Rushton House, Delph Lane, Barnacre, Preston, PR3 1GP

Built in 1911 as the vicarage to the adjacent All Saints church, Rushton House retains much of its period charm, with high ceilings, sash windows, panelled doors, open fireplaces and decorative detailing, while high-quality fittings, a thoughtful extension and many improvements ensure it is ideally suited for contemporary family life. The accommodation starts with an impactful hall and goes on to provide four elegant reception rooms for entertaining alongside cosy family spaces. The well-planned kitchen is finished to an excellent standard with the support of ancillary domestic offices; shelved pantry, utility and a boot room and around a courtyard, stores and an outside WC.

Upstairs, there are five well-sized bedrooms, each with lovely leafy outlooks, complemented by a house bathroom, cloakroom and ensuite shower room of equally high quality. The sense of light and space is enhanced throughout by the open aspect and fine views.

Outside, the approach is through a secure gated entrance to an extensive parking area in front of the detached double garage which boasts the advantage of a selfcontained studio above, perfect for a dependent relative, guests or as a home office or creative space.

Mature and neatly maintained landscaped gardens wrap around and include a lawn, choice of seating terraces and abundant planting for year-round colour and interest. Adjoining the garden are a field and woodland, creating both privacy and a wonderful setting for children and dogs to explore or for those with equestrian interests. Handsome Rushton House represents a rare opportunity to acquire a family home of character, charm and substance, in a delightful rural setting yet within reach of local amenities and good communications.

Vendor Insight

It’s been the perfect family home for us. It’s been a joy. We hate the idea of leaving but our children are grown and live away and we now want to be nearer to them and our grandchildren. We hope another family will love it just as we have done.

Location
This is an opportunity for immersion in a tranquil rural lifestyle with ready access to the glorious Protected Landscape of the Forest of Bowland (formerly known as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), encompassing fells and deep valleys, ancient woodlands and providing some of the most peaceful and remote walking, cycling, wildlife-watching and star-gazing in the country. If you move here with horses or are seeking to realise equestrian dreams, then there are great local hacks right from the stable door.

It’s easy to stay well connected here, whether travelling for business or pleasure, the nearby A6 and M6 (at J33) offer convenient access to the wider road network and if travelling by train, there are stations on the main West Coast line at both Lancaster and Preston.

For day-to-day shopping, Garstang (c. 3.2 miles) has branches of Booths and other supermarkets as well as a busy high street with a great selection of independent retailers and a traditional weekly market. Scorton is nearer (c. 2.9 miles), a charming village with an active local community, primary school and play park, church and village hall, Spar shop, garden centre and several places to enjoy refreshments.

On a wider level Lytham, Manchester, Liverpool, Lancaster and Preston possess a full range of commercial and recreational facilities including a vast selection of restaurants as well as great shopping. Culturally, there are theatres, cinemas and established arts and music scenes with festivals and events throughout the year.

Combining to offer an enviable and well balanced rural lifestyle, one which possesses great accessibility and general amenities.

Setting the scene
Rushton House served as the vicarage for the adjacent All Saints Church until 1999 when it was purchased by the present owners.

Built in 1911, the Edwardian era of domestic architectural is renowned for well proportioned rooms, the high ceilings and tall windows making light and airy interiors with highly practical and functional layouts that remain easy to occupy and manage. There is a lighter touch to decorative detailing than in the preceding Victorian age, with an emphasis on quality and craftsmanship. This is beautifully demonstrated in Rushton House with the warm golden tones of the abundant pitch pine joinery (the impressive staircase, panel doors and polished floorboards), period fireplaces (there are open fires in the sitting and dining rooms and study), a substantial kitchen dresser, the original bell board (no longer in working order), leaded and stained glass (notable in the front and inner main doors), tiled floors, deep skirting boards, ceiling cornicing and picture rails. There’s plenty of storage around the house and a host of ancillary rooms adjacent to the kitchen which belong to a time when a team of staff would have been in service, these highly practical rooms are as useful today as they ever were.

After their purchase, the owners embarked on a well-considered and high specification program of upgrades and additions, all designed to sit comfortably alongside the period features of this Edwardian residence. Kitchen, bathroom, shower room and cloakroom fittings were all replaced, double glazed sash windows added, the large stairwell feature window triple glazed and heating installed. The stunning garden room was constructed in 2008, the garage and annexe built in 2018 and solar panels added in 2021. The house has been decorated from top to bottom and is well maintained. The interior is beautifully presented skillfully employing a restrained and restful canvas of colours, materials and textures that reflect the gardens and surrounding colours of nature.

In essence, this is a fantastic family house, equally suited to everyday living as well as entertaining.

Vendor Insight

If you enjoy hosting, it’s a great house for it. There’s plenty of room inside and out in the garden too.
It’s a very special house at Christmas time, we have trees in the sitting room and garden room and decorate the staircase’s balustrading. It all looks magical.

Step outside
The house is situated between the church and the church hall on a quiet country lane. To the west, the village hall is screened from the house by a tall beech hedge, whilst through the trees and shrubs of the planted border that separates the two, parts of early 20th Century All Saints Church and well-tended grounds may be glimpsed to the east.

To the south, views are over the level field (c. 5.87 acres) towards Burns Wood (c. 0.51 acres) and Delph Wood (c. 0.16 acres) which form part of the property. The parcels of woodland are planted with a variety of evergreen and deciduous trees, beneath the boughs are swathes of naturalised bluebells. Amongst the trees, a bird box is home to a resident owl. Whilst letting the field was an option for the present owners, they chose to keep it in hand for their dogs and children to enjoy. Paths are mown through the grass and a neighbouring farmer takes a crop two or three times a year.

Upon arrival, electric gates open to plentiful gravel parking, the garage and vehicular access into the field (there is also further vehicular access off Delph Lane). Well-tended and comprehensively stocked gardens surround the house and offer privacy and opportunities for relaxation, recreation and growing your own fruit and vegetables.

To the south sits a formal parterre garden laced with gravel paths, each quadrant featuring a clematis clad obelisk. The lawn is ideal for children’s play with several choices for garden seating with a large, flagged terrace accessed from the garden room and a verandah offering a covered option.

For those keen on a degree of self-sufficiency, there is a small orchard producing a harvest of plums (two varieties cropping in June and then August), cherries, apples (both cooking and eating) and pears. Tucked away behind the garage in a sunny southerly spot is a kitchen garden with raised beds and a greenhouse possessing the convenience of automatic vents and planted in a handy position for the kitchen is an established herb garden. There are blackcurrant bushes in the garden and abundant blackberry bushes in the field.

An arbour adorned with highly fragranced wisteria and honeysuckle is a delightful feature and creates distinct areas within the larger garden. A curved gravel path crosses the lawn and leads to an area that is out of sight from the house; here is an area of hard standing with two useful detached stores, both of which have power and light. These are used to house the mower and larger garden equipment.

The impressive, detached garage was designed to echo the architectural style of the house. A pair of electric doors open to a space intended to potentially accommodate three cars with additional room at the back for a workshop. External steps lead to the first floor, here the self-contained studio flat is ideal for dependent relatives or guests who would appreciate a degree of independence from the main residence. It would also make a super home office for working free of distraction or as space to spread out and indulge a hobby. The main open plan room has a well equipped kitchen and depending on how you see this area being used, space for work stations or a sofa bed; French windows open to a Juliet balcony and the fabulous far reaching panoramic view beyond. The attractively appointed bathroom provides every convenience.

External lights (some with sensors), water tap and an EV charging point.

Vendor Insight

We’ve really valued having our own space and the privacy it has given us. We are not disturbed, nor can we disturb others.

When they were younger our children loved playing in the woods; making dens, treasure hunts and games of hide and seek.

We’ve always had dogs, so it was important that the garden and field were secure for them to be off the lead. The courtyard next to the back door has worked well for us. It’s lockable and next to one of the outhouses we’ve used as a kennel if we are off for the day.

Included in the sale

Fitted carpets, some curtains, curtain poles, some blinds and domestic appliances as follows: Oil fired Alpha range cooker, Liebher drawer fridge, Miele dishwasher and Bosch microwave. Within the annexe a Lamona combination oven and microwave and a Lamona fridge.

Available by way of further negotiation are some curtains and blinds, an American style Fisher & Paykel fridge freezer, Bosch washing machine, Hotpoint tumble dryer, free standing wardrobes in bedrooms 2 and 3 and the Stihl robot mower (controllable via an App). The majority of light fittings are excluded.

Please note

A fenced off public footpath runs along the edge of the field between the field and the woodland.

Services

Mains electricity and water.
Oil fired Alpha range cooker provides central heating. Underfloor electric heating in the garden room.

Private drainage to a septic tank (shared with the church and church hall) located in the field belonging to Rushton House. 12 solar panels on the garage roof subsidize the household’s consumption. Batteries are located in the garage.

Rointe electric heaters in the annexe.
Electrically operated Velux skylights with rain sensors in the garden room and annexe.
Separate security alarms to house and garage. External CCTV with remote access via an App. EV charging point.

Anti Money Laundering Regulations (AML) 

Due to the Money Laundering Regulations, now officially known as Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017 we are required to follow government legislation and carry out identification checks on all purchasers. We use a specialist third party company to conduct these checks at a charge of £48 inclusive of VAT per buyer once an offer has been accepted and you will be unable to proceed with the purchase of the property until these checks have been carried out. This charge is non-refundable.