The Old Rectory, Staple Fitzpaine, TAUNTON, Somerset, TA3.

The Old Rectory enjoys those all too rare commodities peace and privacy and it is therefore little wonder that it has been the much-loved home of its current owners for the past 52 years. The house has no near neighbours and is set well back off a little used country lane, almost hidden from view within its beautiful grounds. Surrounding it is a great swathe of lush, unspoilt countryside consisting of softly rolling hills, winding country lanes and woodland, all within the Blackdown Hills AONB. The detailed history of the house is unknown but it is thought to have been built in the 1800s, possibly around 1840 when The Manor in the village was built. It is a lovely example of how well the Church of England used to house its rural clergy and has changed little over subsequent years. It is built of painted local stone with sandstone quoins sheltering under a clay tile roof, with an attractive and pleasingly symmetrical front and is unlisted. The interior has great charm and has retained many architectural fittings that reflect changing fashions over the past 200 years. These include a brick-paved floor in the hall, fireplaces in the drawing, dining and sitting rooms, white-painted beams, tall, wide windows and plenty of original joinery.

The front of the house faces northeast allowing three of the four reception rooms to be arranged in an arc facing southeast through to southwest to catch the best of the natural light throughout the day. The kitchen and dining room are interconnecting and both have windows on two sides. The former has enormous character with two doors to the garden, a tall ceiling with painted beams, tiled floor, four-oven AGA and a large, walk-in larder. There are two staircases to the first floor, which contains six good-sized double bedrooms. All the upstairs rooms including the two family bathrooms look out to far-reaching views over the surrounding countryside.

The house is approached off the passing lane via a U-shaped coach drive that passes one end of the house, with a sizeable parking area extending out from it in front of the house. Immediately behind the house and accessible from the kitchen and sitting room is a paved terrace that is a suntrap in fine weather and perfect for outside dining as it is nicely sheltered by the house and one of the barns.

The garden is level and largely lawned with a scattering of mature fruit trees and flowering shrubs, so is easy to maintain. At the far end of the garden is a hard tennis court. A further spur off the coach drive leads to a concrete yard flanked on one side by a stone-built period barn and on the other by a block-built stable block containing a tack room and three loose boxes. The barn is sectioned into four providing a garage, storage barn and two further stables. On the far side of the garden and stable yard are two paddocks enclosed by a field hedging and a short length of post and rail fencing. In all the grounds extend to about 4.46 acres (1.8 hectares).

The Old Rectory is situated in unspoilt, open countryside with easy riding access on to the Here Path. A 13.7 mile-long circular trail through the Blackdown Hills (see village of Staple Fitzpaine is about half a mile away boasting a pretty, Grade I listed parish church and a popular, traditional pub (The Greyhound Inn TripAdvisor rated 4.4). The centre of the county town of Taunton is only a 15-minute drive and able to meet most requirements with a wide choice of shops and businesses.

he property also has easy access to nearby transport links. The A303 and M5 are both within easy reach and Taunton station provides direct services to Bristol Temple Meads (52 minutes) and Paddington (1 hour 39 minutes). Both Exeter and Bristol airports are within an hour's drive.

There is an excellent range of schooling available from both the state and independent sectors. This includes several private schools such as Blundells in Tiverton, Wellington School, Taunton School, King's and Queen's Colleges in Taunton, King's Hall Preparatory School and Huish's Sixth Form College.