WHEN Helen Goudie was a young girl, she used to walk through her County Durham village and dream of living in the old rectory. So when the 200-year-old property in Usworth – one of Washington’s oldest villages – came up for sale 11 years ago, she was determined to get her wish. “I’ve lived in the village since I was young and I always used to look at the rectory and think one day that’ll be mine,” said Helen, 40, who runs a hair and beauty business from a stone coach house in the grounds.
Although the property had been an architect’s practice for 15 years, Helen wasn’t daunted by the scale of the work involved to make it habitable. She was the first to view and put in an offer straight away. “We moved in on Millennium Eve,” she said. “We had no furniture but still managed to celebrate the New Year.” But when the party was over, there was much work to do. “Some of the rooms were too big to live in,” she said. “Upstairs was the architect’s office with those big drawing boards. It was one big open-plan room and 70ft long. There were no bathrooms, just the ladies and gents toilets. “We stripped it back to the bare timbers. We had to put in new central heating, new windows and replastered throughout.” Luckily there were many original features, which Helen was careful to retain. “It has huge high ceilings and original working shutters,” she said. “It’s also got the original fires. We’ve gassed some of them up and kept two as coal fires. The one in the hallway looks lovely at Christmas.” Now after much redecorating over the years, the rectory is an elegant family home with four bedrooms and four reception rooms. Three bedrooms have en suites and there is also a family bathroom and downstairs toilet. | 
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