The Forge, Lucking Street, Great Maplestead, Essex CO9 2RE

Quote Ref: DP0213 when requesting further details of this gorgeous Grade II Listed character cottage with a separate annex. The Forge and The Smithy are full of 300 year old character and make a fabulous opportunity for a family who are looking for additional accommodation for relatives set on the outskirts of a rural thriving village.

The Forge is entered via a character front door that leads into the home and opens up to the sitting room and to the kitchen. As you enter the front you are immediately struck by the exposed brick of the central inglenook fireplace, the sitting room is a 26ft room with parquet flooring and a wealth of character with exposed beams and double aspect windows, the main feature of the inglenook fireplace includes a wood burning stove. There are three doorways from the sitting room and one of them takes you into the dining room that again has a mass of character with the second inglenook fireplace in the house and with a gorgeous brick floor and a built-in cupboard to the side of the fireplace housing the boiler; this room is currently being used as a study. To the other end of the property there is the kitchen which has a fully fitted set of units with a one and half bowl sink unit, an integral dishwasher and space and plumbing for a washing machine. There is a central island with storage and within the fireplace there is a John Lewis range  style electric oven with gas hobs all set on a tiled floor. There are patio doors with side lights leading out to the garden and a window overlooking the front aspects. From the living room there is a door leading out to the rear hallway which has the downstairs cloakroom as well. 

There is a superbly unique split staircase that leads up to the first-floor bedrooms. Two doors at the top and one leads to the third bedroom which has the exposed original floor with exposed timbers in view and double aspect windows. Bedroom two is the other side of the staircase and is another generous character double room again with great floorboards showing off the age and a built-in cupboard and window overlooking the front aspects. From this room a door leads into the inner landing where the family bathroom can be found and bedroom one.  The bathroom has a four-piece suite to include a shower and separate freestanding roll top bath and a vanity oak panelled sink unit. Bedroom one completes this floor, again a characterful double room with vaulted ceiling and a feature exposed chimney breast and windows overlooking the rear aspects of the house. 

The Smithy (Old Forge)

The separate detached outbuilding is the ‘Old Forge’ known as the Smithy. Listed in its own right it has been converted beautifully into open plan guest accommodation with the advantage of level access with some of its original features on show, The old anvil for the forge is encased in the floor with a reinforced glass top in front of the old fireplace, there is a bedroom area and a living area with a kitchenette cleverly fitted in and a separate shower room. 

Outside:

At the front of the property there is a hedgerow with a pathway through to the front door, to the right hand side of the home there is a shingled driveway for two to three cars and access to the Smithy and a gate through to the rear garden. Attached to the Smithy is a timber framed outbuilding , previously a stable for the forge but now ample garden storage and with an attached log store and with the oil tank situated behind. 

The rear garden is an absolute delight facing south westerly, with a patio to the immediate rear of the house leading to the lawn with views over the rear farmland. There is a feature working well in the garden, a workshop/shed behind which is a secluded seating area, a greenhouse and some rear planted borders. There is a hedge border to the south eastern boundary and post and rail fencing to the rear boundary. To the south easterly side of the house there is a further shingled area.

Services:

Mains Electricity. Oil fired heating. Private Septic Tank Drainage. Braintree Council Tax Band E and A.  County Broadband Standard, Superfast and Ultrafast optic fibre broadband connections up to 1000mbps available at this property (according to Ofcom broadband checker).