Originally built for a local mill owner in 1816, its current incarnation is large but manageable, presenting grand public rooms and six bedrooms over two floors.

It has an additional integral ground-floor apartment, and there is further potential in a detached outbuilding found to the rear of the property.

Michael Wombwell, a Fife-based joiner and builder, bought the house in 2017 with his wife, Jennifer, who says the plot certainly needed someone with Michael’s specialist skills to bring it back to a comfortable standard.

She recalls: “At the time, it had a fire in one room and an immersion heater, but other than that there was no heating. Not to mention a quarter of the roof had collapsed, with rain coming in and the resulting wet rot.”

But fortunately the couple were able to see through the work required. The house is a classic construction of stone and slate with a wonderfully elevated southerly aspect out over the River Eden valley and the former mill below.

Jennifer says: “We fell in love with it immediately – it is a lovely house, the features are beautiful, and the location is nice and quiet.”

What made taking on the mammoth task of renovating Russell Mill House somewhat trickier was the fact that, at the time, the Wombwells had a toddler, Archie, who is now eight, and a newborn, Grace, now six.

Jennifer remembers: “For the first six months I had to move in with my in-laws, while Michael camped on site in a touring caravan we’d originally bought with the idea of lovely holidays.”

After the house was made watertight, new electrics and plumbing were fitted and a biomass boiler installed. The kitchen was reconfigured, knocking through to a maid’s room next door to create a large dining and family area.

Even after moving in, the couple worked for a further two years, making sure to retain and restore its original features – scraping layers of brown paint off the staircase and stripping all the doors.

The cornicing was, thankfully, intact, but Jennifer painstakingly cut and coloured window panels to replace broken ones in the living room’s beautiful bay windows. Bespoke joinery has also been added, including bedroom panelling, but the style throughout has been kept classic.

Because the house is so large, the decision was made to create an apartment down one side of the ground floor. It has a grand drawing room, double bedroom, a shower, and its own kitchen, and has been let successfully as an Airbnb. With its its own entrance, it is private for both family and paying guests.

Once finished inside the house, the couple’s work carried on outside. The garden has been landscaped, with a children’s play area and a formal decking terrace with gazebo making the most of the view.

The outbuilding, which has two large rooms, has been re-roofed, has power and could convert into quirky accommodation. Jennifer says: “Had we been staying, we were thinking of making them into little bothies for holidaymakers, but that will be up to the next owner.”

Likewise, in the house, there are two upper rooms that the couple haven’t got round to finishing, again leaving some choice for next owner, depending on what accommodation is needed. Jennifer says: “Bedrooms five and six could make one huge suite.”

With a move closer to family on the cards, the Wombwells are looking for their next project, but Russell Mill House will make a wonderful family home as it is – with definite scope for further development.

For more information, contact Rettie & Co. on 01334 237 700

Prestige property: Love at first sight for quiet charmer