Newbury Street, Lambourn

One of five properties built in 1908 by a local builder who, it is believed, was once Lambourn's station master. Originally built with a shop below and a flat above, it has been part of village life for over 125 years. Over the decades the shop changed with the times, becoming a sweet shop fondly remembered by local residents before later serving as a launderette. Long before the current owners arrived it had become a home, but one that eventually required complete restoration.

Taken back to brick, every wall was stripped, every ceiling opened, and every detail carefully reinstated or thoughtfully improved.
The original photographs of the builders still exist. So do the transaction deeds dating back to the early 1900s.You are not just buying a home. You are becoming part of its next chapter.

Stand outside and the building announces itself: decorative Edwardian brickwork, a generous double frontage, high ceilings and ornate detailing of the kind that newer buildings simply do not produce. Step through the front door and the eye travels straight through to the kitchen and the garden beyond. Two reception rooms lead off the hall. The main sitting room has an inset woodburner with a bespoke stone mantle and marble hearth, plantation shutters and a dual aspect.

The second reception has a feature tiled Victorian fireplace, marble hearth, coving and deep decorative skirting. Dual aspect here too. On a quiet morning, pull back the shutters and watch the racehorses making their way to the gallops. A view that belongs to this village and nowhere else.

The kitchen is Shaker in style with light quartz worktops and a generous pantry. A peninsula island sits at the heart of the room with an induction hob, integrated extraction and two combination ovens. Instant boiling and filtered cold water, deep storage drawers and underfloor heating underfoot. Full-height aluminium bifolds open the whole room to the garden and through to the dining room. This is where family life happens. Children doing homework at the island while dinner is made. Friends around the table while the garden turns gold. The utility room has its own external door for muddy boots, wet dogs and everything else that does not need to come through the front.

Three floors, five bedrooms and three bathrooms. On the first floor, the principal bedroom is large and calm. A walk-in wardrobe leads through to the ensuite with a thermostatic walk-in shower and a beautiful angled cut-corner detail that is a signature of the original build.

Two further doubles look down Newbury Street towards the Norman church on the market square. The family bathroom is a room to linger in: a claw-footed cast iron bath, an original Victorian cistern still very much in service and a large walk-in shower. Two windows catch the morning sun, and through the clear glass above shoulder height, on a clear night, you can see the stars.

The second floor has two further bedrooms and a shower room arranged around a generous landing that works equally well as a home office, snug or play area.

The garden wraps three sides of the house. Fruit trees and established planting. A quiet corner that catches the last of the evening light. The rear patio is laid with original quarry tiles salvaged from the building's old shop storeroom, connecting the house back to what it once was.

Planning permission is in place for a replacement double garage with a hobby room above, and the plot has scope for a further extension or annexe, subject to planning. Five parking spaces on the private driveway complete a picture that is, for a village property, genuinely rare.
Throughout: LVT oak flooring with underfloor heating on the ground floor, Thermoskirt heritage radiators on the first floor, Cat 6 internet hardwired to every principal room and an MVHR whole-house ventilation system delivering fresh, filtered air throughout. A home that performs as well as it looks.

Lambourn is a working village and proud of it. The high street has three convenience shops, a butcher, a deli, a hardware shop, a café and an off-licence, all within five minutes on foot. The George does a great Sunday roast. The Plough at Eastbury is a fields walk away. The Woodspeen and The Vineyard at Stockcross are close for a proper evening out. Turn left from the front door and open countryside is within a third of a mile, where the path leads to the natural springs where the River Lambourn begins, one of England's few natural chalk streams. Ashdown House is four miles away and the Uffington White Horse a little further. The village primary is at the end of the street. The Downs School runs a bus directly from Lambourn; Marlborough College, Downe House and Pinewood are all within 30 minutes. Swindon mainline 12 miles. Hungerford 8.