A Georgian house that played host to royalty and heads of state was given a new lease of life 10 years ago as a bed and breakfast and today is celebrating its milestone anniversary with the news it’s won a national accolade.
Colton House, in Colton village, which was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, near Rugeley and Lichfield, is a Grade II* Listed building that in 1977 took Ron and Gay Lawrence’s breath away.
Believed to date back to 1730, the pair fell in love with the house and its magnificent sweeping staircase as the idyllic, forever home, in which to bring up their three children and Afghan dog.
But 28 years on, the children had flown the nest and former South Staffs Water civil engineer Ron and Gay, who worked for Homeserve in Walsall, had both retired and found life all too quiet.
So the pair decided to convert their family home on the edge of Cannock Chase into a five-star BB.
They started out with just two rooms but when they proved to be in demand they refurbished and renovated the whole house to create 11 luxury en-suite rooms. And the pair haven’t looked back.
Their latest achievement, to add to a string of accolades, is that it’s been named best BB in the country by Visit England.
Gay, who has had 42 different jobs from making birthday cakes for J Lyons, of Lyons Corner House, to being a tracer for Butterworth’s medical book publishers, said: “We fell in love with the place in 1977 as we could see that it would be a great family home, but also that it could live and change with our needs and requirements as time moved on.
“But really it was the stunning staircase that took our breath away – the spindles needed to be cleaned individually and took Ron three years to do!
“It was after we’d both taken early retirement, and the children had left, that we got bored and missed the buzz of having people about and so decided to start a BB although neither of us had any experience of the hospitality industry.”
She added: “We couldn’t have wished for a better present than winning the best BB award to mark our 10th anniversary.
“We really had no idea what to expect when we first started, but it’s been a hugely rewarding venture.”