A bit about us


THE HOUSE

Church House is a beautiful Georgian town house with large grounds in the old part of Kington, a quiet old market town in the lovely rolling hills of west Herefordshire, just 2 miles from the Welsh border. The house faces south-east, and all the rooms have fine views over Kington to the hills beyond. It is largely furnished with furniture in keeping with the house's 18th century character. If you would like to stay at a decent bed and breakfast in west Herefordshire, try Church House, Kington.

Breakfast is taken in our splendid dining room with its full-length sash window that gives onto the lawn. We are particularly proud of our home-made jams and marmalade - you'll get none of those nasty sachets of commercial preserves in this place! Outside, the lawn leads to a ha-ha, which is supposed to stop sheep grazing in our field from getting on to the lawn. (It doesn't always work!). Our guests are always welcome to use any part of the garden, and they can often be seen sitting for hours on a bench with a tray of tea and a good book, or snoozing in the sunshine on a rug.

THE HOSTS

Your hosts at Church House are Lis and Andrew Darwin. We have lived here for 14 years and have been surprised at how much we've enjoyed doing bed and breakfast. We try to treat our paying guests as we might treat distant cousins paying a rare but welcome visit. So there are no bossy notices about the place, and no name plates on the doors. The beds are always made up with laundered pure cotton sheets. You will not find a kettle in your room, nor sachets of instant coffee or tea. You should be offered tea or coffee when you arrive - and if you want more, just ask. This is our home, not a guest house, and we intend to keep it that way!

Lis is a professional classical singer, whose work often takes her abroad, leaving her long-suffering husband to hold the fort. Luckily he knows his place, and doesn't grumble. This is what your hosts feel you should know about us:

 

He says: "I am an independent wine merchant, with my office at home. I supply local wine drinkers with interesting wines by the case. My wife has a wonderful voice, and she often goes off to do concerts in exotic foreign places. But I have the distinct impression that the Monteverdi Choir (of which she is a long-standing member) is really just a sort of holiday club for singers who wish to escape their spouses and have a really good time at someone else's expense.

A typical day's work for my wife is waking up in some top-class hotel, wandering down for breakfast at around 10.30am, drifting off with friends for a three-hour lunch on the beach, coming back for a rest and a bath, being taken to a concert hall somewhere downtown, standing up and singing for about half an hour at most, then going out for a slap-up dinner followed by an extended late-night drinking session and eventually a tactical retreat to her bed. Next day she has to go through the whole exhausting cycle again.

Meanwhile, back at Church House, I am looking after our children, running my wine business, welcoming our guests, making their beds or their breakfast and trying desperately to look cool and competent. Try not to notice the cracks."

 

She says: "The above is a gross misrepresentation. When I'm away on tour, I'm almost always down for breakfast by 10.15, not 10.30. And sometimes I have to be on stage not for a mere half hour, but nearer 40 minutes. And yes, it is pretty exhausting, since you ask. Phew!

I just come back to Kington now and again for a rest. Sorry, did you want something? Ask that man in the kitchen. He'll get it for you - or else!"