Raddington, Taunton, Somerset, TA4

Kingston Farmhouse has south-facing views across lush, partly wooded countryside and enjoys a truly gorgeous position. It is set back off a little used country lane and has only two neighbours, an adjacent converted mill and a cottage about 70 yards away. It is therefore wonderfully peaceful without being isolated. The farmhouse is believed to date back to the early 17th century before being rebuilt and reroofed in the late Georgian period.

It is built of local stone under a protective coating of painted render and shelters under a slate roof. It bears many of the hallmarks of perhaps the most elegant period of British domestic architecture. The interior has finely appointed and well-proportioned rooms with excellent ceiling height, well-lit by natural light flowing in through wide, tall, south-facing windows that were sympathetically renewed in 1984. In recent years it has undergone a full programme of refurbishment and today is incredibly well presented.
It is Grade II listed and has retained many of its original architectural fittings including a colonnaded front porch, impressive, chamfered beams, an elegant staircase and several lovely fireplaces. The house has over 3,500 ft²of accommodation on two floors and is laid out with the two main reception rooms and kitchen/breakfast room in the original, front part of the house. A later, rear extension houses the connecting rear hall along with the study/snug, cloakroom, large pantry and utility room. The kitchen is to die for with plenty of room for a good-sized kitchen table, handmade timber units and a two-oven AGA inset in the original range fireplace.
Upstairs off the centrally positioned, part-galleried landing are five good size bedrooms. The principal bedroom and two others are south-facing.

The principal bedroom has an en suite bath and shower room as does the adjacent bedroom two whilst the three remaining bedrooms have use of a third bath and shower room as well as access to the large dual access bath and shower room.

Outbuildings, Garden and Grounds
Kingston Farmhouse is approached via a short, cobbled entranceway and a pair of tall, timber entrance gates that open onto a generous parking area in front of the house. The parking area has space for several cars and lining one side of it is a green oak framed, timber-clad garage block that incorporates two carports, single garage, garden/machinery store and a lean-to log store. The front porch is accessed via a paved path flanked on either side by lawn and linked to a paved terrace on one side of the house. A further path on one side leads to the enclosed porch in front of the kitchen. The formal part of the garden extends out to one side of the parking area and comprises three terraced levels retained by curved, natural stone walls which provide a backdrop to further areas of lawn, a pond, mixed borders, and several mature broadleaf trees. The garden continues up behind the house where the land slopes upwards towards the top of the valley with three further terraced levels grassed and studded by further mature trees. Beyond is a long, fenced paddock lined on one side by 220 yards of mature broadleaf woodland. In all the grounds extend to about 4.95 acres (2 hectares).

Kingston Farmhouse is situated amidst hilly countryside on the Devon/Somerset border and is part of the widely dispersed rural community of Raddington. It is only a fifteen-minute drive from the attractive, small town of Bampton, which has a population of about 3,500, a convenience store, butcher, baker, primary school, post office, an excellent GP practice and chemist plus a selection of restaurants, pubs and coffee shops. Most day-to-day needs can be met in the nearby towns of Wiveliscombe and Tiverton, which both have a good choice of shops and local businesses. Wiveliscombe is the closest and has GP and veterinary surgeries, a secondary school and excellent sporting facilities including an open air, heated swimming pool.
For transport, the A396 is nearby, there are railway stations in Tiverton and Taunton and Exeter and Bristol Airports are both easily accessible. There is also an excellent choice of schools nearby both from the state and independent sectors. Good independent schools within a reasonable driving distance include Blundells in Tiverton and Taunton School, King's and Queen's Colleges, King's Hall Preparatory School and Richard Huish Sixth Form College in Taunton.