Property description

* A beautiful 3 storey Georgian property of some considerable proportions, over 7000 square feet! * Situated in glorious Staffordshire countryside on the edge of the Duke of Bradford’s estate in a total of approximately 4 1/2 acres * Stylishly presented throughout * Entrance hall * Drawing room * Lounge * Dining room * Butler’s pantry * 7 large double bedrooms * 2 w/c’s * Larder room * Study * Cloakroom * Boot room * Kitchen * Breakfast room * Leisure room with galleried mezzanine above * Family room with bar * Playroom/pool room * Laundry room * Master suite with dressing room and ensuite bath and shower room * Guest suite with ensuite bath and shower room * Two further stand alone bath and shower rooms * Walk-in airing cupboard * Cellars, including wine cellar * 3 berth detached garage * Extensive gardens all round with views over picturesque pool having outbuildings and garden machinery shelters * 2 acre fenced paddock with timber pony stable * 2 x two bedroom barn conversions, each with double carport, extensive parking and landscaped gardens * Oil fired central heating * Private drainage

Belying its phenomenal countryside location and idyllic pastoral views, the property is actually positioned just off and above the A5 with the advantage of being protected from both its sight and sound by some considerable distance and many trees. Its location, therefore, in terms of accessibility to the motorway network and major conurbations including Stafford and Wolverhampton, is particularly enviable. Close to the popular town of Shifnal which offers excellent amenities, including both a golf and tennis club, train station, not to mention many fine restaurants and shops and also the market town of Newport only a short distance by car, the situation of this property ticks all the boxes! Schooling from both sectors is within a few miles, with Idsall School in Shifnal being particularly worthy of mention and also the renowned independent day/boarding School, Wrekin College, just a couple of stops down the motorway.

This outstanding example of a particularly large and elegant farm house, whilst having fortunately, if rather surprisingly, escaped listing, has some exceptional original features including some quaint curiosities. These combined and blending seamlessly with tasteful, modern appointments provide luxurious comfort to appeal to the most exacting of standards. All four of the bathrooms in the house are palatial and fitted in a correspondingly sumptuous fashion with state of the art specifications. We are talking high-end interior design level here! Elements of the décor in the rest of the house have, at times, the same almost edgy quality but efforts have been made to ensure that all original features, including superb working shutters and walk-in bay windows to all the main reception rooms, old school radiators and cast iron fireplaces, are allowed pride of place as they justly deserve. Old beams in the vaulted family room are superbly set off by the white painted walls and a black ceramic floor which at the same time complement the clean lines of the oak block bar and its brushed steel coffee machine. A wood burner adds the requisite warmth and homeliness. The breakfast room off the kitchen (complete with ubiquitous four oven aga) looking out through two sets of French windows over a South facing terrace, is particularly charming; having an original quarry tiled floor, an old bread oven in the wall, gorgeous exposed roof trusses and a parlour type seating area in front of another log burner. The small room off the dining room, described here as the butler’s pantry was originally used to pay the farm workers who used to queue outside the little window. A tiny open fire to warm the legs of the clerk as he sat doling out the wages, is still in evidence. Most of the windows are timber double glazed with brass furniture and are imitation sash styling, imperceptible from the original article, but way more practical. Many of the soffits and fascias have been replaced and care has been taken to maintain the property well in keeping with its period character. The gardens are laid predominantly to lawn with some superb mature trees, including a monkey tree and some splendid cedars. There are decked and paved seating areas around the house maximizing all outlooks and exploiting the position of the sun at various times of the day. The view from what was originally the front of the house, which is itself the epitome of handsome with its grand pillared porch and huge windows, down over the lawn and the pond beyond, is most gracious and impressive and reminds one of the wealth and standing of the gentleman farmer in a previous time.

Both barn conversions, which sit side by side within a long one storey building, have been thoughtfully designed with the roof painstakingly restored to incorporate the original pattern within the slates; they benefit from separate courtyards, parking and the carports on one side and lovely a paved seating area, landscaped gardens and a large raised lawn on the other.Neither the barns nor the farmhouse encroach in the slightest on each other’s privacy and the barns are accessed by a separate gated driveway. There is a precedent for a rent of £950pcm being achievable for one of the barns. The property is offered with flexibility of title, with the barns being available under separate negotiation and also individually if so required, subject to the terms of the sale of the main house.