Two step renovation for military home in Lanark

A Lanark conversion has been an exercise in finding luxury and comfort, says Kirsty McLuckie.

The Sergeants’ Mess is a spacious family home three miles from Lanark, between Edinburgh and Glasgow.Its architecture is unusual for the area. The red brick with a tiled roof is definite in the military style but with nods to the era in which it was built.

It was designed as part of Winston Barracks and dates from around 1941.The barracks were built during the Second World War for the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), and owned by the Ministry of Defence until the 1990s.Twenty years later the site was bought by a development company, Kier Residential, who turned the main barracks into townhouses and apartments, while the Sergeants’ Mess was sold separately.

Max Hogg and his wife, Sharon, purchased the property two years ago.Max says: “It was a local Lanark builder who bought it in 2010 and he spent a couple of years renovating it as I believe it had been derelict. He lived in it until we bought it in 2016 and we took the framework and completed it.

Sergeants' Mess, Lanark. Picture: Strutt and Parker

Max has worked in the shipping, oil and construction industries and his career has meant living in Singapore, Korea, Norway, Spain and Vietnam, but this house was planned as a final move.He says: “We definitely came here to settle and were looking for a good sized house. One of the attractions was having somewhere permanent where we could bring everything we had collected through the years.”

Most of the renovation work had been completed but while the house was structurally sound, it wasn’t much more than a shell. “It gave us the scope to finish how we wanted to. It wasn’t a full renovation but nor was it buying something with someone else’s taste.”

The orangery was completed in the second phase of renovation. Picture: Strutt and Parker

The work included upgrading bathrooms to a high standard and completing the orangery which runs down one side of the house.He says: “The orangery, when we moved in, had a greenhouse roof. Now it is a fantastic entertainment space for people to pile into with a TV for watching the football.”

The house has parquet flooring throughout the ground floor.This central space has a wood-burning stove which serves both the hall and the open plan sitting room and kitchen which has fitted units, an island, a large range cooker and space for a huge fridge freezer.It has double doors leading into the drawing room which has its own inset open fireplace and French doors to the garden, and an adjacent formal dining room.

The kitchen of Sergeants' Mess, Lanark. Picture: Strutt and Parker

There are five bedrooms; a bedroom suite on the ground floor and four bedrooms on the first, all with chic ensuite bathrooms with underfloor heating.The ground floor suite has its own sitting room with a wood-burning stove too.

Sergeants' Mess, Lanark. Picture: Strutt and Parker

Set behind electric gates the house has a private drive and a large garage with a separate annexe with kitchen, toilet and a room above.The garden at the front of the house is overlooked by a monkey puzzle tree while at the back there is a large lawn, a deck and a traditional greenhouse.

Max says that the couple have transformed the outside space. “It was somewhat barren, just laid to lawn and Sharon in particular has brought her own design aesthetic to it. She is from Singapore so there is definitely an Asian influence with the trellis work and the fencing, I’d say it is subtly oriental.”

The garden has been landscaped. Picture: Strutt and Parker

The same could be said of the impressive interior, which has been kept largely neutral, but with a very luxurious finish.

Dining room at Sergeants' Mess, Lanark. Picture: Strutt and Parker

Max says that while they planned to stay longer, a change in circumstances has led them to move. “We came here first for the schooling, but now our daughter has moved back to Singapore and we just feel that it is too big a house if we aren’t having regular family visits.”The couple say that they will miss the location as much as the house. “It is very central with a great community. You can be in the Borders in ten minutes and Edinburgh and Glasgow within30 minutes, so it is a great hub.”In terms of upgrading the house they have enjoyed it and are rightfully proud of the result.Max says: “It is impressive and we are quite chuffed with ourselves.”

The Sergeants' Mess, Lanark is for sale at offers over £675,000, contact Strutt and Parker on 0131 718 4595.