Cranfield Road, Moulsoe, Buckinghamshire, MK16

About the House cont'd

There are currently four primary reception rooms, a kitchen/breakfast room, a boot room, a utility room and two cloakrooms on the ground floor with five bedrooms and four bathrooms in the main house and a sixth guest suite with bathroom over the garage. It is a spacious yet manageable country house that could, if required, provide self-contained working from home options/office or the flexibility to create a full annexe for multi-generational living or further leisure facilities such as a gym.

History and Heritage

The property was given Grade II listed status in February 1984 as a house of particular architectural or historical status. It was built in the 1780s in the Georgian era and has the archetypal symmetry, high ceilings and tall windows of the period. The south and west fronts of the house are stuccoed and painted and have chamfered stone quoins. The central entrance door is in a painted stone doorcase with Doric columns, entablature, and pediment. The Rectory has been sympathetically restored and now provides a period family home with modern amenities including underfloor heating to all bathrooms, hardwood flooring and new central heating throughout with period style column radiators. The current owners have decorated using a colour palette that reflects the Rectory’s Georgian heritage.

Ground Floor

An original part glazed front door with period shutters opens into a reception hall with panelling, deep cornicing, and stone flooring. A feature arch leads to a rear hall which has the original staircase to the first floor with an understairs cupboard, and a door to steps down to a large cellar.

Principal Reception Rooms

The drawing room has a large walk-in bay which overlooks the gardens and terrace and has original shutters. There is a large marble fire surround, high ceiling with period cornicing and picture rail, period style radiators and a hardwood herringbone oak parquet floor. Steps down from the hall lead to the TV room which has a feature stone fireplace with an inset multi fuel stove, feature arches, a tall sash window with views across to the church to the front, and access to a dry cellar area for storage.

Office and Library

The office provides a spacious working area with independent access via the back hall to a cloakroom and to the side driveway. It has a cast Iron fireplace, washed oak hardwood flooring, period cornicing, access to the library and access to a large loft. The library is a beautiful room with hand-built bookshelves, a marble fireplace, washed oak hardwood flooring and access to the rear staircase leading to the first floor.

Kitchen/Breakfast Room

The kitchen breakfast room is in a light filled dual aspect room with large floor to ceiling sash windows overlooking the front drive and terrace, the windows overlooking the terrace have original sliding shutters. It has a high ceiling with deep cornicing, painted base units with a butler sink, a four-oven oil fired Aga and space for a breakfast table and chairs and an American style fridge/freezer.

Planning Permission

The property has planning permission and listed building consent to add a vaulted Orangery to create an open plan kitchen/dining/family room with glazed windows overlooking the garden. The room will measure approximately 30 ft. by 21 ft. 6 and will be linked to the house by a glazed link. Full details are available on the planning portal of Milton Keynes Council.

Pantry, Boot Room and Utility Room

Steps up from the hall lead to a large walk-in pantry with bespoke fitted oak storage shelves. The boot room is in a Victorian extension to the property and has a window and stable door overlooking the rear garden, a fireplace, wall panelling and built-in storage. The adjoining utility room has bespoke period style painted base units providing concealed housing for a washing machine and tumble dryer, a large butler sink, wall units and a stable door providing access to the side drive.

First Floor

The half landing has a cupboard which houses the Megaflow tank and has additional storage and access to a loft space. The current owners use this as a housekeeper’s cupboard.

Principal Bedroom Suite

Steps up from the main landing lead to the principal bedroom which has a feature fireplace, walnut flooring and dual aspect floor to ceiling sash windows to the side and front with views of the garden and church beyond. The principal bedroom benefits from a beautiful light filled shower room with a large walk-in shower, a WC, double vanity washbasins with walnut drawers and LED mirrors over, underfloor heating and a towel radiator.

Other First Floor Bedrooms and Bathrooms

Bedroom two is another light filled dual aspect bedroom with views over the nature pond and rear garden. There are tall sash windows, high ceilings, cornicing, picture rail and hardwood walnut flooring. This bedroom has been used as a dressing room for the principal suite. The first floor has two further double bedrooms which are linked by a wide opening and could alternatively be used as a suite. One bedroom has a window to the front, a feature fireplace, and built-in cupboards with hanging storage. The other bedroom also has a window overlooking the front garden and the church. There are built-in wardrobes spanning one wall, with the central door giving access to an en-suite shower room. The family bathroom has a bath with a shower over, a WC, twin wash basins and underfloor heating.

Second Floor

The second floor is currently used as a suite. The bedroom has a window with far reaching views, eaves storage and a hatch to the loft. The dressing room/shower room provides ample space with a shower cubicle, a vanity wash basin and a WC.

Outbuildings

There is an L-shaped room which is currently used for storage and boiler housing. A feature brick-built arch within the side drive provides separate access to the rear gardens and into the guest suite located above the garaging. It has an entrance hall with a tiled floor, space for coats and shoes, side door to the garage, and stairs up to the guest suite which encompasses a large bedroom with windows overlooking the rear and kitchen gardens, a walk-in wardrobe with fitted hanging rails, and a full period style bathroom which has underfloor heating, a bath with a shower over, a wide vanity washbasin and a WC.

Gardens and Grounds

The property is accessed via a five-bar gate and there is power in place to install an electric gate if preferred. A gravel drive, with a turning circle, leads to the house and provides extensive parking, with a further gravel parking area by the gate for additional cars. There is also a second drive, accessed by timber gates at the side, which leads past the house to a parking area at the rear which provides additional parking and access to the double garage which has twin timber doors. The front garden is enclosed by a combination of walls and clipped hedges and has a lawned area and established borders. The main garden is laid mainly to lawn with mature trees interspersed, and a Ha Ha which was restored by the vendors and is planted with wildflowers. There is a formal garden area with gravel paths, box hedge beds, and a paved terrace outside the kitchen/breakfast and drawing room. There is also a topiary dragon, and mature hedges separating off a woodland avenue.

Gardens cont'd

The landscaped rear garden faces southeast and is also mainly laid to lawn with mature trees interspersed, hedges and topiary. The boundary with the neighbouring farm has been newly planted to create a woodland area using Silver Birch trees underplanted with spring bulbs. There is a nature pond which was relined by the vendors and has a duck house along with various types of fish. A paved area provides a perfect vantage point of both the house and pond and is currently used as a seating area with a fire pit. There is also a kitchen garden which has raised beds and a gardener’s shed.

Swimming Pool and Tennis Court

The tennis court is beyond the pond and has a hard surface and is partially enclosed by chain link fencing. The swimming pool is accessed via a mature topiary avenue and is enclosed by mature yew hedging with lavender borders. The feature potted Olive trees will remain. The pool surround has been landscaped and has an extensive porcelain terrace for loungers with low box hedge borders dividing off separate seating and dining areas. At the far end of the pool there is a pool house with bi-fold doors which houses a kitchen with fitted base and wall units, an oven, a hob, a sink, a hot water tap, a dishwasher and a fridge/freezer with ice dispenser. The swimming pool was relined by the vendors. It has a hopper style deep end, steps at the shallow end for access, and is heated by solar and an air source heat pump. Behind the pool room there is a plant room which provides storage and houses the new pump for the pool.

Situation and Schooling

Moulsoe has a church, a village hall, and The Carrington Arms public house/restaurant. Further amenities can be found in the nearby market towns of Olney and Newport Pagnell which have a wide range of shopping and leisure facilities. There are numerous state and private schooling options locally including the Harpur Trust Schools in Bedford and boarding options including Uppingham which is approximately an hour’s drive. The property is also only 10 minutes’ drive from Milton Keynes which has one of Europe’s largest covered shopping centres as well as a theatre, restaurants, cinemas, indoor skiing and other attractions. Milton Keynes offers rail services to London Euston in just 32 minutes and is within easy reach of Thameslink rail services and the M1.