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Despite 30 years in the tech industry, Jacqueline de Rojas, CBE doesn’t have as many gadgets and gizmos at her home as you would imagine. The president of Tech UK and co-chair of the
Institute of Coding, de Rojas and her husband, Roger, have lived at Maryfield House in Buckinghamshire for the past 17 years. She describes the late 19th-century house as “one in a million.
We have loved bringing up our children, six dogs and a little grandson here.” In addition to fibre broadband, “we have Apple tech, I have a Fitbit, but it’s not a ‘wireless everywhere’
home”, she says. “I believe strongly in human interaction — which is why we’ve got an arts studio, a sewing bee, gym and a music room with a piano, guitars and saxophone. It’s important to
interact with other parts of life besides gaming and Peppa Pig!” Leading off the kitchen is a laundry room, and sizeable service and prep room On completion day in 2003 they were greeted by
a crowd of 60 Taplow residents bearing trays of champagne — the keys were handed over on the condition that Jacqueline and Roger would continue to host the village’s annual festive bash.
They have kept up the tradition, hosting parties for more than 100 guests every Christmas. The sprawling 9,600 sq ft property is a dream for catering at scale: leading from the double-height
kitchen is a laundry room and a hefty service and prep room with two large pantries. “The kitchen is built with great big theatre lights,” de Rojas says. “That’s where my lovely husband
performs most of his cheffing activities. But I fear we’ll be doing the Christmas party on Zoom this year. We would certainly encourage [any new owner] to embrace the tradition.” The 9,600
sq ft property has plenty of space for catering and hosting The gated eight-bedroom property is decked out in Designers’ Guild fabrics and furniture, and is surrounded by one and a half
acres, which take in an avenue of lime trees, a brick summerhouse, an Ibiza-inspired pavilion and a vaulted, cathedral-like orangery with heaters, for year-round almost-alfresco dinners.
Advertisement Before the pandemic, the close-knit community would host a Burns Night in the village hall, a carol service, and an ox roast on the village green in the summer — “very
_Midsomer Murders_”, De Rojas says with a laugh. Terry Wogan was a Taplow resident for 40 years — he organised celebrity-studded charity cricket matches with Michael Parkinson, Tony
Blackburn and the like in attendance. Not quite the social scene that was in flow when in 1940 Maryfield briefly became the headquarters of the Dutch General Staff in exile during the Second
World War. It was sold by Lady Beatrice, the eldest daughter of the Marquess of Ormonde and a friend of the near-neighbours Lord and Lady Astor, in 1954 for the princely sum of £3,999 to
Leonard Miall, a BBC broadcaster noted for his contribution to intelligence services during the war. At that time it had four bathrooms, an extravagant luxury by postwar British standards.
“When we arrived, the community was all over 70,” de Rojas recalls. “Now it has been overtaken by younger families. It feels private but social all at the same time. Taplow is full of heart
and soul and lovely people. We go on holidays to Mykonos as a village and go skiing together.” De Rojas plans to remain in the neighbourhood. “We also own the house and two acres of land
next door, so we are downsizing, but not necessarily moving far, unless the buyer wants an even bigger part of the village,” she says. The property is decked out in Designers’ Guild fabrics
and furniture On a clear day the views stretch as far as Windsor Castle. Taplow station is less than a mile away, for 33-minute trains to London Paddington, the M4 is within easy reach, and
Heathrow airport is 12 miles east. Once the Elizabeth Line opens, the journey into Bond Street Tube station will take 34 minutes. Maryfield House is on sale for £5.5 million with Hamptons.
Advertisement Five-bedroom Salisbury View on Dalkeith Road in Edinburgh CHRIS SUTHERLAND SCOTLAND: A RESTORED EDINBURGH GEM IS NOW KNOWN AS ‘THE BIG PARTY HOUSE’ Benjamin Bell of Hunthill
was a pioneer. Not content with being Scotland’s first scientific surgeon, he was also responsible in 1803 for the establishment of Edinburgh’s earliest large-scale residential development
in the south of the city: the Blacket Conservation Area. Formerly known as the lands of Newington, this rural part of the capital — about a mile from the city centre — comprised open
countryside and a handful of small farms at the time of Bell’s acquisition. It was his intention to create homes “like one for a country gentleman, but more modest and closer to the life of
the town”. By the 1830s the plot was home to an enclave of semi-detached and individual residencies, including Arthur Lodge, an A listed Greek revival villa thought to have been designed by
Thomas Hamilton. The principal bedroom has a wallpaper mural depicting the Palace of Versailles CHRIS SUTHERLAND Next door to this property on Dalkeith Road is another impressive
19th-century home: Salisbury View, so named because Arthur’s Seat and the sweep of the Salisbury Crags can be seen from the front windows. It is now for sale through Strutt & Parker for
offers over £1.395 million, giving buyers an opportunity to live in a prestigious postcode that counts Hans Gál and Ian Rankin among its former residents. When the owners Alex and Robert
Pelling bought C listed Salisbury View in 1999, it was a chintzy ten-bedroom hotel — with floral carpets and curtains — aching to be restored to its former glory as a family home.
Advertisement The property was converted back into a family home from a ten-bedroom hotel CHRIS SUTHERLAND The couple’s immaculate taste rendered those twee interiors a distant memory, but
the renovations weren’t purely cosmetic. Ten bedrooms became five, the hotel car park was transformed into a garden, and a garage was built. Central to the home’s new look — and feel — was
an extension on the ground floor housing a Kitchens International kitchen, dining and living area designed by the local architect James Robertson that boosted the total living space to 4,699
sq ft. “We always felt the house needed a proper heart-of-home kitchen,” Alex says. “James realised our vision to open up the back of the house into a big, sociable area.” White fixtures
and marble flooring give the kitchen and dining area a modern feel CHRIS SUTHERLAND Glossy white fixtures and marble flooring give this communal hub a fresh, modern feel. Light floods in
from a pitched skylight and sliding doors, which lead out to a rose-filled private garden with patio areas and a fire pit. This outdoor space can also be accessed via the jolly,
indigo-walled family room, where a custom-made bar takes pride of place — it’s little wonder friends and family refer to Salisbury View as “the big party house”. The drawing room and study
are also found on the ground floor, as well as a utility room that once served as the hotel’s galley kitchen. Upstairs on the first floor are five bedrooms (three with an en suite) and
stairs leading to an attic. The principal bedroom has a playfully designed en suite CHRIS SUTHERLAND Alex was inspired by interiors magazines and nearby Prestonfield House when decorating.
Some rooms are dressed in muted hues, while others bear a more dramatic palette. Intricate cornicing, wood panelling and reclaimed marble fireplaces nod to the history of the home with
understated elegance. Advertisement There are playful touches too. Special mention must go to the principal bedroom, which has a wallpaper mural depicting the Palace of Versailles and a
large Jack-and-Jill en suite with a jazzy chequered floor. With Holyrood Park a short distance away and the city centre within easy reach, it’s very much the countryfied city dwelling
Benjamin Bell envisaged. struttandparker.com