Moat Road, Fordham, Colchester, Essex, CO6

A handsome Grade II listed village home set within beautiful established grounds of over 4 acres. Excellent recreational facilities include a swimming pool, tennis court, games and bar room. There is also ancillary accommodation and a range of good outbuildings.

Moat Hall was built in the Georgian period, and has been carefully restored to create this fine village home which offers over 5,000 sq ft of well-proportioned accommodation,.

Each room enjoys views of either the moat or landscaped gardens. The property combines charming period character enhanced with contemporary aesthetics. The property is surrounded with land owned by The Woodland Trust.

The formal entrance at the front of the house opens into a generously proportioned reception, with an attractive turned spindle staircase ascending to the first and second floors.

From here, all of the principal reception rooms can be accessed, including the drawing room and dining room, both with two sash windows overlooking the formal front garden. The drawing room features a resplendent stone fireplace with inset log burner, whilst the dining room has an open fire with large brick chimney breast, stone hearth and bressummer.

A passageway leads through to the stylish and spacious sitting room, benefitting from a delightful dual aspect with views of the walled garden on one side, and the moat and orchard on the other. There are two integrated walnut storage cabinets, including a bespoke 'close-away' desk.

The comprehensive bespoke ‘Orwells of Ipswich’ kitchen/breakfast room is superb with a high vaulted ceiling incorporating exposed timbers. It has underfloor heating and a wonderful dual aspect with French doors leading out to the terrace, perfect for summer entertaining.

The focal point of the kitchen is the Everhot, with three independently controlled ovens, an additional plate warming oven, cast iron hot and simmer plates, and a three-zone induction hob.


Accessed from the rear hall is an impressive boot room with an extensive range of fitted storage cabinets, a central seating unit, fridge/freezer, and a good sized cool room/larder cupboard. Opposite is the laundry room. There is also a downstairs cloakroom and separate staircase to the first floor.

The first-floor landing is reached via the main staircase in the reception hall and provides access to the principal and guest suites. The principal suite comprises three rooms; the bedroom with feature fireplace, en-suite and large dressing room. The en-suite bathroom has a stunning antique French, ball and claw foot slipper bath. An artist designed the walk-in corner shower with mosaic tiled walls and floor, and a feature fireplace with marble hearth. From here, a door leads into an L-shaped room, currently used as a dressing room, which could alternatively be used as a nursery/further bedroom, with a separate door to the rear landing.

The guest suite has an en-suite shower room and a large walk-in wardrobe.

On the second floor are three double bedrooms, all with walk-in or built-in wardrobes, a family bathroom and a separate cloakroom with WC. The rear landing has a separate staircase to the first floor, so each bedroom has their own access.


Accessed via electric gates, a shingle driveway leads to a parking area and double bay cart lodge, with secure garage. Adjacent to this is the plant room serving the games room, guest house and swimming pool.

The games room provides ample space for both a pool table and cinema seating and has a bar with sink and fridge. This building would also make a sizeable external office or gym. A five bar gate leads from the driveway to a courtyard with an enclosed dog run and kennel, and a listed barn, currently used as a workshop.

To the right of the driveaway lies a secluded entrance to the heated swimming pool set with flagstone tiling, where there is ample space for a dining table and sun loungers. The current pool guest house with en-suite wet room would be perfect as an annexe or 'Airbnb', or converted back to a pool room/kitchenette for entertaining.

To the immediate rear of the property is a delightful sun terrace overlooking the moat, tennis court and gardens beyond. The moat is home to a springtime brood of ducklings and a variety of fish.

A bridge over the moat leads to the formal gardens, which are predominantly west facing and laid to lawn, with a variety of established shrubs, trees and hedging, including a small orchard and vegetable/soft fruit garden. There is a floodlit all-weather surface tennis court with a small pavilion and a substantial meadow beyond with separate gated access from Chappel Road. To the front of the property, on the opposite side of the road is a large enclosed 'wild garden' under the ownership of the vendors, bordered by a greensward area with Woodland Trust land behind. This protects the front of the property.

Location

Fordham is a semi-rural village that lies just 6 miles north west of Colchester. The village is surrounded by 500 acres of woodland and has direct access to the Essex Way for stunning walks through the Colne Valley and up towards Dedham.

It is home to a well-attended church, the renowned pub and award winning restaurant, The Three Horseshoes, a primary school and a village hall. There is a thriving community that organise many social events and a weekly "Village Hub" providing locally produced foods and gifts, fresh fish and post office services. There is a riding school with stabling at Fletchers Farm.

For the commuter, Marks Tey is just 3.6 miles away and Colchester, approximately 5 miles away, where trains into London take approximately 50 minutes. Stansted Airport is just 32 miles away.

Colchester is steeped in history, known for being Britain's oldest recorded town and features Roman walls and a Norman castle. The city centre has a range of national retailers, including Fenwicks department store, independent boutiques and specialists shops as well as numerous bars and restaurants. The Stane Retail Park in nearby Stanway is home to a flagship M&S store and a variety of other popular retailers and services.

Colchester has two cinemas, numerous art galleries/centres and The Mercury Theatre. State of the art sporting facilities can be found at Colchester Gateway, David Lloyd or at the many gyms in and around Colchester. The coast, with all its recreational activities can be reached within 30 minutes.

The area is known for its excellent schooling - well regarded preparatory schools include Holmwood House and Littlegarth, and for secondary education there are two leading grammar schools, as well as Colchester High School and St Mary's School. The well regarded Ipswich School, St Josephs College and Royal Hospital School, all offer private coach services from the nearby Halstead Road.