A Victorian mansion ravaged by fire in 2021 has risen from the ashes to be fully restored and has hit the market for £1.75 million.

The three-storey Victorian detached house has eight bedrooms, five bath and shower rooms, three reception rooms, two stables and three quarter of an acre of gardens.

Called 'The Elms' it sits at West Pennard, close to Glastonbury.

The Elms at West Pennard

It was originally built with the proceeds of a half-ton block of cheese sold after it was presented to and rejected by Queen Victoria.

In 1838 a group of farmers presented the new Queen Victoria with the huge cheese on the anniversary of her coronation. The cheese was made using the milk of 700 cows.

Weighing half a ton, the cheese was taken to Buckingham Palace however, on arrival, the Queen declared she preferred her cheese mature instead of new and sent them away.

It was then sold off and the proceeds paid to build The Elms.

The current owner was restoring it when a fire broke out in August 2021 after halogen lights overheated. Fortunately her 17-year-old son was still up at 1am and raised the alarm, allowing the family to flee the home.

Sawdust that insulated the roof quickly caught fire, destroying the roof and the top floor of the house. Luckily the rest of the house avoided the flames.

The fire struck about three-quarters of the way through renovations but they have now been finished.

Built in the 1840s, the property was considered to be the main house of the village and the previous owners used to throw amazing parties over the years for the community.

The owner of the house, Katie, 58, said: "I feel very blessed to have got out. My son's room is right in the eaves where the fire was so if he was asleep he wouldn't have got out as the fire spread so quickly. I don't think any of us would have got out.

"It was one in the morning when my son Patrick thought something was wrong. When he opened the door he heard crackling and saw red hot embers dropping from the roof and when he looked up he said the whole roof was bright red.

"He started shouting and got us all out and in about seven minutes the whole roof was completely alight. It was so lucky as my son normally would have had a maths tutor at 9am the next morning so he would have gone to bed early.

"However, there was a change of plan and the class was cancelled so he ended up staying up later."

She added: "After the incident I would warn anybody about these halogens lights."

The family managed to grab birth certificates and passports but many of their belongings were lost to the inferno. Firefighter crews from 16 stations all appeared to help tame the fire and six main jets and three 135m ladders were needed to finally put it out.

Katie said: "Everyone was amazing. Firefighters came from far and wide to help. My son was also incredible throughout the ordeal. He talked to the chief of fire and rescue and the police and drew layouts of the house for them. I was amazed at how calm he was.

"This was all two weeks before he started his A-levels!"

After the fire, the family experienced the kindness of strangers, with everyone in the area chipping in to help them out.

The community did a run around for blankets and towels and a friend opened up their home to them. The family ended up staying at the friend's house for around six weeks.

For two weeks locals rallied together and left dinners outside the door every day.

Katie, who is an equine therapist, said: "It was amazing, everyone would take it in turns to leave a meal at the door each night. When I had been spending all day sorting out the house, coming home to a meal just waiting was amazing. I have never eaten so well in my life."

Despite the extensive damage to the house, Katie decided to get back to work on restoring the historic Victorian home.

She said: "I'm not going to stop, I'm determined to get her back to her former glory. That was the attitude. I didn't want to give up and sell it in that condition."

Katie took on the role of project manager and got to work. The repairs took around 15 months to get it back up and running.

The repairs were extensive. They re-roofed, rewired, and replumbed and a new central heating system was added.

Katie said: "We really wanted to make sure we kept all the house's historic features, as it is such a well-loved house in the area. We tried to use the same materials that were used before wherever possible, and I was so happy that despite fears that the fire would have had destroyed them, we were able to keep the gables."

The family bought the house nine years ago when it was complete disarray. They quickly began renovating the house until the fire stopped them in their tracks.

Now the repairs and its second renovation is done, the house has been put up for sale for £1,750,000.

Katie said: "I have been here for around 20 years and now my son is going to go off to uni it's the ideal time to move and maybe go somewhere further afield but I haven't got anything in mind just yet.

"I think I have got a bug to find another project house but I would like it to also be our forever house as well."

From the windows there are incredible views of the Somerset countryside.

The estate agent from Fine & Country, Sophie Clesham, said: "It's such an impressive, beautiful exterior and being a period property means it's filled with architectural delights as well as being newly renovated with a clean, fresh finish."

She added: "I think it would appeal to a family re-locating for the nearby schools. There is fantastic schooling here, whilst being an ideal place to grow up; rural and close to cities such as Wells, Bath and Bristol.

"The right buyer will be someone that wants a grand house with lots of space but who also, doesn't want to be too isolated and have neighbours."

The house is being sold by Fine & Country.