Little Barford,St. Neots,PE19 6YE

The house offers over 5,000 sq ft of well balanced accommodation with excellent ceiling heights and plenty of natural light, combining period character with thoughtful modern updates. Particular highlights include a large drawing room, a vaulted sitting area opening onto the garden with mezzanine above, a refitted Aga kitchen with adjoining breakfast room, and a converted coach house providing further flexible accommodation including a cinema room and gym. The gardens have been redesigned in part by Chelsea Flower Show award winning designer Valentina Wyatt and include a part walled garden, courtyard and useful outbuildings.

The Old Rectory is a substantial Victorian house built of Cambridgeshire brick beneath a clay tiled roof, dating from around 1865. The house was comprehensively restored in the late 1990s with a clear focus on retaining and enhancing its period character, resulting in a well balanced home with generous proportions, tall ceilings and good natural light throughout.

More recent improvements have included the installation of high quality double glazed timber sash windows and a reworking of the principal reception space to create a more open and flowing layout. The drawing room enjoys a south facing bay overlooking the gardens and an open fireplace, while the dining room also features a fireplace and exposed wooden flooring.

At the heart of the house is a farmhouse style kitchen with a four oven Aga, central island, limestone flooring and shaker style units with Silestone worktops and butler sink. This leads through to a breakfast room and on to a particularly impressive vaulted sitting area which opens directly onto the rear verandah and gardens. A mezzanine level sits above, accessed via a spiral staircase, providing a flexible additional space. There is also a utility room adjoining.

The first floor provides five double bedrooms. The principal bedroom has an en suite shower room and adjoining dressing room, formerly a separate bedroom. Three further bedrooms have adjacent shower rooms and there is a well appointed family bathroom with a freestanding bath.

The converted coach house offers useful ancillary accommodation and is currently arranged as a large reception space used as a home cinema together with a separate gym. This could suit a variety of uses depending on requirements.

The house is approached via an in and out gravel drive with electric gates and entry phone system. The front garden is well established with a number of mature specimen trees including Cedar of Lebanon and Wellingtonia. To the rear, the part walled garden has been redesigned and planted to create a series of distinct areas including deep borders, wildflower sections and clipped yew hedging.

A rear verandah provides a sheltered seating area overlooking the garden. To one side, a five bar gate leads into a courtyard with an outdoor sink and barbecue area, with access through to the coach house and, beyond, a cart lodge providing covered parking.

In all, the property extends to about 2.37 acres.

The Old Rectory is situated on the edge of Little Barford, surrounded by open countryside. St Neots lies just to the north and provides a range of everyday shopping facilities including Waitrose, as well as a mainline station with direct services to London King’s Cross from around 40 minutes. The A1 is approximately 3.5 miles away providing access to the wider road network.

Cambridge is about 18 miles to the east and Bedford around 12 miles to the south west. There is a good selection of independent schools in Bedford, Kimbolton and Cambridge, with further schooling available locally in St Neots.

Following the sale of the surrounding Alington Estate, proposals are being brought forward for a wider Garden Community. These are currently at consultation stage and further information can be found online.

Major infrastructure improvements are also planned in the area including the dualling of the A428 and the East West Rail project, which will in time link Oxford and Cambridge with a proposed station at nearby Tempsford.

All distances and times are approximate.

Important note

The Old Rectory is the only privately owned property in Little Barford and sits within the Conservation Area. Following the sale of the surrounding Alington Estate, the wider area is being promoted for the creation of a Garden Community. Proposals are currently at consultation stage and may evolve over time. Further information, including timelines and details of the planning process, can be found at littlebarfordgardencommunity.co.uk.

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