Parsonage Farm, East Hagbourne, Oxfordshire

Parsonage Farm is fine Grade II*-listed home with glorious gardens on the edge of the Oxfordshire village of East Hagbourne. It unfolds across over 5,000 sq ft of accommodation with seven bedrooms and an ancillary accommodation wing, as well as a series of charming and expansive outbuildings within its almost three acres of mature grounds. The home is comprised of the original timber-framed 17th-century farmhouse, with a later Queen Anne façade added to the south range in 1702; a harmonious marriage of both vernacular and polite architecture. With countless historic details inside, including fielded panelling and fine plasterwork, the house holds plenty of potential for further reimagination. East Hagbourne is 14 miles south of Oxford, while Didcot Parkway station is a five-minute drive away and runs services to London Paddington in around 38 minutes.

Please note that Parsonage Farm will require some updating.

Setting the Scene

East Hagbourne, a charming village on the northern edge of the North Wessex Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, is dotted with many listed historic homes. It lies within a conservation area at the foot of the Berkshire Downlands; its proximity to Oxford City Centre makes it brilliantly positioned to enjoy both rural pursuits and urban convenience.

The village's toponym is derived from Hacca's Brook, a stream that flows through the village, including running through the curtilage of Parsonage Farm, and named after a Saxon tribal chief called Hacca. East and West Hagbourne have been separate villages since the time of Edward the Confessor, when Regenbald, a priest of Cirencester, held the manor of East Hagbourne.

The Grand Tour

Mature lime trees separate the house from main road, forming a verdant scrim of sorts, and a low red-brick wall with stone urns set upon brick piers opens through double gates to the expansive pea gravel driveway. The yew topiary garden lies directly ahead with an allée of beautifully shaped trees, and a series of connected weatherboard and clay tile-roofed ancillary buildings line the east perimeter, comprising tack rooms, workshops and garaging, culminating in a vast open barn with apertures either side framing views of the orchard beyond.

Opposite the garaging is a mature acacia and the main entrance to the east side of the home, set in the primary range of the house. Timber-framed and rendered, the multi-paned box sash and Ipswich windows frame the elevation, crowned by hipped and gabled clay tile roofs. The panelled entrance door is positioned centrally with a hooded canopy set upon richly carved brackets. Built in around 1650, this rear range of the house forms the original farmhouse, while the grander Queen Anne façade was added in 1702 to form the home's south range, with a grey and red brick elevation inset with tall 15-pane box sash windows at ground level. A brick-paved terrace opens from the primary reception rooms to wonderful views of the south-facing garden beyond.

The square-set entrance hall-cum-dining room is laid with flagstones in a diagonal pattern, with a wooden bolection chimney piece and open fire. Adjacent, situated in the secluded north range is a library and study, guest WC and separate entry to the rear exterior courtyard. The impressive open-well staircase is positioned centrally in the plan, a grand design built of oak, with turned balusters and a square end hand rail, all characteristic of the early 18th century. The floor here is set with red and black chequered floor tiles, again in a diagonal pattern to echo the main hall, and walls feature wainscotting.

The drawing room is arguably the most significant room in the house, with four tall, shuttered box sash windows looking to the formal gardens beyond, and with exceptional interior architectural details including fielded panelling, dentil box cornice and parquet flooring in this voluminous room. An exceptional statuary marble chimney-piece grounds the room, and original survival of a baroque design and richly carved with an eared architrave surround to the overmantel panel above. An additional, less formal sitting room lies beside the drawing room, with a panelled dado, fitted bookcases and featuring a chimney-piece with a bullseye design.

From the stair hall, the kitchen links the service and ancillary wing with the formal living spaces. The room looks to front and rear courtyards and has a generous pantry. Within the adjacent ancillary wing, there is a utility room and a plant room, with further access via an internal lobby to a separate one-bedroom apartment, with its own exterior access.

Ascending to the first floor, the principal bedroom suite overlooks the gardens, and as the drawing room below, it features fielded panelling and shuttered windows, with an en suite bathroom. The adjacent bedroom is also fully panelled, with a separate wc positioned off the stairwell. Two further bedrooms and a bathroom are situated off a long landing space in the rear north range of the house, each with charming features including original fireplaces. The uppermost storey is home to three further bedrooms and a bathroom, with an additional separate and useful box room.

The Great Outdoors

The grounds at Parsonage Farm encompass almost three acres of exceptionally well designed, elegant and mature south-facing gardens, with open fields beyond the southern boundary. Hakka’s Brook meanders around three sides of the mostly walled land, briefly intersecting the grounds at the northernmost boundary.

Formal lawns define the main body of the gardens and include deep herbaceous flower beds, with specimen trees including Persian ironwood, mulberry and catalpa. There is an avenue of cherry trees to the rear of the long barn, and at the southwest part of the gardens beyond the lawn there is a separate orchard with apple, pear and plum trees, with snowdrops, daffodils and bluebells providing ground cover in January, March and May respectively.

Estate fencing separates the formal gardens nearest the house from the more bucolic grounds to the rear, including the aforementioned orchard. Surrounded by further trees, the freshwater swimming pool is fed by Hakka’s Brook, and there is a timber pool house with pitched clay tile roof, with gas, electricity and mains water supplied. There is also a further large pond at the very end of the garden, attracting a wonderful variety of wildlife.

The separately listed almost 1,800 sq ft barn lends itself to a variety of uses, subject to planning permission consent. The driveway continues from the main house to the long barn for vehicular access to the rear of the structure, situated to the right at the end of the driveway. The row of ancillary buildings that connect and lead to the barn provide multi-purpose usage and comprise some 3,600 sq ft of additional space. They are currently utilised for open and closed garaging, a workshop, games room, various stores, a potting shed and with the separate four bay open barn at the very end.

Out and About

East Hagbourne is a pretty and active village, with a church, village hall, community shop and post office, primary school and popular pub called the Fleur de Lys. Sitting at the foot of the Downs and the ancient Ridgeway, the village presents myriad opportunities for walking and horse riding locally. There is golf at nearby Hadden Hill and Abingdon offers extensive and highly regarded sporting facilities. Rowing, rugby, hockey and athletic clubs are to be found in both Abingdon and Oxford.

The larger market towns of Abingdon and Wallingford are both nearby with weekly markets and large supermarkets, including a Waitrose. Slightly further north is Oxford, with its breathtaking architecture and impressive culinary scene. Gee’s is a perennial favourite restaurant set in a Victorian conservatory, while the Turf Tavern and The Bear are cosy spots to hunker down on a chilly afternoon. Oxford’s famous Covered Market hosts everything from artisan grocers to independent cafés and boutiques. The Ashmolean is Britain’s oldest museum and has an extensive permanent collection as well as changing exhibitions, with further cultural venues include the Sheldonian Theatre, Modern Art Oxford, Holywell Music Room, Bodleian Libraries and the History of Science Museum.

There is an excellent choice of schools in the area, both state and independent, in Abingdon, Moulsford and Didcot, while Oxford hosts some of the country’s best independent schools, including include The Dragon, Summerfields, St Edwards, Oxford High School, Radley College and Headington School.

Parsonage Farm has convenient access to the motorway network via the A34, and the rail network via Didcot Parkway station, which is just five minutes’ drive away with trains to London Paddington taking 38 minutes and Oxford 13 minutes. The Sustrans Cycle Track, accessed beside the village church also makes for an easy cycle commute to both Didcot Parkway station and the Harwell Science Park. Slightly further afield, Oxford city centre is 30 minutes’ drive from the house.

For more inspiration, why not look to The Modern House's guide to Oxford?

Council Tax Band: H