Goldington Road, Bedford, MK40

EXCEPTIONAL AND SUBSTANTIAL, RENOVATED BEDFORD HOME, WITH WALLED GARDEN AND DRIVEWAY PARKING

An outstanding and beautiful, 4000 sq. ft., energy efficient, 7-bedroom, 5-bathroom, surprisingly unlisted Victorian gem on the edge of Bedford’s celebrated Castle Quarter. With driveway parking space for at least 4 cars and EV charging at the front, a lovely, south-facing walled garden at the back and bespoke, timber storage and workshop facilities to the side, this wonderful home has been completely renovated, with sophisticated insulation, underfloor heating and hardwood double-glazed windows, as well as a superb kitchen with handleless furniture, Quooker hot tap and Miele appliances. It is quite a place.

Your new home stands apart from its neighbour yet united in their shared beauty, with both set back from the Goldington Road. Take a moment to appreciate their striking looks. with their decorative brick, tile and timber detail. No. 65 was once owned by the well-to-do Reginald Blott, owner of Blott’s Drapery, and it served him, his wife, Emma and their eleven children very well.

Reginald could stroll the half mile to his shop in the High Street of Bedford’s town centre, and to the railway station, just over a mile away, from where trains now reach London in 40 minutes. The Blott children could, as yours still can, walk the few hundred yards to Bedford’s world renowned Harpur Trust private schools. Yours now also have the option of the outstanding Free School as well as Castle Newnham Primary, just 350 yards away. And Bedford’s beautiful Victorian parks, not to mention one of the finest river embankments in the country alongside the Great Ouse, were as much appreciated by the Blotts as they are by Bedford families today.

One of your bedrooms is currently a gym, yet if you prefer to work out away from home, you have plenty of fitness centres to choose from, as well as pools and tennis courts all close by. Every facility and amenity, from pubs and restaurants to music venues and theatres, surgeries, shops and supermarkets to galleries and museums are all within walking distance. You have plenty of parking space, but you might wonder if there’s any need of a car.

MORE ABOUT THE PROPERTY

Such taste, care, attention to detail – and money - have been lovingly lavished on your new home that you wouldn’t believe that it previously endured a long spell as offices. The subsequent renovation has allowed for every modern comfort from underfloor heating downstairs to internal insulation and double-glazed windows – hardwood, naturally. The water is softened, and electrics, including Cat 6 cabling, renewed and upgraded, reclaimed doors fitted, and traditional-style radiators installed upstairs, including those cute, cast-iron ones on the quarter-landings.

Climb the impressive, panelled staircase to wonderful bedroom suites for guests and family alike, not least the principal bedroom, complete with Victorian fireplace, dressing room, and through bespoke double doors beneath a lovely, leaded fanlight, to your huge bathroom, with its freestanding bath in the bay, stylish shower and back-to-back basins – and a cosy warm floor underfoot. There’s even a beautiful washstand in the cloakroom on this floor. And on up to peaceful, vaulted-ceilinged bedrooms – dream teenage quarters – with huge character, as well as fabulous rooftop and rugby club views - watch Saints stars of the future play for the Blues from the comfort of your home.

As you step over the lovely Victorian porch tiles into the entrance hall, with spectacular chandeliers hanging from the tall, corniced ceiling, there’s little doubt that the impression is of a rather grand house designed for entertaining. Indeed, the beautiful main reception room, with its Timothy Oulton light fittings, twin fireplaces, and French doors to the terrace, has seen a hundred guests around tables. Yet it’s more often witness to games of competitive snooker and family singalongs around the baby grand in the bay.

For this is a fabulous family home at heart. Where you can slump on the sofa in the snug, with its picture rails and original floorboards and ceiling rose, in front of logs ablaze in the stove. Where tall arched doors, with their lovely, Nepalese handles, lead to the light-filled, hub of the home, its slate floor extending out through sliding doors that open the entire corner of the kitchen to the terrace. And to a garden where children play safely within its beautiful Victorian walls, watched over by a row of Hornbeams and an old Conker tree. Where you can harvest your own figs, apples and almonds, not to mention parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme from the brick herb wheel. And where you can relax with a glass of wine and toast your good fortune.