Kingcombe Lane, Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire, GL55

A FINE COUNTRY HOUSE INFLUENCED BY THE COTSWOLD ARTS & CRAFTS MOVEMENT WITH ENCHANTING GARDENS, SET IN AN ELEVATED POSITION WITH GLORIOUS VIEWS.

In 1924, Sir Gordon Russell purchased a plot of land on the outskirts of Chipping Campden and commissioned architect Leslie Mansfield to design a home for his family using traditional materials and methods. Kingcombe is built of locally quarried Cotswold limestone beneath traditional Cotswold roofs with graduated courses and swept valleys. There are numerous mullion windows, solid chimney stacks, and fine doorways and porch heads.

The house and garden became Sir Gordon’s passion, and the property was enlarged - though not for the last time - in 1935. It evolved over time to become a substantial country house. The house stands alone in an elevated position with glorious south-easterly views across rolling countryside towards Chipping Campden. In 2025, Kingcombe honours a century of masterful craftsmanship, preserving the artistry and heritage that define the North Cotswolds.

The principal accommodation is laid out over three floors. The arrangement and measurements of the rooms can be seen on the accompanying floorplans. Internally, the property boasts exceptional original detailing throughout. The simplicity and craftsmanship of Sir Gordon reflect the influence of the Arts & Crafts Movement in the Cotswolds in the early twentieth century. In recent years, the property, gardens, and grounds have been beautifully restored and improved to create an exceptional country house.

Key features include:

A sweeping drive leading to the stunning entrance hall.

Impressive partly panelled entrance and staircase hall with graceful staircase and picture window overlooking an internal courtyard garden.

Elegant, well-proportioned drawing room with fine chimneypiece, original bespoke cabinetry, double doors with inlaid marquetry, and a series of French windows leading to a flagged stone terrace.

A most attractive and comfortable triple-aspect sitting room with an abundance of original features.

Dining room with sliding doors opening onto a covered balcony with magnificent views over Chipping Campden and beyond.

A charming gentleman’s study and a well-proportioned music room.

Kitchen/breakfast room with door to laundry and pantry.

Kingcombe has recently been sympathetically modernised and extended with an open-plan family kitchen/breakfast room and an enclosed balcony. These recent works beautifully combine modern comfort with the timeless Arts and Crafts heritage.

Additional highlights:
-Double-height atrium with staircase and lantern window leading to the upper-level courtyard.
- Two exceptional and charming first-floor bedroom suites, both with dressing rooms, along with three further double bedrooms and two additional bathrooms.
- Two attractive second-floor bedroom suites offering elevated views.
- Wine cellar.

Outbuildings:
- Triple garage with self-contained one-bedroom flat above.
- Studio/gym overlooking the kitchen garden.
- Second self-contained one-bedroom flat.
- Kingcombe is set behind a high drystone wall and is accessed from Kingcombe Lane via a splayed entrance with electrically operated metal gates. A gravelled driveway descends towards the house on the east side and terminates in a parking forecourt.

Jellicoe and Page were great proponents of the Arts & Crafts gardening style, and the beautiful mature gardens provide the perfect setting for the house. Nestling into the hillside, the house is perfectly positioned—and indeed designed—to enable the principal rooms to take full advantage of the magnificent sweeping views over adjacent countryside towards Chipping Campden and Brailles Hill in the far distance.

The gardens have featured in a number of books and are often cited as one of the finest examples of a country garden. Throughout the garden, there are a number of stone-carved features, including a garden table carved by Sir Gordon in celebration of the late Queen’s Coronation, stone benches, and Sir Gordon’s self-portrait in a stone water spout.

Close to the house on the west side is a substantial stone-flagged terrace and a small area of lawn with box-hedged beds for cut flowers. In the corner is an open loggia behind pillars and an elevated path bordered by climbing roses with stone benches, perfectly situated to take advantage of the Art Deco-style natural swimming pool, which is flanked on one side by repeated arches.

The formal gardens continue further west where topiary, stone walls, and a mature beech hedge divide the garden into a series of ‘rooms’. Secret openings and gateways reveal unexpected spaces and vistas, parts of which are hidden behind high hedges. A series of troughs on either side of stone steps are raised to create a cascading waterfall. Accessed from these steps is an enclosed space with a vine-covered canopy and a stone table, ideal for summer shade. Straight allées lead the eye out to the informal gardens and beyond, where the garden gradually fades into the surrounding countryside.

Paths wind past wide borders exuberantly planted with herbaceous perennials and a magical topiary bird. The Palm Tree Garden, protected by yew hedges, contains specimen trachycarpus. On the north side of the house is a hidden courtyard with a central pond. The use of modern materials can be seen near the pool, where a stone folly with battlements has been built to resemble the turrets of a castle. Stone steps lead down to a lawn with commanding views.

The informal gardens feature a series of interlinked spring-fed ponds and fine examples of mature trees dotted to great effect, including willow, tulip, mulberry, silver birch, horse chestnut, and lime. A small copse of mature beech trees, underplanted with spring bulbs, sits beside a planted orchard. There is also an excellent hard tennis court, beyond which lies a sheep-grazed pasture meadow of approximately 4.5 acres, enclosed by post and rail fencing. A borehole is present and used to irrigate the gardens.

The total area extends to approximately 11.14 acres in all.

PROPERTY INFORMATION:

Listed building: Kingcombe is Grade II Listed, being of Special Architectural or Historic Interest.

Local Authority & Council Tax: Cotswold District Council. Main house is council tax band H.

Tenure: The property is for sale by Private Treaty, freehold, with vacant possession upon completion.

Planning: The property lies within the area administered by Cotswold District Council to whom interested parties are advised to make their own enquiries in respect of any planning issues and development opportunities for the property.

Services: Mains electricity. Newly installed eco friendly sewage water treatment plant. LPG fired central heating. Mains water with spring and borehole for garden irrigation.

EPC Ratings: Main House - F. Beeches - D. Hill View - D.

Wayleaves, Easements and Rights of Way: The property is sold subject to the benefit of all rights including rights of way, whether public or private, light, support, drainage, water and electricity supplies and any other rights and obligations, easements and proposed wayleaves for masts, pylons, stays, cables, drains and water, gas and other pipes, whether referred to in the Conditions of Sale, or not.

Viewing; Strictly by prior accompanied appointment.

Fixtures and Fittings: For clarification Formal notice is given that all fixtures and fittings, carpeting, curtains/blinds, furniture, lighting, kitchen equipment, garden statuary and ornamental buildings whether fitted or not, are deemed removable by the Vendors unless specifically itemised within these particulars. Certain chattels may be available at valuation.