The Green, Hethe

A beautifully renovated Victorian cottage of over 1,600 sq ft, near the end of a small lane in a gorgeous village tucked away from noise and traffic while offering easy access to Bicester. Four ample bedrooms, kitchen & utility, three bathrooms, three receptions, and a pleasant garden. NO CHAIN

Hethe is a gorgeous and ancient village surrounded by farmland and tucked away from the modern world but offering easy access to it. Dating to Saxon times, the village has a real feeling of history to it, no more evident than the lovely Norman church. And a newly-opened farm shop barely two minutes' walk away is a welcome additional facility. For more amenities, Bicester sits just a few miles away, offering everything from Bicester Village to Bicester Motion, a wide range of popular eateries, a 10 screen cinema etc, plus fast rail to London Marylebone (40 minutes at peak), and A34/A43/M40 road access to everywhere. As a combination of historic village and wider convenience, Hethe has few rivals.

It's rare we handle a house that's been in the family for nearly a century; this is one of those rarities. Built in 1864, by the 1940's our client's family purchased one half of the house (at the time it was two semis), latterly the other, and thereafter it was combined to one. More recently our clients took it over as a place to bring up their young family, and in updating it they have beautifully and sensitively created a really lovely home. It is with some sadness they are now looking to sell; as the local farm owners, they would dearly love to keep it in the family such are the fond memories it engenders. But exciting new projects with the farm including the building of a new house make it surplus to requirement. Hence it is offered with no chain.

Unusually, the house sits side on to the sleepy lane outside. Hence the most frequently used entrance door is to be found on the left-hand side, behind a railing fence and gate. The modern composite door is flanked by tall glazed panels, bringing in plenty of natural light - a feature throughout The stairs rise and turn ahead of you, next to a hallway the leads behind them to the kitchen.

On the right, the first of three receptions is bright and full of character, centring on a charming Victorian fireplace containing a modern woodburning stove. Windows on two sides ensure this room continues the theme of great natural light. Opposite, another reception is currently used as an office, but it's such a good size it would be a great play room, games room or simply another sitting room if desired.

Heading past the under stairs storage cupboard the dining room sits off to the rear. Ample for a long table and a number of chairs, it, too, features a fireplace, this time with the simplest surround but also including a woodburning stove. It's another bright, double aspect room. And, pleasingly, the original wall to the left has been opened up to link the dining space to the kitchen. Attractive cream units with timber worktops plus integrated fridge, range cooker, dishwasher, are all fitted, making it a very efficient and pleasant kitchen to use. The style is neutral with just enough colour and texture.

A pair of timber doors at the far end open to the smallest reception, at the rear of which glazed French windows offer the first glimpse of the broad terrace behind and the lawn stretching away beyond. This room is very much "jack of all trades" as it could be a dog's lobby or a study, and with a smart modern shower room just next door, it would be very effective as a downstairs bedroom if that were desired.

Beyond the shower room the hallway continues to the utility, fitted in the same style as the kitchen, with the plumbing for washing machine and dryer, alongside the oil fired heating boiler keeping the noise of such items away from the living areas. The door on the far wall heads back to the second sitting room already described.

Taking the stairs to the first floor, the landing splits to left and right. Head left and two useful bedrooms are both well proportioned. The left is smaller but a good double. Next door a much larger double is so generous it features a pair of windows, plus so much floor space a range of wardrobes, dressing table, even a sofa or blanket chest, would easily find space here.

Back across the landing, the family bathroom is simple and elegant, cream units with darker tops creating a large vanity unit with plenty of storage and incorporating both sink and WC. The bath is a sensible design with a wider part at the shower end, complete with screen and thermostatic controls that are separate to the bath taps, making this a very effective shower and bath combined.

Leaving the best til last, the house has a clever trick up its sleeve. The smallest bedroom sits directly opposite the main bedroom with its ensuite. This offers serious flexibility as the smaller bedroom is currently used as a very handy dressing room and walk-in wardrobe by our vendors. But it could as easily be a baby's room, or a study, as changing family needs require. As it stands today the arrangement leaves the en-suite bedroom with wonderful space around the bed as it doesn't need to house much furniture. The en-suite attached to it follows the simple, elegant style found everywhere else, here with a low-level shower and vanity sink, and all walls are tiled up to the ceiling for ease of maintenance and cleaning.

The outside of the house and the charming location need to be seen to be understood adequately. It is rare to find such a serene spot. The lane outside has two parallel roadways; a main metalled lane feeds perhaps less than a dozen houses, and ends at the entrance to the farm. However, parallel to the right of this, the old lane leads only to this house and three others. Hence even though this cottage could accommodate driveway parking behind the railings, there's no need as there's ample parking outside.

Either side of the house metal railings with pedestrian gates access pathways that lead to the rear garden. Behind the house, a neat terrace runs the full width, with boundaried by low walls. On the left, a concrete plinth edged with thick timber sleepers provides a flat space upon which a pair of sheds have been fitted. Thereafter, a long lawn fills the greater majority of the space, flanked by stone walls to the right, and several raised planters with timber sleeper surrounds sit at the far right corner. On the left side behind the sheds, the heating oil tank is a modern item sitting on its own plinth. Behind the plot is the farm owned by the family, hence you are guaranteed friendly neighbours (as well as easy access to the farm shop!).