Plush, Dorchester, DT2

It is not difficult to see why Plush Manor's setting was chosen as the site for the house. Positioned beyond the edge of the village and screened by a thick belt of mature broadleaf trees, the house sits at
the head of a beautiful chalk and greensand valley within a natural amphitheatre of lush, steep sided hillsides that drain into the Piddle Valley about a mile to the west.

The house sits in nearly seven acres of exquisite, mature grounds. These combine with the surrounding hillsides to create a blissful haven of undisturbed peace and tranquillity, within arguably some of the best
countryside in the West Country. Indeed, it inspired Thomas Hardy to use the parish as the basis for the fictional parish of Flintcomb-Ash in his novel “Tess of the d'Urbeville's” and it continues to enchant to the
present day.

The front of the house faces south west and the interior is laid out in a four-square arrangement around a central reception hall. At some point the hall has been opened out into one of the original, adjacent reception rooms to create a fantastic room for large scale entertaining. Five of the six reception rooms and the indoor pool complex look out onto the full expanse of the garden. The gorgeous kitchen/breakfast room, which is floored with massive Blue Lias flagstones, its attendant scullery and laundry room are grouped around the eastern corner of the house with easy access to the rear hall and outside as well as the rest of the house.

Upstairs there is a long, central landing that mirrors the hallways below, with two further landings branching out, one on each side. The first leads to the principal bedroom suite that includes an en suite dressing room and separate, en suite bathroom. The second leads to the guest bedroom suite that includes bathrooms a walk-through lobby and an en suite bathroom. Both suites have broad bay windows with fantastic, far-reaching views. Six of the remaining bedrooms share use of the two family, whilst the sole remaining bedrooms forms part of a self-contained flat at the rear of the house with its own door to the parking area and garden.

The main house is surrounded by landscaped garden and grounds of just under seven acres, which afford a high degree of privacy. Although the basic landscaping predates the current owners, the grounds have been completely transformed over the past 40 years and are testament to the love and care that has been lavished upon them. The formal parts of the garden extend out from the south western and south eastern sides of the house. They consist of a series of sweeping lawns, trimmed with mature, majestic Beech trees and deep, richly planted borders in places. The lawns that fall gently away from the house and are separated from one another by tall hedges of clipped Yew. Immediately behind the house with access from the kitchen and the drawing room is a charming courtyard garden incorporating a covered dining
area and at the far end of the furthest lawn is an enchanting, stone-built summerhouse.

The driveway entrance to the house is approached off a quiet, no-through lane lined with thatched cottages. Passing through tall, stone gate piers and wrought iron gates, the driveway sweeps around through mature, broadleaf woodland containing a pond with an island, to a good sized parking area behind the house. Arranged around two sides of the parking area are access to the main house's everyday entrance, the flat and the garage block that combines of a two-storey cottage with two double bedrooms along with two single garages. Off to one side of the parking area is a contemporary, timber-clad stable block containing two loose boxes. Alongside the stable block on one side is an all-weather manège and a bank of photovoltaic panels. Beyond the manège and adjacent to it is a hard tennis court, which now requires resurfacing. Access to the property's sloping paddock, which is bound by post and rail fencing, is on the other side of the stable block from where there is a

Plush Manor is situated in a wonderfully peaceful rural setting just outside the tiny village of Plush, which nestles at the head of a side valley off the Piddle Valley. The village is accessed via a narrow,
no-through country lane passing through an unspoilt and beautiful stretch of countryside, criss-crossed by a network of bridleways and tracks for walking, riding and countryside pursuits. The world renowned Jurassic Coast is also just over half an hour away by car.

The village is a small but thriving community with an award winning, thatched pub (The Brace of Pheasants), whilst the nearby village of Piddletrenthide has a post office/village shop and primary school and Cerne Abbas has a GP surgery. Dorchester and Sherborne are both close enough for wider requirements including dental and veterinary surgeries.

Sherborne also has a regular train service to Waterloo taking 2 hours 10 minutes and there are airports at Bournemouth, Bristol and Exeter. The wider local area also has a wide choice of schools for children of all ages from both the independent and state sectors. Schools within a reasonable driving distance from the former include Sunninghill, Milton Abbey, Leweston, Knighton House, Hanford, Bryanston and the Sherborne schools.