Southover, Frampton, Dorchester, DT2

Believed to date from the first half of the 19th century and then extended in 1992, Southover Lodge is an unlisted and pretty family house set back at the end of a peaceful No-Through lane within a Conservation Area. The house is surrounded by its own grounds, which provide great privacy and fantastic views towards open countryside that falls within a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The original part of the house is faced with alternating bands of red brick and flint with brick detailing around the windows, whilst the extension is built of local stone with the same brick detailing around its windows combining the two parts aesthetically. The house has retained some of its original architectural fittings including fireplaces, picture rails and working shutters. The internal changes undertaken at the same time as the extension altered the main axis of the house so that it now orientates predominantly southeast through to south-west. The ground floor has a large, centrally positioned reception hall that allows natural light to flood into the house. It has three well proportioned reception rooms and a light and airy kitchen/breakfast room with windows on two sides looking out to the guest cottage and garden. All three reception rooms have fireplaces. The one in the sitting room is open and fitted with a Jetmaster grate and the fireplace in the study is fitted with a wood-burning stove. The kitchen has a tiled floor and larder cupboard and is fitted with a range of timber-fronted units. Upstairs are a total of four double bedrooms and a single bedroom all with wonderful outlooks, along with two bathrooms. The current owners have had plans drawn up to turn the staircase round to open up the upstairs landing and create a walk-through dressing room and bathroom for the main bedroom.

Southover Lodge is approached via a gravelled drive off the passing lane which makes up part of Bicycle Route 26. The drive passes along one side of the house to an L-shaped parking area. Running along one side of the parking area behind the house are the guest cottage and attached outbuilding converted into a double garage and store/workshop, along with a lean-to log and bin store. The guest cottage is completely self-contained with accommodation on two floors, comprising a living room and kitchen on the ground floor plus a double bedroom and separate bath/shower room upstairs. Behind the guest cottage is an unheated swimming pool fitted with a telescopic pool enclosure. Beside it is a gravelled seating and barbecue area that looks out across the lower part of the garden and the countryside beyond. The garden is grassed with borders fringing the front garden and is bound by hedging dotted with mature native broadleaf trees including oak, ash, wild cherry, beech, walnut and silver birch. To the south-east of the house on the far side of the drive is a further grassed area with a separate vehicle entrance and a timber garden store. In all the garden and grounds extend to about 1.25 acres (0.51 hectare).

Frampton/A356 0.5 mile, A37 (Long Ash Service Station) 1.2 miles, Maiden Newton 3 miles, Dorchester town centre 6 miles (Waterloo 2 hours 28 minutes), Weymouth (Jurassic Coast) 14 miles, Yeovil 16 miles, West Bay Beach 16.5 miles, Sherborne 17 miles, Bournemouth Airport 39 miles, Exeter Airport 50 miles (Distances and time approximate).

Southover Lodge is situated at the end of a No-Through lane in the small hamlet of Southover. Just across the River Frome and a ten-minute walk is Frampton, an active and thriving village with a parish church, village hall and a garage. Nearby Maiden Newton has additional local amenities including a pub, petrol station, shops, restaurant, primary school, veterinary and GP's surgeries and a rail link to
Dorchester, Bath and Bristol (see Wider amenities are available in the county town of Dorchester which has an excellent range of shopping, business and recreational facilities including a Tesco superstore. Transport links are good too. Dorchester station has a rail service to Waterloo (2 hours 20 minutes) and Maiden Newton & Dorchester can be easily reached by the recently upgraded Bicycle Route 26. The local area also offers a wide choice of schools from both the state and independent sectors. These include the respected Thomas Hardye School (state secondary), Sunninghill Nursery and Prep School in Dorchester, plus Sunninghill, Leweston, the Sherborne schools which are all within a 15 mile radius.