Inside £4.25m home with its own Titanic love story, dubbed an 'architectural masterpiece'

As the Titanic plunged down in to the icy depths of the North Atlantic Ocean, a violinist bravely led the ship's band on their final poignant performance.

The violinist was Wallace Hartley, and his fiancee, Maria Robinson, lived with her family in this stunning property - Fairseat House, in Wetherby.

The rosewood violin played by Wallace, and later recovered from the ocean, had been a gift to him from Maria, to mark their engagement in 1910.

Wallace, who lived with his family in Dewsbury and other parts of Yorkshire, played with the Huddersfield Philharmonic Orchestra. His ill-fated choice to join the Titanic crew was made when he was offered a place on the transatlantic liner by an agency.

​Fairseat was the place where the engaged couple spent their last hours together, and the last time they saw each other alive.

Originally known as St Ives, the three-storey house is over 200 years old and was once one of Boston Spa’s grandest residences.

Split into four apartments in the 1970s, it was not in great shape when Dan and Sharon Walton of Red tree Developments bought it and proceeded to restore it to its rightful grandeur over two years.

The six reception room, six-bedroom, seven-bathroom, luxurious home with a feature sweeping staircase and state-of-the-art kitchen, now includes a cinema and games rooms, a gym, and a sauna.

A south-west facing terrace is ideal for al fresco dining in the summer and for entertaining.

Dan Walton said: "The tale about Maria and the Titanic was told to us when we bought the house, and the deeds show that she did live here with her family. Her father, who owned the house, was in the textiles business.

"We knew it would take a while to bring the house back to its former glory....you peel back one layer and find a newspaper from the 1940s, then another layer and a 1910 newspaper, it was like going back through the ages. It's a lovely home now and ready to move in to."

The established grounds entered through electric gates include lawns and mature trees, with a long drive wending its way to the house.

Fairseat, Boston Spa, Wetherby, LS23 6AJ, is for sale at £4,250,000, with Croft Residential, York, tel. 01904 238222.

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