Publication Date: 25-01-2023 09:00
Harry Potter fan buys new house to build shrine to the famous wizard
Harry Potter fan Shelley Bell moved to a bigger house so she could build a shrine to the famous young wizard in her own home.
Shelley, and husband Craig, both 46, bought a four-bedroom home at Bellway’s Hawthorn Place development in Wellingborough, to enable her to display her 400 items of memorabilia in one room.
The machine operator has been collecting Harry Potter memorabilia for more than 20 years and estimates she has spent thousands of pounds on her collection, which includes cloaks, wands, hats, books, games, film DVDs, posters, statues, toys and figurines.
Shelley and Craig, a production manager, decided they wanted to move out of their old three-bedroom home in Wellingborough, because they wanted more space.
“We had been thinking about moving for a while and I decided the time was right because I had had enough of having to store my Harry Potter memorabilia in boxes around the house,” said Shelley. “It had taken me years of collecting and about £10,000 to amass the items and I wanted to be able to enjoy them by looking at them every day.
“To be able to get the best out of the collection I knew I had to create a shrine to Harry Potter and for that I needed a whole room dedicated to him.”
The couple, who wanted to stay close to family and friends in Wellingborough, knew Bellway were building new homes at Hawthorn Place in the town and visited a Carlisle type showhouse.
“As soon as we walked in, we knew it was the house we wanted,” said Craig. “It had four bedrooms which meant that Shelley could have one of them as her Harry Potter Room. There was so much extra space because of the three floors that we could not believe it. We were totally blown away.”
Once they had decided on the new house they wanted, the couple were keen for it to happen as quickly as possible, so they used Bellway’s Express Mover scheme.
Under the Express Mover initiative, Bellway liaises with a local estate agent to agree a valuation for the customer’s existing home and find a buyer quickly. Bellway pays the agent’s fees and works with them until the sale is completed.
“I cannot recommend Bellway highly enough because their sales team of Sam, Lily and Tanya were amazing,” said Craig. “They just handled everything. They kept us informed every step of the way and all we had to do was sign documents. Our old house sold within 12 hours of going on the market. We ended up saving more than £2,000 in estate agents’ fees and were able to use that to buy new beds and other furniture for the new house.”
Craig, Shelley and their 19-year-old daughter Kirsten moved into their new home in August 2022. Their eldest daughter Chelsea left home three years earlier and moved in with her boyfriend.
Shelley revealed how she fell in love with all things Harry Potter when her children began to enjoy the antics of the young hero, created by writer JK Rowling.
“It all started with me buying toys for the children when they were young but as more books and films came out, I just became more and more enchanted with his fictional life,” she said. “I just love him and the whole concept of this fantasy world. It’s pure escapism I know but I love it.”
Not to be outdone, Craig has taken the other spare bedroom and converted it into his gaming room, complete with PlayStation, XBox and his F1 memorabilia.
“I used to have my gaming sessions downstairs in the living room but I realised it was a bit anti-social so I thought I would turn one of the spare bedrooms into my room,” said Craig. “It works really well because I can shut the door and not feel guilty because I know I am not imposing my gaming on anyone else.
“What it also means is that we have the downstairs – the kitchen and the living room – as special places for our quality time together as a family. We can all catch up over a meal or chill out together in front of the TV in the sitting room.”
Shelley said it will not be long before she needs more room for her growing Harry Potter collection but already has a solution.
“There is a ready-made alternative right here because once Kirsten leaves home, I can move my memorabilia into her bedroom as it so much bigger than the room it is in at the moment. That’s the magic of living in your very own dream home.”
Hawthorn Place is part of the wider Stanton Cross development which is taking shape to the east of Wellingborough.
Stanton Cross is a major mixed-use development set to deliver a wide range of new homes, employment areas and shopping facilities, together with direct access to Wellingborough railway station.
The development includes shops, schools, commercial space, a town park and community centre. Major improvements to roads and public transport will also take place.
There is currently a choice of two, three and four-bedroom new homes available to reserve at Hawthorn Place, with prices starting at £245,000.
For more information about the development, visit https://www.bellway.co.uk/new-homes/northern-home-counties/hawthorn-place or call the sales office on 01933 558155.
