Moor Lodge, Cloughton, North Yorkshire coast

Distinguished Victorian coastal house with outstanding period features, sea views and extensive gardens including woodland.

Built upon the rising hills on the coastline between Scarborough and Whitby, Moor Lodge is discreetly set back behind a long drive and encircled by woodland. This substantial, detached house - formerly a hunting lodge - comes with wraparound gardens and looks out upon glorious countryside with views down to the sea. Built in 1887 in the Revival style, inspired by 16th and 17th century architecture and incorporating elaborate timber framing, this distinguished house is available on the open market for the first time in its long history.

Vestibule, reception hall, cloakroom/wc, 3 reception rooms, study, kitchen/breakfast room (at first fix stage), pantry, utility room, laundry room
4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen/living room
3 further attic bedrooms and bathroom
Cellars
Workshop, 2 stores, boiler room, kennel, detached garage
Landscaped gardens, wooded grounds
In all 7.2 acres

Find Out A Little More... - The ambitious first owner of Moor Lodge was an antique dealer from Leeds. He fitted the house with Adams style Georgian fireplaces as well as extensive and elaborate wall panelling, mantelpieces, doors and door frames taken from Moot Hall, the largely seventeenth century Guildhall building in Leeds that was demolished in 1825. The impact remains as impressive today as it was when first fitted. The ground floor rooms display an eye-watering abundance of period features; there is ornamental plasterwork and coving, elaborate wood turning and decorated marble fire surrounds crowned by ornamental coffered ceilings with geometric patterns. The tall windows look out over the lawns and are almost all double glazed although they have retained their original frames.

Unfolding over 6570 sq ft, Moor Lodge is a substantial family house of three storeys plus cellars and was greatly extended in the late 1970s to provide picture windows of the coastline. Previously lived in by three generations of the same family, the property still lends itself to a multi-generational living arrangement.

The reception hall with its intricately carved staircase heralds the imposing living rooms on the ground floor. Each one is designed to impress with a series of features that conjure up the lavish interiors of a Victorian hunting lodge. The magnificent dining room has an ornate wooden frieze on the ceiling, elaborate wall panelling and features a fireplace with a large carved mahogany hood showcasing intricate carvings; floor to ceiling windows look out over the lawns. The drawing room includes a wood-burning stove with an impressive fire surround and a generous overmantel as well as a coffered ceiling and wall-to-wall windows. The sitting room, also with a coffered ceiling of geometric design is filled with light from a deep square bay providing an outlook across the landscaped gardens. Accessed from the hall is the perfectly proportioned study, double aspect and half-panelled in oak with tall windows.

Awaiting the incoming buyer to stamp their own identity, the kitchen/breakfast room is prepped and ready for first fix. Formerly the creamery, it has an original fireplace in situ and opens south onto a sheltered terrace at the back of the house, framed by a trellis adorned with clematis and rose. Alongside the kitchen/breakfast room is a pantry, laundry and scullery/utility room. The cellar rooms have some natural light and include a cold slab and wine storage.

The first floor extends nearly 2000 sq ft and provides four bedrooms and two bathrooms. The principal bedroom mirrors the sitting room below with a coffered ceiling, an Adams style fireplace and a lovely square bay framing a view of the gardens and countryside beyond. It is served by a bathroom of opulent design. Within the newer extension, dating from 1977, there is a charming open plan room that provides a kitchen, dining and living area with a wood-burning stove and outstanding long views down to the coastline. It is accompanied by a pantry. Together with the adjacent bedroom and a recently fitted bathroom with underfloor heating, it could form a self-contained annexe. On the second floor, a series of attic bedrooms with north-south facing light and eaves storage are accompanied by a bathroom.

Outside - From wrought iron gates within the dry-stone wall, the long drive winds its way up to the house through woodland and then past extensive lawns punctuated with rhododendrons, topiarised yew and rock gardens. The drive passes a parking area and traditional brick-built garage with steeply pitched roof to an additional parking area directly in front of the main entrance of the house.

Rising lawns surround the house on all sides with woodland at the perimeter. A terrace sculpted into the hillside has a retaining wall and provides a sunny and sheltered spot for sitting out with views down to the sea. At the rear, the seeping lawns abutting the house are sheltered by a high retaining stone wall with a raised stage for outdoor theatricals. A grassy bank is underplanted with spring bulbs, there is a small orchard, holly bushes and a dry-stone wall on the southern boundary bordering open countryside. Mature mixed woodland frames the house and is criss-crossed with paths.

Environs - Cloughton 2 miles, Scarborough 6 miles, Whitby 14 miles, Pickering 20 miles, Malton 25 miles

Moor Lodge lies in a stunning coastal region within the North York Moors National Park, between Scarborough and Whitby. To the west is the skyline of the Moors and to the east, rolling countryside that descends to the Heritage coast. There are coastal paths nearby including the Cleveland Way and The Cinder Track, a dual footpath/cycling route that runs from Scarborough to Robin Hood’s Bay. Cloughton is a Conservation village on the A171 coastal road that links Thirsk to Scarborough. It has retained much of its character with vernacular stone buildings typical of the region and is well served with two public houses and an historic church. All other amenities can be found close by in the thriving seaside town of Scarborough, a short drive away.

Specifics - Tenure: Freehold
EPC Rating: F
Council Tax Band: H
Services & Systems: Mains water and electricity. Wood pellet boiler ‘ekopower’ – Danish developed technology. Private drainage.
Fixtures & Fittings: Only those mentioned in these sales particulars are included in the sale. All others, such as fitted carpets, curtains, light fittings, garden ornaments etc., are specifically excluded but may be made available by separate negotiation.
Local Authority: North Yorkshire Council North York Moors National Park
Money Laundering Regulations: Prior to a sale being agreed, prospective purchasers are required to produce identification documents in order to comply with Money Laundering regulations. Your co-operation with this is appreciated and will assist with the smooth progression of the sale.

Directions: Go through Cloughton, turn off to Ravenscar. Soon after Hayburn Wyke Inn on the right hand side, a long stone wall on the left identifies the property and just beyond the brow of a hill are the entrance gates within woodland, set back on the left.

What3words: ///owes.coping.sound

Viewing: Strictly by appointment

Photographs, property spec and video highlights: April 2025
NB: Google map images may neither be current nor a true representation.