Purley Magna, Purley on Thames, Berkshire

Designed in 1795 by James Wyatt and started in 1801, Purley Park is a handsome Portland stone country house. Occupying the whole of the upper floor, 3 Purley Magna offers more than 3,200 sq. ft of light-filled, flexible accommodation. It sensitively combines quality fixtures and fittings, modern amenities and a wealth of exposed wooden flooring with period features including six-paned sash glazing, some original shuttering, generously-proportioned rooms, high ceilings and attractive fireplaces.

Configured to provide a stunning family and entertaining environment, the property is accessed through a red brick side entrance with grand, glazed doors leading to a wide, winding stone staircase up to the second floor. The penthouse’s private accommodation flows from a welcoming reception hall with original plasterwork and numerous sky lanterns, flooding the whole area with natural light. It briefly comprises a dual aspect drawing room and an inter-connecting sitting room, both with feature fireplaces and the latter with a door to the dual aspect kitchen/breakfast room. Also accessible from the reception hall, this has tiled flooring, a range of contemporary wooden wall and base units, a large central island with breakfast bar, complementary work surfaces and splashbacks, modern integrated appliances and space for a good-sized table.

The accommodation is competed by a bedroom wing. The L-shaped dual aspect principal bedroom has a marble fireplace, a fitted dressing room and a fully-tiled en suite bathroom with bath and separate shower. The property also benefits from two further double bedrooms, one with built-in storage and the other with a feature fireplace and Jack and Jill access to an en suite bathroom with fireplace, bath and separate shower, also accessible from the reception hall.

Set behind high stone walling, the property is approached through double iron gates over a sweeping driveway and gravelled forecourt providing private resident and visitor parking and giving access to a garage block incorporating the property’s garage.

The property also benefits from a useful walk-in basement store. The well-maintained communal parkland grounds surrounding the property are laid mainly to expanses of level and gently-sloping lawn interspersed with and screened by mature specimen trees. They feature numerous seating areas including a timber breeze house, together with a sunken parterre garden and an enclosed all-weather tennis court.

The riverside village of Purley on Thames lies on the river’s long-distance Thames Path Natural Trail in countryside renowned for its walks and rides, bounded to the south and west by the North Wessex Downs and to the north by the Chilterns National Landscapes. The village offers local shopping, a GP surgery, pharmacy, primary school and numerous pubs and restaurants.

The Thameside village of Pangbourne provides an excellent range of local shops and services, including an award-winning butcher and specialist cheese shop with delicatessen.

More comprehensive amenities are available in Reading. Communications links are excellent: local buses connect to Reading and nearby towns, Tilehurst and Reading stations offer mainline services to London Paddington in around 45 and 25 minutes respectively, and the M4 gives access to London, its airports and the motorway network.