How did boring Bruton get so boujee?
I grew up near Bruton and went to the all girls school ‘Sunny Hill’ at the top of the hill - just up from the mixed school ‘Sexeys’ on Lusty Hill.
Yep, you couldn’t make it up. And Kings, the boy’s school, was in the town.
To me, Bruton was quite possibly the most boring, depressing and dull little town you could think of. It always seemed dark to me, even on the most sunny of days. Not helped by the fact that all the houses on the Main Street were actually the other way round - so the backs of the houses faced on to the high street. There was the local spar on the high street and a few pubs. You only ever drove through Bruton to go to school or to get somewhere more interesting. You never stopped there.
Bruton became “cool”
The Newt Hotel
That was until a few years ago. When people describe Bruton as “cool” I still can’t quite believe it. I suppose it’s like crocs - once thought of as ugly and dowdy - since Balenciaga created their take on them, they became trendy, worn by the likes of Justin Bieber, Madonna, and Bretman-Rock. The Hauser & Worth gallery in Bruton, and then the Chapel restaurant have done the same for Bruton.
Then of course came The Newt Hotel nearby. The passion project of legendary South African designer Karen Roos - the former Grade 11 listed, grand Georgian manor, Hadspen House and Gardens. Described by Tatler as raising the bar for the English country house hotel with a cult following. Having celebrated my birthday there with friends last here, I can honestly say it lives up to all the hype.
And so, Bruton has been reinvented - from dull and boring to Uber cool, and a destination for those in the ‘know’. Even the property expert Sarah Beeny got the memo and moved there a few years ago. Her TV show ‘A New Life in the Country’ documented her move there and the building of her palatial new house from the rubble up.
Skyrocketing house prices
House prices in the area have skyrocketed along with rentals and holiday retreats. But as a ‘local’ I would much prefer to live or stay in Castle Cary - the nearby better-looking cousin to Bruton. Only a few miles away with a fast train service to London it’s your quintessential country town - architecturally beautiful, but vibrant and most importantly REAL - well at least for the moment until the Bruton effect spreads to the surrounding property markets…