HISTORY TRAIL AT STONE COURT HOUSE

WHITE PANELLED GEORGIAN RECEPTION ROOM — Where Stories Begin

Today this room welcomes guests with warmth, but historically it was a functional space where clerks prepared documents, greeted visitors, and managed the daily rhythm of courthouse life.

 

 

History & Story

The White Panelled Georgian Reception Room - The Administrative Heart of the House

The early oak panelled Georgian reception room was once the administrative heart of Stone Court House. Clerks would sit at heavy oak desks, sorting papers, stamping documents, and organising the flow of cases. It was a hive of quiet activity — the unseen machinery that kept the judicial process moving.

During renovation, the room revealed layers of history: original mouldings, hidden alcoves, and traces of early paintwork. The soft Georgian proportions remain, offering a glimpse into how the room would have felt during its working years.

This side of the house had suffered major water-ingress damage. Today, the space has been restored as a warm welcome area for guests, blending heritage with hospitality. The paintings, furniture, and ornaments were all sourced by Belinda, who sent Saban hundreds of miles across the country in search of the right pieces. Combined with their private collection, these objects create a welcoming dining and seating area with a strong personal character.

Personal Restoration Note

This room became one of the places where Belinda's instinct for atmosphere truly shaped the house. At first, it was hard to see beyond the water-ingress damage and the tired hotel finishes, but Belinda imagined a room where guests could sit, dine, talk, and feel welcomed rather than simply observe history from a distance. Many of the pieces here were found only after long searches, with Saban travelling hundreds of miles to collect furniture, mirrors, paintings, and ornaments that Belinda felt would belong here. Restoring the room was not only about repair; it was about bringing back warmth, confidence, and a sense of hospitality after years of neglect.


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THE RESTORATION

Before & After - The Reception Room Restored

This side of the house had suffered major water-ingress damage. The original mouldings and Georgian proportions were repaired rather than replaced, before the room was furnished piece by piece.

 

Before White Panelled Georgian Reception Room at Stone Court House before restoration
After White Panelled Georgian Reception Room at Stone Court House after restoration

Years of water-ingress damage stripped back, and the room as it welcomes guests today.

Before Georgian panelling and mouldings at Stone Court House before restoration
After Georgian panelling and mouldings at Stone Court House after restoration

Original mouldings and panelling repaired, then furnished with pieces Belinda sourced from across the country.

Historical Significance
Once the administrative heart of the courthouse, where clerks prepared documents and kept the daily rhythm of judicial life moving quietly behind the scenes.

 

Did You Know?

 Clerks often worked by candlelight during winter months.

 The tall mirror in the corner is an 18th-century French Trumeau mirror, with a beautiful oil painting above. Belinda sent Saban to Carlisle to collect it from a castle near the Scottish border. After surviving for around 300 years, Saban was especially careful on the journey home, joking that breaking it would have brought far too many years of bad luck.

 This room once stored court ledgers dating back to the 1800s.

 The large yellow Mark Wigan painting is part of the Demirbasa family's private collection. Saban knew the artist during the early 1990s rave scene in London. The painting took six weeks to complete and begins with the birth of a baby at the centre, with life spinning around it before reaching the computer crash in the bottom right-hand corner, a dramatic image of humanity disrupted by the rise of artificial intelligence.