this was16 years before the start of theAmerican Civil War.l Offers over £2.2 million are

invited. Telephone Pagan Osborneon 0131 539 3333 for information,or visit www.paganosborne.com/ balmulehouse.

73property 

Enjoy your ownluxury pop idyllin a mansion fitfor rock legend

Hi

STUNNING: The house still boasts many period features

STar

 appeal: Big Countrylead singerStuart AdamsonownedBalmuleHouse, inset

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