Chesterton, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, CV33

Peytos Close is a detached timber-frame family house in a large garden in an idyllic rural location.

Structural issues have been addressed by the vendor, as well as the roof, wiring, and windows. The property requires extensive refurbishment and modernisation, but will more than justify the investment to create a wonderfully located home in a large garden, adjoining the historic medieval church of St Giles and traditional grassland sloping down to a series of lakes along the river valley.

Built of brick and local stone under a slate roof, there is a timber-clad barn to the front. There is a sitting room with fireplaces and exposed stonework, and a dining room with a tiled floor and wood-burner, situated to either side of the entrance hall. Beyond the entrance hall, there is a kitchen, a shelved walk-in pantry, and a cloakroom. Store rooms off the sitting room can provide additional accommodation as a study or playroom. The kitchen has a quarry tiled floor, built-in cupboards, and fitted kitchen units with a hob, electric oven, sink, plumbing for washing machine and dishwasher, and with French doors to the garden.

On the first floor is a bathroom and six bedrooms, offering scope to provide additional bathrooms as required (subject to any necessary consents). On the first floor are traditional boarded floors, and traditional fireplaces in Bedrooms two, three and five. Bedrooms one and two have views of the church.

Approached over a cattle grid between mature evergreen trees, the drive slopes up to the barn and parking spaces in front of the house.

The garden continues to the side of the house to the rear, with mature trees and shrubs including ash, box, and chestnut, a former brick privvy providing storage and a wood store, and a greenhouse in need of repair.

The barn, adorned with Virginia creeper, provides garaging and storage.

Since the 1350s, much of the village had been in the possession of the Peyto family, who lived at Chesterton House. Chesterton House was demolished in 1802 after Margaret Peyto, the last of the family, died in 1772 and left her estates to her cousin John Verney of nearby Compton Verney. The cottage is named after the Peyto family.

There was a Roman town on the Fosse Way less than a mile from the present village of Chesterton, and this was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086.

Peytos Close is at the end of a quiet no-through lane, ideal for walking, riding, or cycling. The surrounding land is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, the site of the former village.

Harbury nearby is well served with amenities, including All Saints Church, primary school, range of shops, public houses, chemist, garage, library, and doctor’s surgery. There is a cricket, tennis, and rugby club, Amateur Dramatic Society, and a Historical and Conservation Society.

Stratford-upon-Avon, with its theatres and Shakespearean heritage, is the region’s cultural centre. The Fosse Way, a short distance from the village, gives ready access to the Cotswolds to the south. There is a range of state, grammar, and private schools in the area to suit most requirements, including Warwick Prep and Public Schools, Kings High School for Girls in Warwick, Arnold Lodge School, and Kingsley School for Girls in Leamington Spa. There is racing at Warwick, Stratford-upon-Avon, and Cheltenham, and a number of golf courses in the area.