BOYHOOD DREAM.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20917, 6 January 1930, Page 10

BOYHOOD DREAM.

LAVISHLY REALISED. HOUSE THAT COST £IOO,OOO. Samuel Wallrock, a London estate agent, who says he hates the word luxury, has built himself a Tudor manor bouse, at a cost of £IOO,OOO, in order to realise his boyhood dream of a perfect home. He wanted to possess “the loveliest home in England”; and, after he had sold a block of London flats for £500,000, he felt he could afford it. To-day he is the owner of the ManorHouse, Stanmore, Middlesex, which with its Tudor dining room, its Empire drawing room, its old oak beams brought from villages nil over England, and its pink onyx bathroom, has already cost well over £IOO,OOO. Samuel Wallrock was 12 years old when he first went to London as. an office boy at 5s a week, but he had opened his own estate office at the age of 16. And he went on dreaming of the perfect house he was to own one day. A representative of the Sunday Express visited Stanmore, and this is how he describes his experiences and impressions; When I asked Mr Wallrock if he would show me over his house, he said: “It would take a month to see everything, but I have an hour to spare, so let us see what I can do.” ’ He showed me first the gate house, designed by a friend, who said that it was an ideal spot for such a building, “ M.v original intention was to build an £BOO bouse there,” said Mr Wallrock, ‘but my friend said, ‘You must have a Tudor gate house,’ and I had one. “1 had to buy up old oak beams all over the country, and when it was completed another friend said that the main building—an unpretentious Victorian house which I had bought with the land —should be Tudor, too. MOSS-GROWN TILES. “ I searched the country for red, mosscovered tiles for the roof, and at last I collected 50,000 of them. Each one was packed as carefully as an antique with the 100-year-old moss still on it. I have even had them laid with a sag in them, to make them look older. “ And here they are now,” and Mr Wallrock pointed to the roof, “and the moss is there, too. You can’t grow moss like that in less than 100 years.” Mr Wallrock led me through the Tudor oak front door to the hall lounge. Just on the left is an old oak cupboard, which conceals a loud speaker. “ You wouldn’t have thought there was a loud speaker there? ” asked Mr Wallrock. I shook my head. “As a matter of fact.” he said, “there is a loud speaker concealed in every room in the house, including the bathroom." We entered the Tudor dining room. Its walls arc covered with panelling from the_ late Lord Leverhulme’s estate, its chairs are exact replicas of the velvet chairs in Winchester Cathedral, and the painted ceiling includes the Wallrock rebus, a wall and a rock, designed by the artist. , On the floor is a real Persian carpet, exactly the right size, exactly the right shade. “It took me years to find that carnet,” said Mr Wallrock. We crossed the lounge- again and discovered a copy of Magna Charta hanging on the wall. ." The only other copy in the world besides the one in the British Museum,” said Mr Wallrock. Then we entered the Empire drawing room, with panels brought from Paris, and priceless pieces of Empire furniture arranged around the walls. Mr Wallrock is one of the greatest horticulturists in Britain, and some of his lovely chrysanthemums filled a corner of the room. We climbed the carved oak staircase which Air Wallrock explained had been copied by woodcarvers imported from all over the country, from some old designs he discovered in a Worcestershire village. GLASS 400 YEARS OLD. The windows on the first landing are of leaded glass 400 years old, and in each-window there is let in a panel, showing the arms of Mr Wallrock s regiment, the arms of Mr Wallrock’s son's school, the arms of the County of Middlesex, and the arms of tho Incorporated Society of Auctioneers, of which he is a past president. f, ben , , we came to the bathroom. Air Wallrock s bathroom is probably the most delightful in the world. Its walls are made of pink onyx, which floods the room with a warm rose glow. “It was the only consignment of pink onyx which has come from German East Afripa,” said Mr Wallrock; “so I bought the lot.” . The door is Tudor outside and French inside. Mr Wallrock explained that as Tudor oak does not match pink onyx, and as a I* rench door does not match Tudor oak, he was obliged to make two doors and have them welded together. .mentioned the word “luxury,” but Mr Wallrock interrupted me with: “ Don’t mention that word. I hate it. This is a comfortable bathroom, of course, and it is nice to listen to the wireless,- but please don t mention luxury.” . We inspected the day nursery, painted in sunshine yellow, and filled with wonderful toys, tho night nursery with its painted ceilings, showing the stars and the moon, the nursery bathroom, the servants bathroom, and the up-to-date kitchen, which is the envy of one of the best chefs in London. Mr Wallrock has 22 gardens, and employs 120 workmen and gardeners. Each garden can be illuminated at n ‘Bht by searchlights. At each corner of the grounds are iron gates superbly wrought by a London blacksmith. The drought, which has caused some ?lnnnn Y ither - ha « cost him £IO,OOO. The shrubs and plants in one bed alone are worth £15,000. It’s a jolly good job.” said Mr Wallrock, that there are no horticultural burglars in England! ” ’ OLD AND NEW. Close to the side of Mr Wallrock’s tour tennis courts is the guest house, a thatched cottage which looks as if it bad been there for centuries. It was only finished a month or two ago, though the oak beams are old enough, he explained. The guest house is a complete little house by itself with, a sitting-room, bathroJjnh and bedroom complete. The bedroom is an exact copy of a ludor bedroom, except that the sheets on the beds are spotless. % J U7n°n glit i 1 b s d „ s ?? n ever y thing until tM ,allrock said: Here, come this way 111 show you something that i s unique in the world. H

He showed it to me. It is certainly was unique. It is a Tudor garage.