Smuggler’s hide-out

THE chance to live in The White House doesn’t come around often, especially when it includes sea views and a secret tunnel leading to the local pub. It’s not just the grandeur of the address that makes The White House in Saltburn so special though – it was once the home of the town’s most famous smugglers.

The historic grade II-listed building is currently owned by retired master mariner Captain Derek Fowler and his wife, Maisie, who have lived there eight years.

It stands in its own grounds and gardens and consists of the main house, which has four bedrooms, the annexe (also with four bedrooms) and White House Lodge (three bedrooms), which sits at the main entrance. All three are available to buy as a whole or separately.

Capt Fowler and his wife just rented the annexe when they first moved in before acquiring the whole house three years ago.

Since then, it has undergone complete refurbishment, including a new roof, walls and windows.

“We tried to keep it as original as possible,”

says Capt Fowler. “We stripped them back but kept all the original doors and fireplaces. We also discovered quite a big cellar which we made into a nice wine cellar.”

His favourite room is the dining room in the main house with its high ceilings and wood panelling. “It’s a beautiful place to have a dinner party,” he says.

The annexe is approached through a separate access and has its own grounds with a lawn, fruit trees, shrubs and hedging. It is spacious enough for a family, featuring four bedrooms, three reception rooms, a new breakfast kitchen and study. It also has high ceilings, covings and sea views and is well-equipped with a utility room, scullery, back kitchen, butler’s pantry and a cellar for further storage. Upstairs, the main bedroom suite has a study area along with an en-suite bathroom and dressing room.

The annexe is the oldest part of the house and dates back to about 1690 when it was a farm.

“Captain Cook used to call in in the 1740s when he was visiting relatives in Great Ayton,”

says Capt Fowler.

It was later turned into an inn and became a hotspot for contraband in the 1760s when “King of The Smugglers” John Andrew moved in.

The coast from Whitby to Saltburn has long been notorious for smuggling, particularly in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries. Liquor and tobacco were shuffled from house to house and secret rooms built to put Customs officers off the scent. Farm hands, clergymen and local gentry were all involved and entire villages would turn out to help hide the goods before they were pounced on by officials.

Originally from Scotland, John Andrew went into partnership with a local brewer in Saltburn and coordinated a huge smuggling operation from The White House and nearby Ship Inn, which he also owned.

“Reputedly there is an underground tunnel between the Ship Inn and The White House, they used to roll the brandy up the hill, through the tunnel and into the house,” says Capt Fowler. “He was quite a chap, this John Andrew. He became a captain in the local militia and was supposed to stop the smuggling – it was like putting a fox in with the chickens.”

In 1827, John Andrew was caught but was given a King’s Pardon. He died in 1835 when his son took over ownership of The White House.

The main house itself wasn’t built until the annexe was extended in 1903.

White House Lodge has a dining room, adjoining kitchen and three bedrooms. The ground-floor bedroom has an en-suite dressing area and shower room and there are two small bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. Outside, there is a courtyard, garage, garden, a paddock area and three stable buildings.

If the main house is sold first, Capt Fowler says he and his wife may even consider staying on and moving into The Lodge.

“It has got beautiful views and is right next to the sea, if you fell over twice you’d be there,”

he says. “It’s a glorious, absolutely magical place. We would love to stay, but we’re too old, we’re rattling around. I have to phone my wife on an evening to find out where she is.”