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Jane Seymour's Embattled Home The Court originally belonged to the Benedectine monks of Bath Abbey, and James says: “When I came on the scene, this house was suffering from a thousand years of deferred mainenance. Its core dates back to 900AD.” A comprehensive program of refurbishment- costing a cool £3million-plus- has now been completed. “Every tile was removed from the roof,” explains Jane, “then numbered and replaced by new tiles from the same local quarry. Our options were to pay to have it fixed, apply to the National Trust for a grant, or let it fall in. We chose the first option.” Under-floor heating was installed beneath new yorkstone tiles throughout the ground floor of the house. Every wire, every piece of plumbing was replaced. “For the last three years,” says James,” I’ve been coming over here on an almost monthly basis to check on the progress of the work, includeing making sure that water would be available at least on the top floor. Jane doubted that that would be possible. I said, “Look, if we can get a man on the moon…” Anyway, now we have a brand new house contained within an ancient stone fabric.” The result, says Jane, has been widely applauded. The vicar of the adjacent St. Catherine’s church is reportedly “thrilled” with the restoration. Each Christmas, a carol service is held for the congregation with mince pies and mulled wine afterwards in the manor house. “We also hold charity events on behalf of the police and under-privileged kids,: says James, “as well as fundraising evenings for the Theatre Royal in Bath. We’ve put our life’s fortune into this house and we’ve always tried to share St. Catherine’s Court with the local community.” Spend any time with the couple and it’s quickly clear that they bat as a team. Each is fulsome in praise of the other. “Jane is very much her own person,” says her husband. “She’s stron-willed, loving and instensely loyal; she still has close friends from school.” Equally, Jane can find little fault with James. “All my friends want to clone him,” she laughs. “ He’s smart, practical, talented, attractive and with a wicked sense of humor. He’s also been a phenomenal parent to Katie and Sean.” Understandably, the couple were keen to have children of their own, but Jane was already in her forties when they married. Eventually, they resorted to IVF, two of those treatments sadly ending in miscarriage. Happily, on what was to be her final course of IVF, Jane fell pregnant, giving birth to her precious twins when she was neaerly 45. Their arrival was not without its dramas. They were six weeks premature, and Jane had developed pre-eclampsia. “Everything swelled. I looked like the Michelin tire man,” she says. “I was so large, I couldn’t see my size four feet.” Then the babies developed breathing problems and, for a time, were in and out of hospital and intensive care- not that you’d know it when you look at the two strapping 11-year-olds who race endlessly around the house.

Jane Seymour's Embattled Home

The Court originally belonged to the Benedectine monks of Bath Abbey, and James says: “When I came on the scene, this house was suffering from a thousand years of deferred mainenance. Its core dates back to 900AD.” A comprehensive program of refurbishment- costing a cool £3million-plus- has now been completed. “Every tile was removed from the roof,” explains Jane, “then numbered and replaced by new tiles from the same local quarry. Our options were to pay to have it fixed, apply to the National Trust for a grant, or let it fall in. We chose the first option.” Under-floor heating was installed beneath new yorkstone tiles throughout the ground floor of the house. Every wire, every piece of plumbing was replaced. “For the last three years,” says James,” I’ve been coming over here on an almost monthly basis to check on the progress of the work, includeing making sure that water would be available at least on the top floor. Jane doubted that that would be possible. I said, “Look, if we can get a man on the moon…” Anyway, now we have a brand new house contained within an ancient stone fabric.” The result, says Jane, has been widely applauded. The vicar of the adjacent St. Catherine’s church is reportedly “thrilled” with the restoration. Each Christmas, a carol service is held for the congregation with mince pies and mulled wine afterwards in the manor house. “We also hold charity events on behalf of the police and under-privileged kids,: says James, “as well as fundraising evenings for the Theatre Royal in Bath. We’ve put our life’s fortune into this house and we’ve always tried to share St. Catherine’s Court with the local community.”

Spend any time with the couple and it’s quickly clear that they bat as a team. Each is fulsome in praise of the other. “Jane is very much her own person,” says her husband. “She’s stron-willed, loving and instensely loyal; she still has close friends from school.” Equally, Jane can find little fault with James. “All my friends want to clone him,” she laughs. “ He’s smart, practical, talented, attractive and with a wicked sense of humor. He’s also been a phenomenal parent to Katie and Sean.” Understandably, the couple were keen to have children of their own, but Jane was already in her forties when they married. Eventually, they resorted to IVF, two of those treatments sadly ending in miscarriage. Happily, on what was to be her final course of IVF, Jane fell pregnant, giving birth to her precious twins when she was neaerly 45. Their arrival was not without its dramas. They were six weeks premature, and Jane had developed pre-eclampsia. “Everything swelled. I looked like the Michelin tire man,” she says. “I was so large, I couldn’t see my size four feet.” Then the babies developed breathing problems and, for a time, were in and out of hospital and intensive care- not that you’d know it when you look at the two strapping 11-year-olds who race endlessly around the house.