A sense of calm descends as you wind through the serene acres of land that surround the majestic Georgian house belonging to the West End star Ben Forster and his partner, the property developer Paul Longman.
Nestled in the foothills of the North Pennines, between the mountains and lakes of the Lake District National Park and the wonders of the Scottish Borders, the breathtaking Country House sat empty for 12 years before Ben and Paul set about transforming it into the riot of colour and fun it is today.
The six-bedroom property, which is available to rent and has hosted celebrity guests including Cheryl Tweedy, Melanie Chisholm and Emma Bunton, has always had a fairytale quality for Ben, who grew up in a neighbouring village and used to sit on his father’s shoulders, peering into his future home.
“I was obsessed with the house from ten years old,” Ben, 44, tells hello!. “I used to think: ‘Who could live in a house like that?’ I couldn’t believe there was a beautiful, big, majestic, handsome house in the middle of where we all lived.”
Ben moved to London to fulfil his dream of singing and performing on the West End stage. He attended the prestigious Italia Conti Academy and went on to win Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ITV show Superstar, before starring in the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar and Phantom of the Opera.
But his heart remained in the Pennines, and when the Country House came up for sale in 2021, Ben and Paul asked one another: “How can we make this work?”
They jumped headfirst into a renovation project that would take two years to complete and which changed their lives. The couple don’t live in the house itself, having instead renovated a cottage in the grounds that is now their home.
“We never planned to move to Cumbria,” Ben says, explaining that their original idea was to overhaul the house and then rent it out while they remained in London.
“But when we were there for the renovation, we found ourselves completely at peace and loving our lives, and disappointed when we had to leave. We love walking, we love going to the pub and we love our community. Being part of a community is such a different feeling – it’s something I never realised I was missing.”
It’s a feeling that Paul, who grew up in London, shares. “It’s really hard when we have to leave Cumbria – we’re itching to get back,” he says. “We love London and dipping our toe into the city, but when we’re there, we can’t wait to get back up. There’s a charming warmth about it up here that I really didn’t expect.”
Despite having fallen head over heels for their sprawling home, Ben and Paul are happy to admit that the project – as charted on the Channel 4 programme Renovation Nation and on their much-loved Instagram account @thecountryhousediaries – was larger than either of them had anticipated.
“With hindsight, I don’t know what we were thinking,” Ben laughs. “If we’d known what we know now, we probably would never have taken it on. If we’d known what was coming, we would have run a mile!”
Although Ben and Paul are seasoned developers – they have overhauled 15 other properties since meeting 20 years ago in a London bar – the Country House was on another scale.
Taking in details such as the house’s imposing original fireplaces, meticulously carved cornices, decadent rolltop baths and eclectic interiors, it’s hard to believe that when the property came into the couple’s ownership, it was in serious need of TLC.
“It was quite bad,” Paul says. “It had been loved and cared for by the family before, who had lived there for 50 years, but it had been empty for over a decade. The biggest problem was the amount of water that had come into the building, causing massive rot issues.
“Dry rot is a horrible fungus that grows over wood like an animal,” he continues. “To rid the house of it, we had to smash off beautiful original cornicing and all the lovely features that we loved. At first, we thought it would be fine structurally and it wasn’t, so it ended up being a much bigger development than we expected.
“That was a big hit on the budget. Even this morning, I was looking around the house and realising that every part of the building had to be touched in some way. There’s not one corner of the place that hasn’t had some treatment.”
Once the renovations were done, it was time for the fun part: decorating the house and turning it into the cacophony of colour it is today.
“Our style is quite eclectic,” Paul says. “We’ve been collecting pieces for years – we’ve got storage places full of it – so it was just about picking out the bits that we felt would work.”
The vastness of the rooms was the main issue they came up against. Paul says: “The scale of the house meant that you’d put a piece of furniture in a room and it looked pathetic in the massive space. But we wanted it to be eclectic and busy.
“We like the clashing and blending of different periods, which makes it quite timeless,” he adds. “It’s a busy house and it takes people a while to take everything in, because there’s a lot going on.”
The list of people who have made themselves at home in the Country House ranges from homegrown talent to international stars.
Girls Aloud stayed during the northern leg of their 2024 tour, while the comedian Leigh Francis, better known as the character Keith Lemon, celebrated his birthday there. The A-listers cannot be named because Ben and Paul signed NDAs to protect their identities.
“We’ll be sitting in the village pub and a fleet of Mercedes will drive past on their way to the house, and we have to pretend we don’t know who’s staying,” Ben says.
“We have Grammy Award-winning megastar musicians staying, and it blows our mind that they must have their own beautiful homes but choose to stay in ours. People love it – it’s got a magical feeling when you get there, and most guests return, which is amazing.”
One repeat visitor is Cheryl Tweedy, who stayed in August 2024 with her son Bear and documented the experience on Instagram, calling the property “perfect”.
Ben says: “Cheryl came to stay with Girls Aloud, then asked if she could come back in the summer and bring Bear and her family. She had a lovely time, and she’s a lovely person.
“I think she enjoyed relaxing and chilling. The atmosphere is something we don’t take for granted, and the privacy appeals for a lot of reasons.”
With wreath-making classes in the diary for December, plus renovations on the north wing of the house, it’s all systems go for the couple. Ben’s new album is out this month, too.
When the house is empty of A-listers and guests, Paul and Ben make sure to enjoy it themselves. “The other day, we realised we’d never even been in the outdoor Jacuzzi, so we spent an evening in there with a bottle of gin, topping up the hot water until 1.30 in the morning, soaking up all that we’ve done here,” Ben says.
“We’ve worked so hard that we have to make time to enjoy it. This building has changed our lives, not just where we’re located, and it gives us so much back. Everything is worth it.”
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