Holworth, Dorchester

A Grade II listed house, just one mile from the beach, that has been in the same ownership for 46 years. In need of some updating, the house is currently arranged for multi-generational living but could easily be reverted into a single dwelling. The house offers two entrance halls, a sitting room, drawing room, dining room/snug, main kitchen/breakfast room, secondary kitchen, utility room, boot room, six bedrooms, four bathrooms, workshop, part-converted detached annexe, brick barn/stables, stone barn, tennis court, private driveway, and gardens and grounds of just under four acres. The house is very secluded without being isolated.

Immediate Area - Holworth consists of a small number of scattered private houses along with a clifftop chapel, St Catherine-by-the-Sea. The house sits just over a mile inland from the sea meaning the most fabulous walk or ride to the beach at Ringstead Bay.

The village of Owermoigne is 1.2 miles to the north and has The Wild Partridge farm shop (a favourite of our clients that is bursting with fresh produce), a village hall, cricket club and church.

Winfrith Newburgh is 4 miles away and has The Jurassic Coast farm shop (with a superb meat counter and comprehensive selection of wines), a shop and post office, a pub, pre-school and primary school, a church and a village hall.

The larger towns of Weymouth (7.5 miles), Dorchester (9 miles), and Wareham (15 miles) all have more comprehensive high street shops, restaurants and supermarkets as well as mainline train services into London. The village of Moreton (4.5 miles) also has a direct train service into London Waterloo.

The house has some fantastic walks from the door and many opportunities for wild swimming in sheltered coves.

Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door are just a few miles away along the spectacular World Heritage Jurassic Coast.

The House - Holworth Farmhouse is built largely of stone, with mullioned windows and a stone-tiled roof, and is arranged over three floors. Full of character and with a strong sense of history, its exact date of origin is uncertain, although it is believed to have served as a retreat house for the Abbot and monks of Milton Abbey, ten miles to the north as the crow flies, and therefore predates the Reformation of the 1500s. It was from here that the Abbey was supplied with fish and honey.

The house contains a very fine example of plank-and-muntin construction, an early method of creating load-bearing walls while also forming partitions between rooms. Some say it is the finest example of this type of construction in Dorset. A further indication of the property’s age is the impressive Tudor fireplace in the dining room. Sometime in the 18th century, a wing was added to the eastern side of the house. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the property passed into private ownership and remained a working farm for the next 300 years.
The house faces south towards the sea, approximately one mile away although not directly visible, and sits at the end of a little-used no-through lane. It is well protected from the prevailing wind and enjoys spectacular views to the east and north.

Interior - The main front door opens into the entrance hall, where you immediately get a sense of the house’s character and history, with the plank-and-muntin walls that line the space and the staircase.
For many years, the house has been arranged for multi-generational living. Our clients occupy the west side of the house, whilst their daughter and her family live on the east side. This arrangement has worked particularly well for them, although it would be very easy to revert the property back to a single dwelling.
As a result, the ground floor currently has the main entrance hall, kitchen, dining room, drawing room, cloakroom and utility/boot room on one side. On the other side is a separate entrance hall, boot room, kitchen and sitting room. Both sides have staircases to the first floor.
On the first floor are four bedrooms and three bathrooms, with a door on the landing separating the two sides of the house. A further staircase leads to the second floor, where there are two additional bedrooms and another bathroom.

The Outbuildings - Part of the appeal of Holworth Farmhouse lies in the various outbuildings, which could, subject to the necessary planning consents, be adapted for a variety of uses.
On the east side and attached to the house are the two large garages. These also have the potential to be incorporated into the house itself.
There is a barn to the north which has full planning permission for conversion into a separate dwelling with its own entrance and driveway. Our clients have already carried out a considerable amount of work here, although the project still has some way to go. The planning documents can be found on the Dorset Council website using application number P/LBC/2023/07529. The plans, as you will see, consist of an open plan ground floor overlooked by a gallery above. On the first floor are three bedrooms, one with ensuite, and a separate bathroom. The builder, who has carried out the work to date, would be happy to complete the project and is available to answer any questions that may arise.
There is a further two-storey stone barn to the north, a charming two-storey brick stable block to the east and a workshop/store attached to the western side of the house.

Outside - When our clients bought the house in 1979, there was no formal garden, merely a rough orchard with dead and dying apple trees and brambles everywhere. However, whenever time permitted, they set about creating a series of ‘rooms’, planting fast-growing hedges to provide shelter and encourage more tender plants to thrive in what was then a very exposed position.
Over the years, they have learned what grows well here and, using shrubs, perennial and herbaceous planting, together with many specimen trees and established hedging, have created the wonderful structure that exists today.
That structure is, of course, complemented by several hard landscaping features, including ponds, running water, steps, paved terraces, walkways and summer houses. Together, these create a garden that is never revealed all at once, but instead gradually unfolds as one wanders from place to place.
Although gardens are, almost by definition, ever-changing, this one now feels entirely at ease within its landscape and largely looks after itself.
The gardens and grounds at Holworth Farmhouse are really very special and extend to just under four acres including a tennis court at the end of a magical walk.

Services - Mains electricity and water, oil central heating, solar thermal and private drainage (a nearly new sewage treatment plant

Local Authority - Dorset Council – Band H

Eaves Notes - There is a public footpath that crosses the paddock to the north which we can point out on a viewing.

Summary - A substantial Grade II listed house together with a range of outbuildings and the most beautiful gardens and grounds of just under four acres. The house sits a mile from the beach on the Jurassic Coast and has easy access on foot or by horse. There is planning permission to convert a barn into a separate annexe with its own entrance, and a considerable amount of the conversion work has already been carried out.