Frances Druce has lifelong experience of overseeing property transformations, so when she saw Copyhold Hollow put up for sale by the Borde Hill Estate in 1993, she had every intention of renovating and selling on the Grade II-listed 16th-century cottage. However, as soon as she viewed the house, she knew she could not leave. ‘It sits in a hollow just off a country lane, with woodland on three sides and opens northwards to a meadow opposite,’ she explains. ‘Before I got out of the car, a fox ran across the grossly overgrown lawn; that sealed my desire to purchase Copyhold Hollow. In fact, I decided I wanted to live there before I had even switched off the engine. You feel
