With spectacular views across northeast Fife from its hilltop vantage point Todhall House enjoys a fantastic location.
Located up a private lane it forms part of a small cluster of farm houses and cottages. It’s private and secluded yet Cupar is just a five minute drive away and St Andrews is eight miles distant. Indeed, the glittering sweep of West Sands can be seen from the upstairs windows.
Will and Anita Crocker bought Todhall House in 2010 and spent more than a year renovating and upgrading before moving there in 2011.
The house itself dates from the 1700s and was extended in the 1850s when the grand double bay frontage was added.
A glazed porch has a tiled floor and seating for removing boots and shoes. It opens into a handsome entrance hall with original flagstone floor.
“When we bought the house the flagstones were covered up,” Anita explains. “We love them so wanted to make them a feature of the home again.”
Beautiful public rooms
Two magnificent public rooms occupy the front of the house. The first is a drawing room that has a curved wall, fireplace and integrated speakers.
The living room also has a curved wall and a cast iron fireplace. There is a wall mounted television and comfortable L-shape sofa. Both drawing and sitting rooms have double aspect windows that in plenty of light throughout the day.
A dining room has a window overlooking the rear of the house. There is a round dinner table that has hosted its fair share of parties, and a built in shelved cupboard.
Opposite the dining room is a lovely little snug with gas stove and two windows overlooking the walled garden to the side of the house. A comfy sofa and a pair of window seats make it a great spot to sit and read.
The beautiful hand painted kitchen is by Murray & Murray. It has a walnut central island unit and a huge four-oven Aga. Above the Aga is a lovely hand painted tiled mural by Tiles of Stow.
A butler’s pantry offers lots of extra storage and there is a separate breakfast room that opens into the garden.
An L-shaped conservatory folds around the northwest corner of the house and has a sitting area looking over the garden.
Fantastic main bedroom
The first floor is reached by an original stone staircase that curves its way upwards to a landing with roof light above.
The principal bedroom faces to the front and has breath-taking views from a its winows. “One of the things I will miss most is this bedroom,” Anita says. “I love waking up and being able to look out over to the sea.”
An en suite bathroom has a freestanding bath, double shower, Murray & Murray hand painted units and underfloor heating.
A second bedroom has been turned into a home gym. Two further double bedrooms have an en suite WC and en suite shower room respectively, and there is a beautiful family bathroom.
A fifth bedroom has a connecting door to a dressing room that is of equal size. Both of these rooms are currently used as craft and storage rooms but they would be perfect as a pair of home offices.
Todhall House also has a basement accessed from the garden that provides useful extra storage space.
Wonderful gardens
The gardens at Todhall House extend to around 1.6 acres and are immaculately looked after. The outstanding walled garden faces southwest and has a raised terrace running along two sides.
“At one point there was a swimming pool here, which must have dated back to a time when the house was run as a bed and breakfast, but it was filled in quite a long time ago,” Will explains.
The walled garden is a wonderful enclosed space that’s perfect for the couple’s two Australian labradoodble puppies, Bertie and Baxter. These two lovable characters prance and leap around while Will shows me the gardens.
A double garage was built in 1995 and is stone fronted with handsome arched timber doors. “The house is B listed and so the garage had to be built in a style that complimented it,” Will explains.
An area of lawn to the front is sheltered by the garage. “Anita and I are big fans of Scotland’s Home of the Year on the BBC,” Will says. “If we were on the show this bench is where I would put the red heart to mark my favourite spot.
“You get the sunshine all day. At this time of the year you have the lambs playing in the field next door. There’s plenty of lawn to throw a ball for the dogs. It’s sheltered and you have views across to West Sands Beach and St Andrews. I love having coffee here in the morning or a glass of wine in the evening.”
Moving on
Behind the garage is a kitchen garden that has a greenhouse and lots of fruit and veg growing. A gravel driveway sweeps up to a parking area outside the house that is surrounded by extensive sections of lawn.
Todhall House is set in front of a working farm and cottages on a hillside between Cupar and St Andrews. There’s a real sense of community to the small cluster of homes. Anita and Will know all of the residents of the tiny hamlet. “We used to spend our winters in South Africa,” Will explains. “We always knew the farmer would look after our house and make sure it was safe while we were away.”
Will and Anita are selling Todhall House and moving to Devon. “We’re renovating an old workshop down there,” Anita says. “We have one eye on our needs when we’re old, so we want something that’s on one level and easy to look after.
“We used to spend six months of the year in South Africa and it’s only since covid that we’ve had to endure Scottish winters. We’re looking forward to being somewhere like Devon that’s just that little bit warmer.”
Todhall House, near Cupar, is on sale with Savills for offers over £1.2 million.
