Stour Provost, Gillingham, SP8

Set well back off a quiet, no-through lane, Stour Provost Manor is in a truly glorious setting looking out over the beautiful and unspoilt countryside of the Stour Vale, which was originally laid out as parkland below The Manor in Fifehead Magdalen. The house was built around 1828 of local stone under low-pitched slate roof with wide eaves and is a stone's throw from the pretty, 14th century parish church. It displays all the elegance of the late Georgian period with a pilastered porch, beautifully proportioned rooms, high ceilings and tall sash windows that look out across the formal gardens towards the unspoilt, rural views across the valley.

It has three principal reception rooms grouped around the reception hall that allows plentiful natural light to flood the centre of the house. It is Grade II listed and has retained numerous fireplaces, plentiful original joinery including working shutters, coving and an elegant sweeping main staircase. The house has been the family home of the current owners for the past ten years and during that time numerous improvements have been undertaken including a comprehensive refurbishment of the interior and today it is immaculately presented. Where necessary it has been updated with sympathetic fittings such as the oak, herringbone patterned parquet flooring in the hall.

The secondary wing is dominated by the large kitchen/breakfast room, which serves as the central hub of the house and has a large dining area with floor to ceiling French windows opening onto the terrace. The kitchen is fitted with beautiful cabinetry, hand-made from a sumptuous mix of burr elm, cherry and maple.

The principal bedroom suite, which has an en suite combined bathroom and dressing room, is positioned to catch the sun throughout the day from early morning, with windows on three sides that look out across the grounds to the
river and beyond. In addition, there are five further double bedrooms, two of which have en suite bathrooms and two shower rooms.

Close to the main house and situated at the end of the back drive is Coachman's Cottage. Like the main house it has been completely refurbished to a very high standard and currently serves both as a guest cottage and as a holiday rental cottage listed on Airbnb. The cottage has two good-sized reception rooms, a fully fitted kitchen, three double bedrooms, bathroom and cloakroom and its own, private garden.

A short distance from the main house and accessed via a short spur from the parking area is a range of stone-built period outbuildings comprising an ice house, single garage (former coach house) with hay loft and adjacent
machinery store, thatched stable block with integral tack room, log store and double garage. Beyond the outbuildings are the vegetable garden, greenhouse and a small paddock.

Stour Provost Manor is approached via a short main approach drive leading to an extensive gravelled parking area with a central circular turning circle in front of the house. The formal gardens extend out on the southern and western
sides of the house and are comprised of a series of tiered lawns, partly walled with borders stocked with numerous roses, herbaceous perennials and flowering shrubs. On the highest level are a heated jacuzzi pool beside a wrought iron pergola. Below this is the croquet lawn with steps leading up to the terrace, which extends around to a further, recently built terrace, with a water fountain at its centre. This overlooks the hard tennis court and lower lawn below, which slopes gently down to the River Stour that forms the property's northern boundary. Due to the weir further downstream, the river at this point flows gently and is wide enough and of sufficient depth for wild swimming. At the south-western end of the garden is a copse of mature poplar and willow trees surrounding a trout pond. Adjacent to the copse and accessed via a short lane is a further paddock running down to the river and bound by post and rail fencing with a shelter.

Stour Provost Manor is in a private setting off a narrow, no-through lane on the edge of the pretty village of Stour Provost. Given its small size the village only has a church and village hall but for immediate needs the large village of Marnhull is close by and has excellent amenities including two primary schools, combined GP surgery and pharmacy, garage, two pubs and several local shops (see extensive shopping, business and recreational facilities are available nearby in Sturminster Newton, Gillingham and Shaftesbury. The local area has good transport links. There are direct rail services from Gillingham to Waterloo (2 hours) and from Castle Cary to Paddington (90 minutes), the A30 and A303 are both easily accessible and Bristol, Bournemouth and Exeter airports all within a reasonable driving distance. The wider, local area is renowned for its wide choice of excellent schools from both the state and independent sectors. The selection from the latter within a 15 mile radius include Port Regis, Clayesmore, Hanford, the Sherborne schools, Knighton House, Bryanston, Hanford, the Bruton schools, Hazelgrove and Milton Abbey.