Donkey serenade

“I’ve always loved them,” he says. “One of my first memories is riding them at the seaside and then there’s their association with Christmas. I always thought: ‘one day I’ll get some land and rescue donkeys’.”

He achieved his ambition and likes nothing better than sitting in his deckchair in the field with Monty, Merlin, Maisie, Peanuts and Thistle. The menagerie includes Indian runner ducks Kate and Will, Richard and Judy the sheep, a range of hens, five geese, two pygmy goats and four dogs who peep in through the fence.

It’s a dream come true and, from his seat in the meadow he can gaze on the results of a two-year project to turn an old farmhouse into a beautiful period home complete with an equally stunning holiday let and feel he’s really earned the right to a bit of relaxation.

The renovation and extension of the property that he and partner Adrian Plant bought in 2007 has all the ingredients for a great episode of Grand Designs. It features high drama, long delays, rows with workmen, wrangles with the National Park and it went a whopping 200 per cent over budget.

There is no doubt that Duncan would have been the star of the show. He’s utterly charming and lots of fun, but he is also a perfectionist and, despite having to make instant decisions for his work in the judiciary, at home he is a great procrastinator.

It took six months to decide on a kitchen and the one day he set aside for choosing soft furnishings stretched into every Saturday for six weeks. He readily admits he sometimes drove contractors mad with changes to the original remit, though they soon forgave him.

Many are now good friends and bless the day that life-enhancing Duncan and Adrian bought the farmstead in Levisham, near Pickering.

The property was in need of work but they moved in immediately, determined not to rush into anything before they had planned exactly what they wanted to do with the space.

It wasn’t a great start. “It was January and freezing and that first night I thought I’d run a bath,” says Duncan. “It leaked and the kitchen ceiling came down. The boiler drank copious amounts of oil and gave out very little heat, the electrics were condemned and we needed a new roof.”

It took a year to get planning permission from the National Park Authority to turn the old garage into a snug, create a bigger kitchen plus a utility room and cloakroom, install new windows and build an extension for a new sitting room and bedroom.

“It wasn’t easy. We also had a few false starts with builders until we managed to find a team of people who were brilliant,” says Duncan, who project managed.

“At times it was very frustrating. We had to have permission to change the plastic windows on the house to wooden ones, but we spent ages to-ing and fro-ing about having the same windows for the extension. In the end I just said: ‘Right that’s it. The plastic windows are staying.’ Fortunately it was sorted out immediately and we got what we wanted.”

He and Adrian, who is director of new homes at Chesterton Humberts in London, decamped to an old granary that they had converted into a one-bedroom des res. It was yards from the house, but provided a luxurious little hideaway from the dust and dirt.

“The workmen called that the Command Centre, but it was somewhere I could escape to and I needed that,” says Duncan. Interior design was an issue. Adrian wanted minimalist and contemporary, Duncan wanted the décor to reflect the history of the house, which was built in 1710.

Adrian got his contemporary bathrooms and a modern snug. The rest is elegant country style.

Old ceilings were removed to expose beams and the dining room was treated to some oak panelling, while everywhere is painted in Farrow and Ball’s finest.

Furniture is a combination of antiques brought from local salerooms and shops. The soft furnishings are all from Stitches in Malton.

“I’m not an internet shopper at all. I like to see and feel what I am buying and I am a stickler for quality. That’s one of the reasons we overspent,” says Duncan, who used the downstairs loo to display his OBE, awarded for services to the judiciary.

The kitchen took the longest time to design, as the couple are keen cooks and enjoy entertaining. All Round Kitchens of Willerby were patient and the result is country style with an Aga and state-of-the art appliances, including a steam oven.

Outside, Duncan and Adrian designed a veranda with glass canopy and a stunning water feature and garden complete with a handcrafted oak seat that celebrates their civil partnership.

They wanted to have a degree of separation between the house and their animals, so the dogs have a luxurious “kennel” on the ground floor of a converted barn with heating and their own shower. Duncan’s office is on the first floor.

It all represents two years of work and a huge amount of money and there’s more to do. They want to convert a barn into a guest suite for family and friends and they have just decided to rent out the granary as a holiday let.

“It’s a perfect getaway. We made it with the sitting room at the top with windows looking over the donkey field and the countryside beyond. Local rumour has it that Richard Branson used to play here when he was a child, as members of his family used to own this farm,” says Duncan.

He intends to take his time planning his next project. “I don’t regret taking my time because it really has paid off.

“The acid test is when friends ask if we would change anything and I say “no”. It’s exactly what we wanted.”

The one-bedroom Granary is for let. Visit www.granaryatlevisham.co.uk, 01751 460235.