Vicarage Lane, Bovingdon, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP3

A handsome Grade II listed Georgian family home of immense charm, situated within beautiful parkland gardens and grounds of 9.5 acres in a quiet yet convenient edge of village position.

Description

A handsome Grade II listed Georgian family home of immense character, situated within parkland gardens and grounds of 9.5 acres in a beautiful semi-rural position.

Church Lane House is handsome Grade II listed Georgian family home of immense character. Originally constructed in circa 1835 as a minister’s residence, the property stayed within the diocese until 1935 having been extended and improved to include a second wing and a number of additional outbuildings.

The property was purchased by renowned American-German businessman Herman Brassert. Brassert was one of the leading figures in the iron and steel trade and set about renovating the house to create a stunning modern property, with further frontage added to enlarge the principal rooms and the original stable block converted and connected to the main house to create additional living space along with ancillary staff accommodation. He undertook extensive landscaping of the gardens to include an idyllic rose walk still in use today along with an array of impressive specimen trees.

Reputedly Brassert’s German connections included Joachim Ribbentrop, the German ambassador to Britain, who was known to have spent time in the local area at weekends. Legend has it that Ribbentrop told Brassert that war was coming, and so Brassert built an air raid shelter in the garden of Church Lane House. After the war, Brassert and his family decided to stay in the United States, and the house was put up for sale for just the second time in 1947. Having been in the current owner’s family for close to 50 years, the property represents a rare opportunity to own a little piece of local history.

Currently requiring modernisation throughout, the property has a generous footprint of close to 6,000 sqft including outbuildings, with the main house arranged over two well planned, light and spacious floors with generous ceiling heights throughout.

The ground floor living accommodation comprises a grand triple aspect drawing room with original full height sash windows and matching shutters along with a feature open fireplace. Next to the drawing room is a formal dining room, with a further home office/study positioned across the hallway and overlooking the gardens. The hallway with cloakroom with WC gives access to the original main staircase and secondary staff staircase, along with further access leading down to a basement.

Located at the rear of the house is a further reception room leading to a boot room which in turn gives access to the kitchen via a small porch and further WC. The kitchen itself is well proportioned and has a good size walk-in larder. Located opposite the kitchen is a good size utility room.

The bedroom accommodation is equally impressive with up to eight bedrooms served by three bath/shower rooms.

Approached over a sweeping gravel driveway and parking area, the property sits within glorious parkland grounds approaching 9.5 acres. Formal gardens including well maintained lawns bordered by mature beds frame the property whilst the rose walk extends out to more expansive areas of lawn and a small orchard cleverly sectioned by mature hedging. There are a large number of outbuildings including a detached garage with room over and a brick barn/stable block in the fields. The remaining grounds are made up of wild parkland gardens with open paddocks studded by impressive mature spaceman trees providing the most glorious setting and backdrop.

Location

Church Lane House is located on Vicarage Lane, close to St Lawrence Church and Bovingdon High Street. This highly regarded Chilterns hill top village provides a wide range local amenities for everyday needs and a well-regarded village primary school.

Bovingdon is ideally located with larger towns such as Chesham (about 4.5 miles), Berkhamsted (about 5 miles) and Hemel Hempstead (about 3 miles) all providing multiple shopping facilities and amenities.

The London commuter is well serviced with the Mainline into Euston at Boxmoor (3 miles), Metropolitan & Chiltern Line at Little Chalfont (5 miles) and Metropolitan spur line at Chesham (4 miles). The A40 and M25 motorway networks are also close by giving access to both Heathrow and Luton airports. All distances are approx.

The area offers excellent schooling, including popular Berkhamsted, Westbrook Hay and Chesham Prep independent schools for boys & girls, Chesham Grammar school and Tring Park School for the Performing Arts.

Square Footage: 4,496 sq ft