Wallingford Road, North Moreton, OX11

The Pannels, North Moreton

This charming Grade II listed home dates back to the 16th century, with further additions through the 17th and 19th centuries. Peacefully located amidst the Oxfordshire countryside in North Moreton, experience real rural village life, and embrace the unique opportunity to perhaps reimagine a historic home for 21st century living.

Village living

Serenely set opposite the church, offering a quiet retreat from the toing and froing of daily life in North Moreton. Plenty of parking can be found on the gravel driveway, while a large, detached garage provides storage and shelter for a car.

Beyond the picket gate, a paved pathway leads up alongside cottage-style planted borders and an extensive front lawn, arriving at the gabled, whitewashed frontage of The Pannels.

Step into the entrance hallway, where wooden flooring features underfoot and a glazed door opens into the drawing room on the left.

Period living with potential

Preserving its period feel, the drawing room, grandly proportioned, is washed over with light from windows to the front and rear and French doors opening to the garden at the side, perfect for summer soirees.

An ornate fireplace with its pink marble inset adds to the character, issuing warmth and cheer in the winter months; the perfect place for gathering with family on special occasions. The drawing room is an all-season room, cosy in winter and connected with the outdoors through summer. Throughout The Pannels, traces of its history remain in the many original finishes, potentially leaving clear scope for a considered reworking that builds on the scale, light and craftsmanship already in place.

Glazed doors open once more to the dining room, where panelling and a fireplace, currently ornamental, with its embellished surround, add once again to the characterful feel. To the rear, a large window draws the garden views in.

A home that wears its evolution openly, The Pannels has a layered, unconventional layout shaped by centuries of adaptation, with shifts in level and rooms added over time, as seen in the short flight of steps leading down from the dining room to the sitting room below.

Timeless features

With exposed beams overhead and a deep inglenook fireplace, the sitting room forms an intimate counterpoint to the rooms above. Potentially the cosiest of winter snugs, yet still light, with windows framing views to the garden and church, this room could be the perfect place to hunker down with a favourite book and a mug of steaming cocoa with the fire roaring as the snow settles outside. From here, a tiled inner hall offers access down to the generous cellar.

Room to grow

From the hallway step through into the traditional breakfast kitchen. Practical and furnished with wooden cabinetry and freestanding appliances, the kitchen is a good family space, ready for reimagining. With its position at the rear of the home, with close connection to the surrounding rooms, it invites a modern, considered redesign with architect consultations exploring a sensitive, extension in keeping with the home’s listed status (subject to the necessary consents), potentially incorporating glazed doors to open the space directly onto the garden and make the most of verdant views.

Returning to the entrance hall, to the right discover a handy cloakroom with wash basin and WC. Stairs lead up from this side of the hall, where off the half landing lies a double bedroom with low cottage window views to the front over the gardens and church. Beams hint at the home’s heritage, while storage can be found in built-in wardrobes. There is also a shower room en suite.

And so to bed…

Along the landing arrive at the family bathroom furnished with bath containing overhead shower, wash basin and WC, with delightful garden views.

Bedecked in beams, the second of the four bedrooms can be found next door, again with glorious garden vistas.

Back on the stairs, continue up to the first floor, where a further room situated close to the principal suite could serve well as a cosy home office as an alternative to a bedroom.

Accessed via a dressing room containing built-in storage, the principal bedroom features its own en suite shower room and quaint cottage windows draw the outdoors in from both sides.

Country garden

Stretching out at the front, the impressive south facing front lawn enhances the sense of privacy and quiet at The Pannels, where a terraced area provides space for a table and chairs, ideal for al fresco dining, tucked behind rambling borders which offer shelter and seclusion whilst retaining idyllic views towards the village church.

The lawn and borders reaching out to the front continue to the side and rear, where paved pathways, pergolas and planting provide the foundations of a potentially phenomenal family garden.

Mature trees including apple, walnut and quince offer shelter and shade to the rear, with a no-longer-used greenhouse in the corner serving as a reminder of the potential to recreate the productive garden of old.

Or for 21st century living? With its fantastic footprint and mature lawns, the garden could be taken in a different direction altogether: formalised, with space for an outdoor kitchen, a hot tub beneath the trees… a space designed for sultry summer nights beneath the stars as opposed to seasons of work with a spade and fork.

Out and about

Located in the peaceful, historic South Oxfordshire village of North Moreton, at The Pannels, fields, footpaths and ancient hedgerows meet village life. At the heart of the village sits All Saints’ parish church, a hub of the local community, while The Bear, a 16th-century country pub serves up traditional meals and local ales close by.

For walkers, footpaths radiate out across the surrounding countryside, with routes through open fields teeming with wildlife and nature, while for runners and cyclists, gentle loops extend in the direction of the distinctive Sinodun Hills [SI1] with links to the historic Thames Path and neighbouring villages.

Country living comes with convenience, Didcot, with its shops and rail links is just 3 miles, 10 minutes’ drive away - including frequent 40 minute services to London Paddington. The market town of Wallingford on the River Thames is also approximately 10 minutes away. Oxford, with its dreaming Spires, can be reached in less than 30 minutes.

The close neighbouring village of South Moreton has a highly regarded Primary School. North Moreton is inside the catchment area for Didcot Girls School which is Ofsted rated as Outstanding. Within the area are a number of excellent independent schools including Moulsford Preparatory, Cranford House, Bradfield College, Abingdon School, The Oratory and, in or around Oxford, The Dragon Preparatory, Radley College, St Edward`s and Magdalen College School.

A house rich in history and character, The Pannels presents the perfect opportunity to create a truly personal version of country living, guided by its past yet shaped for modern life.

N.B. Kindly note that select images used within our promotional content have undergone virtual staging processes, showcasing possible arrangements and aesthetics within the property; however, the actual space might differ from these depictions.