Sandridge Tower transformed into B&B by Wiltshire couple

In 2018, Andrea and Duncan Priddle, who lived near Corsham at the time, bought Sandridge Tower in Bromham, a Grade II listed octagonal three-storey stone tower.

The building had originally been used as a hunting lodge at the Sandridge estate after being built in the 1840s.

Over the last four decades, the historic location was in use as a family home, nursing home and B&B, but the doors remained shut from 2015 until November, 2022.

Finally, after extensive renovations, the Priddles were able to open the site to the public again and their new business has since gone from strength to strength.

“It was listed as a B&B, but it hadn’t been open for a long time and needed a new lease of life”, said Mrs Priddle.

Inside Sandridge Tower (Image: Sandridge Tower)“We’ve had two rooms running for ten months now and that’s been quite successful, on most weekends we have people here so it’s running along quite nicely.

“The location has made us successful because it’s so pretty and relaxing, we’ve created a private, calm environment and we’ve had lovely comments about the rooms.”

Sandridge Tower has been open for nearly a year but building the business was not always a luxurious task for the couple.

When they first picked up the keys to the building, they set up camp in the rubble filled ground floor, with no heating or hot water, before moving into portacabins while builders renovated the site.

The works were completed in 2020 but the Coronavirus lockdown put their business plan on hold.

But for Mrs Priddle, who also owns Wiltshire coffee shop Mipo, and her engineer husband, the aim to restore Sandridge Tower remained the focus.

Inside Sandridge Tower (Image: Sandridge Tower)She added: “We had discussed moving somewhere bigger and opening a B&B for many years and when this property came along we really wanted it.

“It was so amazingly different and unique, we fell in love with it.

“For both of us it’s the scenery that we enjoy the most, the environment is so lovely and we wouldn’t entertain moving now.”

As well as offering a relaxing getaway, Sandridge Tower also hosts a treatment room that offers aromatherapy facials for both clients and guests.

Moving forward, the pair are undertaking further renovation works in the property’s extensive grounds, including bringing an overgrown pond and the ruins of a stone cottage into use.