East Chelborough, Dorset, DT2

Set back about 350 yards from the passing country lane, with just its roof visible above the hedge line, Oaklands House has a truly enviable and very private setting surrounded by beautiful, unspoilt countryside. It sits on a hillside with much of its land dropping away down to a pretty stream in the valley below, with a large block of woodland beyond that is carpeted with bluebells in early May.

The house was built in a classic style in about 1970 with its two wings added later forming one side of a courtyard, with the indoor swimming pool and multiple garages on two further sides and a tall stone wall on the fourth. It was bought by the present owner eleven years ago and has subsequently been completely refurbished to a very high standard.

The interior has well proportioned rooms with tall ceilings and every reception room is able to look out at the surrounding view through wide, double glazed windows. Overall, there is a wonderful feeling of light and space complemented by light oak flooring, Bath stone fireplaces fitted with wood burning stoves, window seats and plenty of fine joinery. The centre of the house is dominated by the magnificent reception hall with a sweeping oak staircase and three-sided galleried landing above.

There are a total of seven reception rooms on the ground floor plus a gorgeous kitchen/breakfast room and sumptuous principal bedroom suite incorporating two dressing rooms and a large en suite bath and shower room. The kitchen is fitted with handmade, painted timber units, marble work surfaces, a Rangemaster electric range cooker and a walk-in larder. On the first floor there are five further generous double bedrooms upstairs, all with fantastic views and en suite bath/shower rooms. In the roof space there is a self-contained flat with an en suite double bedroom and kitchen/living room that would be ideal for an older teenager, nanny or live-in house staff.

The courtyard at the front of the house has a large turning circle at its centre with the indoor swimming pool, garaging for up to nine cars on two further sides and a tall stone wall on the fourth. In addition, it also encloses a large garden store with adjacent gardener's WC plus ample parking space. The formal part of the garden faces south east and extends out at the back of the house for about two acres from a deep, paved terrace. The garden is divided into four areas separated and enclosed by mature yew hedging with the scenery beyond forming a wonderful backdrop. The dark green yew hedging also serves as the perfect background to best show off the garden's richly planted borders containing a wonderful variety of flowering shrubs, roses and herbaceous perennials. Below the formal garden is a gently sloping area planted with a spinney of young trees and containing two ponds. Beyond the outer edge of the formal garden are four mixed orchards and a four-bay, open fronted barn.


The house has a lovely welcoming approach up a 350-yard long drive, passing a woodland strip on one side and pasture on the other, before sweeping round through parkland and into the front courtyard. From the house mature pasture extends out from the garden on two sides with woodland on the third. The land slopes down into a valley with a pretty stream flowing along its base forming much of the property's eastern boundary. The pasture and parkland cover about 29 acres, which is divided into seven enclosures bounded by stock-proof fencing and currently home to two flocks of pedigree sheep. Beyond the pasture below the house and continuing the strip of woodland on the western side of the house is an area of beautiful native woodland totalling about 15 acres called Bolland's Wood. This unsurprisingly contains a rich variety of native broadleaf trees, which is home to an amazing mix of wildlife and woodland plants.

The Oaklands House Estate is situated in hilly countryside on the edge of the beautiful Melbury Park estate surrounding Grade I listed Melbury House. It is located roughly midway between the small villages of East Chelborough and Halstock. Both have parish churches and Halstock, although small, also has a shop and village hall. The larger village of Evershot is also close by with a popular pub (The Acorn Inn TripAdvisor rated 4.5), post office/shop, bakery and the 5-star Summer Lodge Country House Hotel (see whilst the town centre of Yeovil is only 15 minutes away and capable of meeting most day to
day needs.

There are good local travel links too with rail services from Yeovil Junction Station to Waterloo (2.25 hours) and Bournemouth, Exeter and Bristol Airports are all just over an hour's drive away offering flights to both national and international destinations.

The local area also offers a wide choice of schools from both the state and independent sectors. Good independent schools within a reasonable driving distance include Perrott Hill, Leweston, the Sherborne schools and Hazelgrove.