about us
Becky
It's not everyone's ideal vacation to stay in those big holiday parks, surrounded by vast amounts of chalets or caravans and thousands of people. But equally it's rare to find properties big enough for large groups of people to holiday together and all under the one roof.
In our own homes it's not always possible to bring families or big groups together. Being a farmers wife and living in a Devon long house It was and still is an extended family gathering place. It isn't unheard of that if there aren't enough beds to accommodate everyone the 'airbeds' become inflated. We all know where the 'Airbnb' idea came from!
I'm sure my 15 year career within the caring industry has made me appreciate precious time with loved ones.
The Elms was the perfect house that could quite easily bring grand parents, parents, children, aunts and uncles together. Enabling happy memories for families to cherish forever.
We just had to put our dream into reality.
My attentiveness and desire to help people drives me to provide fantastic accommodation. We endeavour to provide an exceptional holiday experience that exceeds our guests expectations. So will continue to learn, grow and develop
The Elms Holiday Home in Devon so that groups will want to return year after year.
I have now hung up my clinical gloves and adorn the cleaning variety. Although I'm the primary cleaner, bed making and everything in-between occasionally there's a need to draft in extra staff. Our daughter, son, their partners and other family members have been seen running around the property helping with those quick change overs.
And of course my husband Neil who's my right hand man, maintenance, gardener and also great at making beds and hoovering.
Neil
When I'm not helping at The Elms I'm a beef farmer and been living and working on the family farm here in Shillingford since 1988. Becky and I were blessed with two children and brought them up on the farm in this beautiful part of the West Country.
The Elms Orchard and children's play area abuts our farm land. During the summer months you will be able to see me on the tractor working the land. My son, daughter and their partners taking time out of there 'non farming' workload to help me bring in the crops. Our children play a big part in both our businesses, supporting us despite their paths taking them in a different direction. Although I'm sure our daughter will one day return and continue to run the farm and follow her dreams.
There are lots of public footpaths in Shillingford that guests can take some pleasant walks along. You might even come across some of my livestock grazing in the fields.
Although farming presented us with limited family time, when time did allow, we spent it exploring Devon's moorland, coastlines and picturesque villages. Devon and Somerset was a major part of life for our family growing up.
Our families always descended on us, in part because farming doesn't stop at 5pm and begin again at 9am, with weekend and holidays time off. Luckily we were very privileged to have the space to welcome our family. Spending quality time with family and friends has always and still remains very important to both of us. So when we purchased The Elms our most important element was to bring families together. So they could celebrate milestone events, birthdays and holiday all together. Our focus is to make it somewhere that we would stay ourselves and we continue to develop and grow our dream holiday home.
Where it all began
My in-laws, Neil and his sister Helen were regular visitors to The Elms. Looking after and chatting about farming life, Shillingford and the past with the owner. Both herself and her sister became a much loved family friend. Unfortunately as the years passed The Elms became run down and no longer lived in. It sat empty. We would pass on a regular basis and started to dream about owning this fabulous home, and what we could do if we did. We admired its Aesthetics and allure, and of course the fantastic memories the family shared. More years went by and eventually it was made possible by our lovely family friend who sold it to us. She welcomed our passion and desire to turn it into a holiday home. She was enthused knowing that people would enjoy the house again and the laughter restored within. Neil and I first became the proud owners of The Elms in 2021. We celebrated firstly with bubbles and then immediately started to bring 'the life' back into The Elms. We have done most things ourselves from the back breaking renovating and painting. To the nice furnishing, accessorising and designing trying desperately not to loose it's charm and character. There isn't anything we wouldn't try to do ourselves and still continue to add as the years go on.
Bygone Years
The Elms and Shillingford in past times
The Elms is a beautiful Georgian property. The Georgian period began in 1714 with the reign of King George I and lasted until the death of King George IV in 1830.
The Georgian period is generally associated with the 18th century.
Properties were often built around a garden square and didn't usually have there own private gardens. It's architecture is characterised by it's elegant simplicity.
The placement of windows and doors being Symmetrical with interior rooms square and of equal size for a balanced layout and key features. Known also for it's clean lines and it's good use of natural light. Some Georgian houses were built with multiple floors (often 3 or 4). The middle floor typically reserved for the family with reception room and entertaining spaces, with the floor at the very top being used for servants quarters. Layout was typically ground floor or lower ground housing the kitchen, laundry and possibly a servants dining area. Whilst the first floor consisted reception rooms like dining room, drawing room and possibly a library. Second floor the family bedrooms and possibly a dressing room. Lastly the servants bedrooms located on the third floor were often smaller with much lower ceilings.
History of The Elms
The Elms was once a Reformed School which existed in the house, opened in July 1913 and closed in the 1930s. It was specifically for the children of unmarried parents in the days when it was not ‘socially accepted’ to have these children in the church schools.
The Elms Cottage behind and it's garden that you can see from Cedar was formerly part of The Elms until it was split and converted to become a separate dwelling.
Also part of the estate included The Elms Barn this would have once housed the families livestock. It became unused and the building deteriorated. The barn was sold and In 2023 it was finally converted and restored into a lovely family home.
When all three properties were split The Elms was fortunate to retain it's lovely orchard area.
Shillingford
The Devon & Somerset Railway ran behind the village until its closure in 1966. Today much of the track-bed, along with bridges and other railway infrastructure can be seen behind the village. Historically, the village had a Post Office, garage, chapel, saw-mill, watermill and pub. Today all of these have been sold off as private homes.
With the Devon countryside right on our doorstep you can follow the many footpaths and enjoy some lovely local walks. Maybe even capture some of its history?