Heytesbury House, Heytesbury, Warminster, Wiltshire, BA12

A penthouse apartment with elegant accommodation in a historic country mansion in a glorious parkland setting


PROPERTY
The West Penthouse is a spacious apartment occupying half of
the top floor of the principal part of Heytesbury House. Entered through a grand portico with Doric columns, the imposing communal entrance hall serves just four properties and has a wonderful cupula giving a first impression of refinement. Stairs and a lift lead up to the second floor landing with the front door of the West Penthouse opening to an entrance lobby with coat and storage cupboards. This leads to the reception hall and elegant living accommodation which includes a generously sized drawing room with an ornate fireplace (not open) and sash windows with south westerly views letting in plenty of light, giving the room a lovely airy feel. A columned archway opens to the open plan dining area.
The kitchen/breakfast room is fitted with an attractive range of
bespoke wooden fronted cupboards and drawers, worksurfaces and integrated equipment including a six-ring Rangemaster Professional LPG cooker. An inner hall accesses the bedrooms with the master suite benefitting from having an ample range of fitted cupboards, drawers and display shelves and a luxuriously appointed bathroom which has a bath, walk-in shower and underfloor heating. The guest bedroom enjoys a lovely outlook over parkland with countryside beyond. There is also a third bedroom currently used as an office/study. The smartly fitted second bathroom has a bath, shower and utility cupboard with washing & drying machines.
The apartment features high ceilings, an air circulation system
and ample storage as well as the most wonderful views, all
helping to make this an ideal home for the discerning country
lover or for someone seeking a ‘lock up and leave’ rural retreat.

OUTSIDE
The principal building is surrounded by delightful park-like
grounds extending to around six acres consisting of areas of
grassland and an array of majestic mature trees. Beyond the park are privately rented paddocks and woodland, the former often populated by horses and cattle, and this backdrop gives a very pleasing rural vista from the apartment.
The property benefits from having a double garage in a separate well screened block.

SITUATION
Heytesbury House is a magnificent Grade II* Listed country
mansion built in 1782 by the A’Court family, reputedly to a
design by John Wood the Younger, the renowned 18th century architect who, together with his father, John Wood the Elder was responsible for many of the classic Georgian buildings in Bath. The ‘new’ building was built on the site of a much older one, East Court which is believed to have once belonged to Empress Matilda and Elizabeth Woodville, ‘The White Queen’. It was also owned by Lord Hungerford until his arrest by Henry VIII in 1540. Remains of a wall thought to form part of this historic building are still visible in the grounds.
In 1933 Heytesbury House was brought by the famous war poet, Siegfried Sassoon and was his home until his death in 1967. After a fire, his son George sold it in 1996 for redevelopment.The principal portion of the main house was carefully restored and divided into four superior apartments with great care taken to retain, and indeed, enhance the fine Georgian architectural features. The rest of the house and associated outbuildings were also renovated and converted into homes which, together with the addition of some stylishly designed newer properties make up Heytesbury Park, a small exclusive community ideal for those who appreciate comfortable country living.
Across the A36 from Heytesbury Park is the pretty riverside
village of Heytesbury. Situated in the beautiful Wylye Valley
and known for its fly fishing, the village has a post office/shop,
primary school and inn. The nearby market town of Warminster provides supermarkets, shops, health and leisure facilities as well as a railway station with links to London, Bristol and Southampton. The mainline station at Westbury provides mainline services to London (Paddington).
With its convenient proximity to the A36, there is ready road
access to the medieval cathedral city of Salisbury and Roman
city of Bath with the A303 nearby for London, the West Country and motorway network. This is an excellent base for several highly respected schools in both the state and private sectors and is surrounded by lovely undulating countryside ideal for a variety of rural pursuits including walking, riding, cycling and field sports. Racing is at Salisbury, Bath and Wincanton with golf at Tollard Royal, Warminster and Salisbury. There are several famous visitor attractions in the area such as the National Trust gardens at Stourhead, Longleat stately home and safari park and the World Heritage site of Stonehenge.

TENURE
25% share of the freehold with a 999 year lease from 24.06.1998.

SERVICES
Mains water & electricity, private communal drainage, LPG fired heating and hot water.

OUTGOINGS
Council tax band G
Provisional annual maintenance charge for 2024 of circa £5,000 (to be confirmed) towards the cost of the upkeep of the communal areas, drives, parkland, building insurance, estate management and reserve fund.

EPC
As a Listed property, an EPC is not required under the present
regulations