Retired couple find a heavenly home

Canon and Reverend Mayland are enjoying making the most of their retirement in their brand new three storey home on the outskirts of Hexham after relocating from a Grade II listed property in Barnston.

Due to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in the summer, the retired couple opted for a three bedroom, three storey Thirlmere townhouse at George Wimpey’s Hackwood Glade development when they felt the time had come to lead a more relaxed way of life.

Although the couple were fond of their previous home, they realised that it was becoming more difficult to maintain as the years went by and felt it necessary to move to a new-build home which would be better insulated and easier to run.

Reverend Mayland, who was one of the first women ordained vicars in the UK, said: “We are both extremely happy here because life is so much simpler for us and the fact that the house is a new-build makes it much easier to maintain. We don’t have the problem of our home being constantly dusty anymore which was a big issue in our previous property due to its age.

“The location is also ideal. We wanted to be in Hexham because it is convenient for us in terms of being close to the hospital and local amenities and we are now much closer to one of our daughters and our grandchildren.”

The Reverend and her husband, who was once Canon of York, initially thought about buying a conversion flat in the centre of Hexham but then decided they wanted a bit more space, a manageable sized garden and somewhere outside of Hexham centre. Hackwood Glade development ticked all the right boxes.

After their daughter read about Hackwood Glade in the newspaper they decided to take a trip to view the properties on offer. The Reverend commented: “It was a cold and dreary day but we instantly fell in love with the development and knew that if we liked it even on a day like that, then we knew it was the right place for us.”

She added: “We really like the design of the house because it offers us lots of space over the first two floors; the fact that it has a third bedroom which occupies the whole of the top floor is a bonus for when our daughters and granddaughters come and stay.”

An avid charity worker, the Reverend commented: “We have changed the single bedroom on the first floor into a study and I have filled it with bookshelves and my computer which I use to organise my duties to the charities I help with. In between his frequent travels around the country, my husband spends a lot of time on the ground floor reading the paper and watching the TV.”

The Canon and Reverend’s new home will play a big part in their 50th wedding anniversary as they plan to have an open-house with celebratory champagne and cake before heading to the Beaumont hotel for the evening meal along with family and friends.

The couple can’t speak highly enough of the quality of their new home or the customer service they have received. The Reverend continued: “The sales staff did everything they could to make us feel welcome and at home straightaway and the home has been finished to an incredibly high standard.”

“Hexham is a lovely town where we feel at home. We enjoy going to worship at the Abbey every Sunday and visiting The Queens Hall Theatre and the development is perfectly situated for this.”

The attractive tree-lined outlet in Gallows Bank comprises only 33 new properties including two bedroom apartments, three and four and five bedroom, three-storey townhouses and four bedroom detached homes, with the three bedroom Thirlmere homes starting from just £199,995

For more information about Hackwood Glade call into the sales information centre on Gallows Bank, which is open Thursdays until Mondays from 11am to 5pm. Further details can also be found online at Georgewimpey.co.uk.