Bourton, Gillingham, Dorset, SP8

The property has a lovely and quite private setting about 130 yards away from the western edge of the village, set in the lee of a hill so that the village is out of sight. It has only one near neighbour, a small cottage largely hidden by trees about 50 yards away on the other side of Factory Lane. The house is laid out so that nearly all its rooms face south east or south west, looking out over the garden and the countryside beyond. Thought to have been built in the Edwardian era, the house has a rendered and painted exterior with tall, stone mullion windows under a clay tiled roof. Inside it has well laid out and generously sized rooms with tall ceilings and appears to have been well looked after over the years, having had the same owner since 1976. It has undergone an ongoing programme of updating over this period and is currently well presented with great potential for a new owner to put their own stamp on it. It is also unlisted and has retained many original fittings including several fireplaces, tiled and timber floors and window seats. The ground floor encompasses three good-sized reception rooms. The drawing room was originally two panelled rooms, each with its own cut stone fireplace, divided by a set of folding doors. The folding doors were removed at some point to create a permanent, single room. The room could therefore be easily dividable again by fitting a new set of doors if desired. The panelling, once dark-stained, is now painted white thereby making the room wonderfully light and airy. The fully fitted kitchen looks out over the grounds as well and is equipped with electric, built-in appliances, a door to the terrace and a walk-in larder. The first floor has a total of five generous double bedrooms off a centrally positioned, galleried landing well-lit by natural light. Two of the bedrooms have a shower room between them, which would facilitate the three rooms being combined into a single suite if desired. There are two further bedrooms (former domestic staff rooms) along with an ensuite bathroom within the roof space that could serve as a flat for a teenager or nanny.

Outbuildings/Secondary accommodation

Set apart from and above the house and about 25 yards away, is an L-shaped former stable and garage block, with its own parking and turning area and vehicle entrance onto Forge Lane. At present this block incorporates a fantastic party barn, workshop, log store and machinery store. Subject to obtaining the necessary planning consents, this range has huge potential for other uses including as a single storey, self-contained annexe or as family sized holiday accommodation. Its orientation and position mean that both properties are mutually private from one another.

Garden & Grounds

The house is set off a narrow, little used country lane along with about six and a half acres of gardens and grounds. The house is on the western edge of the grounds which then extend out on three sides. Immediately adjacent to the house is a gravelled parking area in front of an attached, double garage. The garden consists of several areas of lawn, some flat and others gently sloping along with a selection of shrubs and several mature, native broadleaf trees. A paved terrace with a timber pergola fringes the south eastern and south western sides of the house and below the house is a further terrace overlooked by a stone-built folly that provides a sheltered seating area for barbeques. Beyond the garden is a gently sloping paddock with a field shelter and a vehicle entrance onto the lower part of Factory Lane. Some years ago, the field was home to a working vineyard (Kings Green Wines) producing a popular variety of English white wine.

The property is situated on the edge of the village of Bourton, which adjoins an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is at the northernmost point of Dorset. The village is a vibrant community and is also juxtaposed next to the village of Zeals. Between them the two villages have two parish churches, two pubs (the popular White Lion Inn is within easy walking distance), 2 post offices, a petrol station with a Spar convenience store and a doctor's surgery (see and Gillingham between them have a good range of shops covering most day to day requirements including dental and veterinary surgeries, along with a Waitrose supermarket. The village is also well positioned for transport links. The A303 is easily accessible just outside the village, Gillingham and Castle Cary stations offer direct services to Waterloo (2 hours) and Paddington (90 minutes) respectively and Bristol Airport is about an hour's drive away. The local area also offers an abundance of good schools from both the state and independent sectors. These include Port Regis, the Bruton schools, All Hallows, Clayesmore, Hazelgrove and the Sherborne schools from the independent sector, which are all within a 15-mile radius.