Ipstones Bank, Froghall, Stoke-on-trent, ST10

A Country Home, Six Cottages and a Completely Different Way of Living

The Hermitage offers something increasingly difficult to find: a beautiful country home where several generations of a family can live together while retaining their own independence, with the added opportunity to generate income from an established holiday cottage business.

Set around a wonderful historic courtyard and surrounded by approximately three acres of gardens, pasture and woodland, the estate comprises a characterful Grade II Listed farmhouse, six additional cottages, substantial barns and outbuildings.

For a couple or family dreaming of leaving behind conventional working life and running holiday cottages from home, or for several generations wishing to create a shared family estate, The Hermitage offers an exceptional combination of home, lifestyle, independence and income potential.

The Farmhouse At the Heart of the Estate

The principal farmhouse has origins stretching back more than 500 years and provides a wonderfully characterful family home.

Exposed beams, mullioned windows, original stonework and a substantial inglenook fireplace reflect the history of the property, while extensive refurbishment has created a comfortable home suited to modern family life.

The ground floor includes:

Bespoke breakfast kitchen

Sitting room with substantial inglenook fireplace

Formal dining room

Study/snug

Utility room, Shower room

Cellar storage

Upstairs are four double bedrooms, three with en-suite shower rooms, together with a family bathroom.

Generous attic rooms on the second floor provide further flexible space for bedrooms, home offices, hobbies or creative use.

Six Cottages Family, Guests or Holiday Letting

Surrounding the courtyard and grounds are six additional cottages, creating the flexibility that makes The Hermitage particularly unusual.

Four cottages are contained within the converted Grade II Listed stone barn, with two further detached cottages elsewhere within the estate.

This arrangement lends itself particularly well to multi-generational living. Parents, adult children and extended family can live within the same private estate, but each household can retain its own front door, kitchen, living space and independence.

Alternatively, some or all of the cottages can form part of the holiday letting operation, allowing new owners to tailor the balance between family accommodation and income generation to their own circumstances, subject to the relevant existing permissions and restrictions.

It could, for example, allow owners to live in the farmhouse, accommodate parents or other family members in one or more cottages, while continuing to operate the remaining properties as holiday accommodation.

An Established Holiday Cottage Lifestyle

The Hermitage has been successfully operated with holiday cottage accommodation and offers the opportunity to acquire not simply a beautiful property, but a very different way of life.

The cottages have historically achieved strong levels of bookings, benefiting from the estate's location close to some of the region's most popular visitor destinations.

Within approximately 15 minutes are attractions including

The Peak District National Park

Alton Towers Resort

Peak Wildlife Park

Churnet Valley Railway

The wider Staffordshire Moorlands and Peak District provide year-round demand from walkers, cyclists, families, couples and visitors seeking countryside breaks.

For purchasers interested in continuing the holiday letting business, further information regarding its historic operation and performance is available to serious enquiries.

Space to Live and Space to Be Independent

One of the great advantages of The Hermitage is its layout.

The farmhouse and cottages sit naturally together around the historic courtyard, creating a genuine sense of community without requiring everyone to live under the same roof.

For multi-generational families this provides an increasingly sought-after combination: close enough to support one another, but with the privacy and independence of separate homes.

It also means the estate can evolve as family circumstances change. Accommodation used for holiday guests today could potentially provide space for family in the future, and vice versa, subject to the applicable planning position.

Approximately Three Acres of Private Grounds

Beyond the courtyard are gardens, terraces, pasture and woodland, providing plenty of room for outdoor living while maintaining the property's secluded rural character.

Historic features include a rare stone icehouse and an ancient courtyard well, while the wider grounds provide space for gardens, recreation and grazing.

The property is approached along a long private driveway, creating a wonderful sense of arrival and separation from the outside world.

Barns, Outbuildings and Further Possibilities

The estate also includes two substantial traditional barns together with additional outbuildings.

These provide valuable storage and considerable additional space for hobbies, workshops, leisure or other lifestyle uses, subject where necessary to the appropriate consents.

A Home That Can Work Around Your Life

The Hermitage does not dictate one particular way of living.

It could be a substantial country home with accommodation for parents and children; a multi-generational family estate combined with holiday cottages; or a lifestyle purchase where new owners live in beautiful surroundings while operating their own holiday accommodation from home.

What makes it particularly special is the ability to combine all three.

For purchasers looking for a lifestyle change rather than simply a change of house, The Hermitage represents a genuinely unusual opportunity.

Viewings are strictly by appointment. A comprehensive brochure containing further information about the estate and its holiday letting potential is available to serious enquiries.

Further Information

The farmhouse and listed barn are Grade II Listed.

EPC Ratings: E, E and G.

Services: We are advised that the property has a septic tank and oil-fired central heating.

Commercial Business Rates apply. The current annual charge is £3,792, with rate relief of £2,877, leaving a current balance payable of £915.

Ruelow Cottage: Council Tax Band C.

Local Authority: Staffordshire Moorlands District Council.

Please note that a public footpath passes through part of the grounds.

Disclaimer

Whilst we make enquiries with the Seller to ensure the information provided is accurate, Yopa makes no representations or warranties of any kind with respect to the statements contained in the particulars which should not be relied upon as representations of fact. All representations contained in the particulars are based on details supplied by the Seller. Your Conveyancer is legally responsible for ensuring any purchase agreement fully protects your position. Please inform us if you become aware of any information being inaccurate.

Money Laundering Regulations

Should a purchaser(s) have an offer accepted on a property marketed by Yopa, they will need to undertake an identification check and asked to provide information on the source and proof of funds. This is done to meet our obligation under Anti Money Laundering Regulations (AML) and is a legal requirement. We use a specialist third party service together with an in-house compliance team to verify your information. The cost of these checks is £82.50 +VAT per purchase, which is paid in advance, when an offer is agreed and prior to a sales memorandum being issued. This charge is non-refundable under any circumstances.