High Street, Barkway, Royston, Hertfordshire, SG8

Elms Farm House is set back from the road behind an established Beech hedge in the centre of the historic village of Barkway – a picturesque setting with a variety of pretty, individual, period houses on each side of the High Street. Barkway is an unusual village with a significant history of coaching inns, now converted to residences, and there are many activities taking place throughout the year, including a Christmas Pantomime, Moonlight Market in the Church and a huge summer fete. Barkway Church is a building of particular beauty and for those who enjoy walking, there is an exceptional number of Public Footpaths, leaving the village in all directions, which give access to the surrounding stunning, countryside, with wide views of farmland, woodland and distant chalk hills.

Elms Farm House is a solidly built brick house, dating from the 1930's but in the last 12 years has benefited from significant updating (particularly the windows) and to the internal layout. The accommodation includes a well-proportioned entrance hall with staircase to the first floor, a cloakroom, and two interconnecting sitting rooms through double doors, one with an attractive Georgian, open fireplace and the other with a woodburner, with French windows opening onto a York stone terrace on the south side of the house. Altogether this makes a 30 foot long, spacious area for entertaining, or the room may be divided in winter with the double doors closed to make a cosy family room with woodturner, leading directly to the kitchen breakfast room. On the other side of the central hall is a door to the dining room, also with its original fireplace, with doorway at the far end to the kitchen/ breakfast room. The kitchen has a comprehensive range of Shaker style base and wall units, recesses for fridge freezer, and microwave, electric hob and oven, four oven gas Aga, plumbing for dishwasher, inset double bowl stainless steel sink and granite work surfaces throughout. There are French windows opening onto the east facing terrace from the breakfast room side of the central peninsular with inset Aga, and an arched opening to the utility room, cloakroom and boot room from the kitchen with side door access to the north garden.

On the first floor there is a spacious Master Bedroom, with dressing area and walk-in wardrobe, leading to master bathroom with bath, walk-in shower, large hand washbasin, set into row of base and wall units with granite tops, as well as a separately enclosed WC, hand basin and a sash window. There are two other double bedrooms on this floor, one with built in wardrobes and ensuite bathroom with separate door to landing, and the other with an ensuite dressing room, with cupboards housing the hot water cylinder and gas fired boiler, as well as fitted wardrobes and a linen cupboard. A staircase leads up from the landing to the second floor, which has one very large attic bedroom with fitted wardrobe and a second smaller double bedroom, a recently refurbished bathroom, and several large built in wardrobes and storage cupboards.. The second floor might easily be turned into a separate flat, if required.

Outside, at the front, is a half moon driveway, with two entrances, plenty of parking, and a lawn with Silver Birch tree. A well established Beech hedge screens the front boundary. Flanking the driveway there is a purpose built double garage with two pairs of double doors, a window, a wide ladder to huge storage space at mezzanine level and an interior door leading to brick built tool shed with, window, shelving and half glazed door to brick yard and garden, with mains water tap, and drain. The rear garden has an attractive high flint wall along the back, with a line of Hornbeam trees and the side boundary walls are also of brick or flint, with flowering trees and shrubs along them. The garden is securely enclosed by means of a full height wrought iron gate at each side of the house, making it a reliable enclosure for dogs. A private lane runs outside the northern boundary of the garden providing access to the rear garden, through full height timber gates, set between brick piers.

Barkway is a popular North Hertfordshire village with a range of predominantly period houses and a Primary School with Nursery Class and a Playgroup in the Village Hall. There is a Pub at the southern end of the High Street and an extensive Sports Ground and Pavilion at the northern end, with separate childrens' play ground. The larger centres of Royston (3.5 miles), Buntingford (5.7 miles) and the City of Cambridge (12 miles) provide a range of shopping, recreational and educational facilities and the market town of Bishops Stortford (16 miles) offers further amenities. There is a fast mainline railway station at Royston (4 miles) for commuters to London, Kings Cross. Further mainline Stations to London Liverpool Street are situated at Cambridge, Audley End, and Bishops Stortford, and Stanstead Airport (30 minutes drive south via A10 and A120) offers direct connection to the London Underground network. Access to the M.11(Junc10) at Duxford is an 18 minutes drive away. The A10 from London lies two miles to the west of Barkway.