Wendan Road, Newbury, RG14

A truly remarkable and beautifully improved family home that’s a wonderful blend of contradictions: The feel of the countryside, just a stroll from the town centre. Large yet cosy. Spacious yet intimate. Period yet contemporary.

“It’s a big house from the outside, but it doesn’t have the feel of a big house when you’re inside. It’s a lovely, normal family home.”

Situation
Positioned partway up Wendan Road, with views across Newbury, this stunning family home is just under a mile from the railway station and the town centre, an easy downhill walk.

“Apparently, back in the 1930’s, the developer combined two plots into one to make the best house on the street for him and his family. It’s why there’s no number 46.”

Property
Set back from the road behind a low wall, the sweeping gravelled driveway is semicircular, providing in/out access. There’s space for the various cars that come with a large family. Mature hedges and trees provide privacy, greenery and habitat.

A storm porch shelters visitors and the front door from the elements.

“You can access the garden from both sides of the house. We’ve put in garden taps on both sides too.”

Hallway
Through the solid oak front door, inspired by the 1930s original, is the spacious hallway. This is flooded with light from the tall stained-glass window.

Doors off the hallway open into the sitting room, kitchen/diner/family room, downstairs loo, electric meter cupboard and a cupboard for coats, boots and more.

Travertine tiles connect the hall with the fabulous kitchen/diner/family room beyond – creating a wonderfully cohesive flow.

The bespoke oak and polished steel staircase is a modern nod to the original staircase, and illustrates the attention to detail that runs throughout this beautiful family home.

Kitchen/diner/family room
This large, connected space is the real heart of this family home. While one space, it’s been cleverly zoned into three areas.

Kitchen area
The kitchen has beautiful stone worktops and splashbacks, accompanied by cream shaker-style cabinetry that includes a tall larder, wide pan drawers, plate rack, wall cupboards, integrated dishwasher and more. Storage will not be a problem in this kitchen. There’s even a walk-in pantry with cooling stone shelves, ideal for keeping your provisions in perfect condition and your vacuum cleaner, mops and other kitchen cleaning essentials out of the way.

A wide 5-ring range cooker sits beneath an extractor fan. A wine fridge sits opposite the double-width American fridge freezer.

The two-bowl Belfast sink sits beneath a window, with plantation shutters, that looks out to the front of the house and the road beyond.

“I'm not nosey, but I like people. So I love the fact that I can stand in the kitchen and see everyone walking to school.”

Dining area
With more than enough space for a long refectory table, this is where the family will come together to eat, do homework and make plans.

“We live in here. We eat in here. The kids do homework. I can be doing things and be here to help them or just be talking with them. It just works.”

Family area
This is a wonderful family area/garden room/party space… whatever you want it to be, or perhaps all of the above.

“My son celebrated his fourteenth birthday in here. We just moved the table to one side, opened up all the doors and he and his friends spent the evening between here and the hut.

We went and sat in the lounge, just so we were about – there were about 26 of them. It’s just a great space where they can be together and we know they're safe.”

The bi-fold doors open wide to connect inside and out, making this a fantastic space for barbecues and alfresco dining, social get-togethers and long, lazy summer days.

“There’s a pull-out awning off the kitchen, so if you want more shade on the patio, you can just pull that out.”

The roof lantern further fills this space with natural light, while removable (and machine washable) sails offer shade in the warmer months.

Travertine tiles run from the hallway through to the family area, for a look that’s seamlessly connected, practical and hardwearing.

“I’ve held charity cocktail parties in here, and in the morning, you know how sticky some cocktails can be, it’s really easy to just run a mop over the floor and it’s like nothing happened.”

Utility/laundry room
The secret to how this busy family home stays so clutter-free – a lovely big utility/laundry room.

Stone worktops and splashbacks complement the cream shaker cabinetry. A deep Belfast sink has a directional spray mixer tap above, and a channel-cut drainer to the side. Tall cupboards, base and wall units provide a wealth of storage. With space for both a washer and dryer.

A door to the front means this utility room also makes a great boot room. Another door leads into the back garden.

“You can come into the house through the utility room. So if you come home with muddy dogs after a walk, you don’t need to come into the front hallway.”

Two long radiators are set to come on with both hot water and heating, to ensure that this space keeps warm enough to dry laundry year-round.

Sitting room
A nicely proportioned bright, airy room with windows to the front and rear, ensuring you enjoy natural light from morning to evening.

The charming fireplace has a wavey-edged solid oak mantle and a wood-burning stove, perfect on cold winter nights.

“The lounge is wonderfully cool in the summer, especially if you keep the curtains closed, and it’s gorgeous and warm in the winter.

“If we light the wood-burner, we’re all falling asleep on the sofas by 8, it’s so cosy and warm.”

The wide windows have large French doors that open onto the patio beyond, allowing a cool breeze on summer days and connection with the garden beyond.

The picture rail is original and accentuates the high ceilings. It’s also ideal for an ever-changing gallery without marking walls with nails, hooks and holes.

Office/snug/playroom/bedroom 5
Off the sitting room, and running the full depth of the house, is this super versatile room.

Currently a home office/snug, it’s also been an exercise space and a teen bedroom – creating a feeling of independence with all the comforts and benefits of living at home.

Attractive and practical herringbone laminate flooring keeps this room looking great, whatever use it’s put to.

The glazed lean-to above the wide French doors ensure this is a bright space – making this the home office many of us would love to have or maybe even an artist’s studio?

Cloakroom
No space is too small to capture the interior designer’s eye – as this compact room demonstrates.

The wonderfully irregular white handmade tiles are offset by grey grout in this micro-gallery of a WC. With a close-coupled loo, wall-mounted vanity unit with hand basin and mono tap, and a picture rail.

UPSTAIRS
The double-height stained glass window is a modern replica of the original Art Deco window, now with energy-efficient triple-glazing.

At the top of the stairs there’s plenty of space for laundry hampers, blanket boxes and the like.

Overhead, a hatch with pull-down ladder provides access to the attic, which is boarded and has lighting.

Principal bedroom
Triple aspect, with views over the back garden, this lovely large bedroom has a wonderful feeling of calm and serenity.

This room is spacious enough for a king or queen-sized bed with bedside tables. A wall of built-in wardrobes, with shaker-style doors, provides plenty of storage, in addition to the space for your-and-mine chests of drawers and/or dressing tables.

The colour palette is calming and neutral, with the ceiling height accentuated by the picture rail.

Ensuite
Bigger than a lot of family bathrooms, this ensuite has a boutique hotel feel about it.

In addition to the stylish freestanding bath, there’s a wide walk-in shower with thermostatic controls and both rainfall and handset shower heads. The floating Vitra vanity unit has a wide surround and mono-tap, and sits beneath a heated and illuminated mirror.

The smart heated towel rail is electric for easy control, and there’s underfloor heating for comfort.

Travertine tiles continue the theme from the ground floor and line the walls in the wet areas.

Bedroom two
This large second bedroom looks out over the front of the house and captures the morning light.

You’ve plenty of room for a double/king-size bed and accompanying bedroom furniture, including a freestanding wardrobe, desk and chest(s) of drawers.

Ensuite 2
A real bonus and making this bedroom highly desirable, is this stylish and well-planned ensuite.

The corner shower has a thermostatic control, handset on a riser bar and a recessed shelf for all your shower essentials. Of note is the lovely tiled feature wall.

The back-to-wall loo sits beneath a handy shelf and the electrically heated chromed towel rail.

Above the vanity unit and hand basin is a wide mirror that maximises the space and natural light.

Bedroom three and four
Both of these good-sized double bedrooms look out over the back garden. Each has space for a desk and a freestanding double wardrobe. Both accentuate the high ceilings with picture rails – great for spontaneous changes of wall art without the need for a hammer or nail!

The end bedroom has the bonus of being dual aspect, looking out to the front and back of the house, and capturing the morning and evening light.

Family bathroom
With noteworthy tiling, the family bathroom has a wonderful feeling of calm and space.

A large step-free shower enclosure has a thermostatically controlled shower with both rainfall and handheld shower heads. Water pressure is good in this and the other bathrooms.

Running full-width and sitting beneath the window is a doubled-ended bath, with a super useful handset – perfect for bathtime with little ones.

The back-to-cabinet loo and hand basin-topped vanity unit sit beneath a large flush mirror, lit from above by recessed lighting.

Towels are kept handy and toasty warm and dry on the chromed ladder-style electric towel rail.

Back garden
Another key feature of this delightful family home is the idyllic garden. Nobody ever expects it to be so big. Or so quiet. Or so private. It’s hard to believe you’re just a short stroll from the centre of town.

“There’s no road noise at all. The garden is south-west facing, so we get sun all day and into the evening.”

Immediately outside the house, there’s a wide, deep patio, laid to natural stone.

“We often have breakfast on a Saturday morning out on the patio. We just open the doors for most of the summer.”

The patio makes the perfect setting your garden lounge set, barbecue, alfresco dining and if you wanted to introduce one, an outdoor kitchen.

“With the power in place, there’s scope for an outdoor kitchen just off the utility.”

Fitted with a pull-out awning and sockets for sun shades, the patio is ready for a good hot summer.

Beyond this is a large well-kept lawn, ready for a game of croquet, badminton, a kickabout or for the dog to really go mad with the zoomies. This private garden is enclosed by established bushes, hedging, trees and borders.

“We’re not really into gardening, so this is a great low-maintenance evergreen garden.”

Fruit trees dot the lawn, providing plums, pears, cherries, figs and in the beds, redcurrants.

“I love the feeling you get when you’re sitting in the garden. The peace and quiet. There’s just birdsong and the occasional squirrel.

“We have a night camera set up and see the occasional fox come to check we’ve locked the chickens up securely. We always have.”

Follow a curved brick path and you’ll reach ‘the hut’; a fantastic timber garden room loved and well-used by the owner’s children. With drop-down sides, sofas, a wood-burning stove and a good Wi-Fi signal, this space really came into its own during lockdown and recent hotter summers.

Beyond the end of the garden are bungalows, which means you have wonderfully unbroken views without being overlooked.

“The sunsets are gorgeous. The sun sets between the trees. It’s a sunrise, sunset kind of house.”

“We have four garden sheds, all have power. There’s a shed in the right-hand corner, a wood store, chicken feed and beyond the hut another shed with the lawnmower and gardening stuff.”

Situation
Newbury town centre is a pleasant and walkable 1 mile away.

In the area, you have plenty of options to satisfy most interests. For dining out, excellent local options include the Michelin-starred Woodspeen, The Vineyard and the Goat on the Roof.

For culture, you’ve the iconic and award-winning Watermill Theatre (also a dining location), Arlington Arts, the Corn Exchange and the Living Rainforest.

For recreational activities, Newbury town centre has a multi-screen cinema, plentiful shops and businesses.

Newbury Racecourse is just across town.

Golf courses circle the town and include Donnington Grove, Donnington Valley and Deanwood.

Your nearest health and leisure centre is David Lloyd, with its tennis centre, swimming pools, gym facilities and more. You’re also even closer to Newbury Rugby Club.

Transport links
By foot
You’re just a short downhill stroll to St Bartholomew’s school and Newbury town centre or turn right, and you head up to Monks Lane, the Retail Park, the Rugby Club and some great country walks.

By car
The main arteries of the A4, M4, A34 and the A339. From here, you can access London in the east, Bristol and Cornwall in the west, head north or south. Newbury is a very well-connected town.

By bus
Your nearest bus stops are a 1-minute walk away, with regular buses to Newbury Bus Station and its onward connections. A 7-minute walk takes you to the bus stop on Friars Road, with buses to Basingstoke.

By train
Trains from Newbury station run to Reading, where the Elizabeth line starts, and to London, Didcot, Heathrow and Gatwick airports. To the west, trains run to Exeter St Davids and Penzance.

Schooling
According to the West Berkshire Council website, the schools within the catchment area are:
Primary: St John’s C of E Primary School
Secondary: St Bartholomew’s School
Sixth form: St Bartholomew’s School

In addition, there’s a wide range of private schooling available, which includes: St Gabriel’s, Brockhurst & Marlston House, Cheam, Thorngrove, Downe House, Elstree, Marlborough College and Bradfield College, Pangbourne College, Bradfield College, Radley College and more.

Good to know
The original character of the house has been retained wherever possible, with high ceilings and original picture rails and interior doors.

Downstairs has a wet underfloor heating system.

Upstairs has radiators and in the bathrooms, a dry electric underfloor heating system with electric towel radiators.

All windows, including the stained-glass window, are triple-glazed and only 11 years old.

All the outdoor buildings, the garden room and three sheds, have power and lighting.

Planning permission, recently lapsed, has been granted for a two-storey extension that could add a fifth bedroom and study.

Services
Hot water and heating are mains gas fired.
Water, drainage and electricity are mains.

Connectivity
Broadband, according to Openreach, is full fibre available at up to 1600Mbps.

Mobile, according to Vodafone, is a “good indoors and outdoors” 5G service.

Council
The local authority is West Berkshire.
The house is Council Tax band G.

Tenure
Freehold

Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
C

EPC rating: C. Tenure: Freehold,