Dean Road, Stewkley, Leighton Buzzard, Buckinghamshire, LU7

About the House cont'd

The main stable block is built around three sides of a central courtyard. This is currently run as a stud with foaling boxes and youngster barns, but these could be used as additional stables if preferred. There is also a detached timber building with two additional stables, as well as a hay barn. The property is in a peaceful rural location accessed via a no through road leading directly onto a bridleway, and is surrounded by a network of footpaths. The rural peace is combined with the convenience of being only 5 minutes’ drive from amenities in the village, and only 20 minutes’ from all the amenities in Milton Keynes.

Design and Specification

The property was originally a horticultural small holding which the vendors purchased intending to adapt some existing buildings into stabling, but the buildings were not viable and had to be demolished. This gave the vendors the opportunity to design and build a bespoke stable yard with the youngster barns built in 2002 followed by the foaling boxes and then the stables. The house was built in 2017 on the footprint of three Nissan huts from the smallholding. The stable block and the house are both built of Matthews Buckinghamshire bricks from Chesham with a tiled roof on the stables and a slate roof on the house. Heating in the house was originally provided by a Rayburn but the vendors are in the process of installing an air source heat pump for the heating and hot water and the Rayburn will be replaced by an Everhot range cooker. The property has phase 3 electrics to the stable block with single phase to the house. Many of the power sockets in the house also have (truncated)

Ground Floor

From the drive, a gate leads into a courtyard garden with a path to a front door with original stained glass. This door has been designed to accommodate wheelchairs and leads into a reception hall which has feature wall panelling and pillar. There is space for a study area and seating. The stairs to the first floor lead up from the hall to a half landing with a feature arched window overlooking the rear garden. The stairs have built-in shelves on one side and continue to the first floor landing. The understairs storage cupboard can be accessed via a feature door in the hall and also via a low sliding door in the sitting area. An alternative entrance door from the drive leads into the lobby which has oak flooring, a feature arched window overlooking the courtyard garden, a cloakroom, and a built-in cupboard which houses the boiler and electric fuse boxes.

Kitchen

The kitchen has dual aspect windows, LED spotlights with a dimmer function, a part vaulted ceiling, and a range of bespoke wall and base units by the German company Hacker. The wall units have under unit lighting. The base units are all drawer units, some with internal drawers, and are standard depth at floor level with deeper 850 mm drawers above. The work surfaces incorporate a stainless steel sink and drainer, and a Zanussi electric hob with a new Bosch electric oven below. Newly installed Haier integrated appliances include a washing machine and a dishwasher, and there is currently a space where the Everhot range cooker will be installed as well as space for an American style fridge/freezer. A mezzanine storage area above the kitchen has a feature circular window and houses the Torrent Eco water cylinder.

Dining/Sitting Room

The dining/sitting room is open plan to the kitchen. It has a high 2.75m ceiling and exposed Douglas Fir flooring throughout. The dining area has space for a table to seat eight, a picture window overlooking the paddocks, double doors to the courtyard garden, and a vaulted ceiling with a feature chandelier which was reclaimed from a church and is available subject to separate negotiation. The sitting area has a feature open fireplace, and one wall is almost completely glazed, with views over the paddocks and countryside beyond through sliding patio doors to a gravel area outside.

Office

The office has a door to the rear garden, a Velux window, and two sets of built-in shelving.

Principal Bedroom Suite

The principal bedroom on the first floor has a vaulted ceiling and is dual aspect including a window with far reaching views over the paddocks and countryside beyond. A range of built-in mirror door wardrobes spans one wall and has a mixture of hanging rails and shelved storage. The en suite has a Velux window as well as a series of borrowed light windows into the bedroom. It has a bath with a shower attachment, a concealed cistern WC and a reclaimed French washbasin set into the corner with built-in storage above. The walls are Italian plaster which has a wax finish.

Other Bedrooms

The ground floor bedroom has a vaulted ceiling and a window overlooking the courtyard garden. The en suite has a shower cubicle with a shower which runs off the central heating system. There is also a Grohe concealed cistern WC, a washbasin, built-in storage, and a heated towel radiator. There are feature circular stained glass windows. Bedroom two is on the first floor and is split level. The upper bedroom level has a vaulted ceiling, a window to the side, and double doors to the en suite shower room which has a walk-in shower with a Mira electric shower, a vanity washbasin and a concealed cistern WC. There are steps down from the bedroom to a lower area which has a Velux window and access to a built-in storage cupboard. This area could be used as a dressing area or as a study/play area for children. Both the first floor bedrooms have access to a loft storage area.

Gardens

The rear garden faces almost due west. It is enclosed by rabbit proof fencing and hornbeam hedges and has a York stone terrace area, raised sleeper beds and a lawn. Fruit trees and bushes include quince, mulberry, damson, greengage, apple and plum. The courtyard garden is enclosed by the building on three sides with a decorative brick wall, with patterns inspired by on those at Chequers, separating it from the drive. It has a covered decked area with outside lighting, gravel seating areas, paved pathways and metal planters which will remain.

Open Fronted Garage

The garage is designed to fit four cars and can be accessed via a sliding door from the courtyard and also has a door to the rear where there is a store area and space to park tractors/machinery. The garage is brick built with paviour flooring and has lighting, and the wiring in place to install an EV charger if desired. At the side of the garage there is a bin store.

Equestrian Facilities

The main stable block was designed and constructed by the vendors for use as a stud farm and has two taps, electricity throughout, feature brick English roses on the frontage and reclaimed cast iron windows. The foaling boxes, stables and youngster barns surround a central courtyard which has a brick built loading ramp to facilitate entry to horse boxes. The youngster barns, foaling boxes and two of the stables have bespoke made to measure Lodden doors to the courtyard. The doors can be shut from inside the boxes and have plexiglass windows above. All the stables and foaling boxes also have doors to a utility corridor at the rear which allows the boxes to be mucked out without mess in the courtyard. The two youngster barns both have porous chalk flooring for drainage and four revolving feeders which can be filled from the central prep area. The two barns and prep area could alternatively be converted into five additional stables if preferred.

Equestrian cont'd

The foaling boxes and stables have solid brick and block walls which are limewashed so they are anti bacterial and there is no condensation. As well as the barns, stables and boxes the main block has a feed store, and a prep room which has access to a tool room, a tack room and a store room with further storage above the tack room and store. The prep room houses an IAE stocks which is available subject to separate negotiation and has the potential to add a solarium function for the horses if required. Behind the main stable block there is a further covered storage area, a muck heap area, and the barn which was built in 2009 and is steel framed with block walls with boarded timber above and a fibre cement roof. The barn has the capacity to store approximately 4,000 bales of hay. Behind the barn there is a detached timber stable block with two stables which has been used as an isolation stable and has its own water supply.

Paddocks

The property has direct access to the bridleway network, and is almost equidistant between Addington Manor Equestrian Centre and Bury Farm Equestrian Centre. The main paddocks are south facing and slope away from the buildings. They are accessed via metal mesh gates and are enclosed by post and rail fencing and hedges and have a water supply. At the furthest end of the plot there is a public footpath which crosses about halfway along the edge of one paddock. The footpath is fenced off for security. In the top corner of the plot adjacent to Dean Road a fenced off area has been leased to EE for a phone mast. The lease has about 43 years remaining at which time the land will revert to the property.

Situation and Schooling

Stewkley village has two public houses and a general store with an off licence. There is also a village hall, a tennis club, a recreation ground and pavilion, a Norman church, a Methodist chapel, and a primary school which is rated as good by Ofsted. Nearby leisure facilities include the Three Locks Golf Club (2 miles) and Aylesbury Vale Golf Club (3 miles). For a wider range of amenities the property is about 7 miles from Leighton Buzzard and only about 20 minutes’ drive from Milton Keynes which has one of Europe’s largest covered shopping centres as well as a theatre, cinemas, indoor skiing, and other attractions. The property is in the Cottesloe and Aylesbury Grammar schools catchment areas and there are GP surgeries in Wing (4.7 miles), Winslow (6.6 miles) and Leighton Buzzard.