Crowland

Hides Farm is an impressive country home in a wonderfully private rural position on Crowland Common, set within circa three acres and enjoying far-reaching views across the surrounding fenland. Designed and built by the current owners, the house combines the presence of a traditional Georgian-style farmhouse with the comfort and practicality of a much newer home, creating a property of generous proportions, strong individuality and considerable flexibility.

The setting is a significant part of its appeal. Positioned at the end of a single track country road, the property has a rare sense of seclusion, with open countryside around it and very little passing traffic. The approach is suitably handsome, with a sweeping gravel driveway leading to the front of the house, lawns and paddock land extending around it, and the stable block and garaging giving the whole property the feel of an established rural home.

Although modern in construction, Hides Farm was designed to sit naturally within its setting. The exterior has the balanced symmetry and composed proportions of a traditional farmhouse, with red brick elevations, sash-style windows, a slate roof and carefully chosen detailing. The planning requirements at the time of the build were exacting, with traditional materials and finishes specified to ensure the house had an authentic rural character. This included hardwood windows and doors, black metal rainwater goods, approved brick and mortar colours, English garden wall bond brickwork and detailing intended to reflect the surrounding fenland architecture. The result is a house that feels settled and timeless from the outside, while offering the reassurance and convenience of a contemporary build.

Inside, the house has been created as a proper family home, with an emphasis on space, sociability and comfort. The reception hall makes an immediate impression, rising to a galleried landing and giving the house a sense of scale from the moment you step inside. It is a generous, welcoming entrance rather than a purely formal one, with parquet flooring, a broad staircase and enough volume to give the interior real presence. It was also designed with Christmas in mind, with the height and proportions to accommodate a large tree, which says much about the spirit in which the house was created.

The interiors are highly individual and full of character. While entirely decorative and therefore easily adapted to suit a new owner, they give the house a memorable personality and a clear sense of having been lived in and enjoyed. Country references, sporting pieces, hat lamps, framed pictures, patterned papers and collected objects appear throughout, creating a look that is confident, playful and personal. This is not a neutral show home, but a house with warmth and identity, and the generous proportions of the rooms provide an excellent backdrop for either bold decoration or a more restrained future scheme.

The ground floor is arranged with a clear sense of balance. On either side of the reception hall are two well-proportioned formal reception rooms, each with a fireplace and a pleasing sense of symmetry. The sitting room and drawing room give the house flexibility for family life and entertaining, allowing quieter spaces to sit separately from the more informal kitchen and dining areas to the rear.

The kitchen and dining room form the natural heart of the house. Designed as a sociable farmhouse-style space, it has ample room for a large table and is very much a place for gathering, cooking and conversation. The timber cabinetry, range-style cooker, stone flooring and outlook towards the garden all contribute to its relaxed country feel. A pantry sits just off the kitchen, while the adjacent utility room, cloakroom and storage provide the practical support that a house of this scale requires.

Opening from the kitchen and dining area, the orangery brings in excellent natural light and gives the rear of the house a strong connection to the garden. With glazed roof lanterns and wide windows, it is a particularly appealing space from which to enjoy the outlook across the grounds. The owners have described watching distant fireworks from here and from the patio, with the fenland skyline lighting up around them, which captures the sense of openness that defines the property.

The first floor is arranged around the galleried landing, with four bedrooms and two bathrooms. The principal bedroom is especially generous and has its own en suite shower room, while the remaining bedrooms are served by the family bathroom. The layout is straightforward and well balanced, with rooms of usable proportions rather than awkward secondary spaces. Above, a substantial loft provides further useful storage.

One of the important features of Hides Farm is the attached ancillary accommodation. It is not a separate annexe, but it is arranged to offer a degree of independence, with its own living space incorporating a kitchen area on the ground floor, together with a cloakroom, and a bedroom and shower room on the first floor. It also has its own access, parking and garden area. For future owners, it offers valuable flexibility, whether for guests, older children, dependent relatives, working from home or other requirements, subject to any necessary consents or arrangements.

The external space is equally important to the way the property works. The grounds extend to circa three acres and include lawns, paddock areas, a stable block and a triple garage. The stable block comprises stabling, a hay barn and a tack room, reflecting the fact that the land was originally chosen with horses in mind. Over the years, the stables and outside space have also accommodated a variety of other animals, giving the property a genuine rural quality rather than the feel of land kept only for appearance.

The gardens and paddocks provide space on a generous scale. They have been used for large family gatherings, celebrations and outdoor entertaining, with plenty of room for guests to spill outside. A full-size pizza oven, housed to the rear of one of the garages, adds another sociable feature and is to remain with the property. The broad terrace to the rear of the house creates a natural setting for outdoor dining and seating, with the house, garden and open views working together extremely well.

Despite its rural feel, Hides Farm is not remote from day-to-day amenities. Crowland is only a short drive away, with Market Deeping, Spalding and Peterborough also accessible. Peterborough is particularly useful for commuters, offering wider road and rail connections while allowing home life to remain peaceful and distinctly rural. The position may also be of interest to families considering schooling in Spalding, Peterborough or at Wisbech Grammar. For everyday convenience, the owners have also found that supermarket deliveries make the setting entirely practical.

The sense of peace is one of the property’s defining qualities. The road does not carry general through traffic, and the surrounding footpaths and fields reinforce the feeling of space and calm. It is the kind of setting that offers the rewards of rural living in their truest form: quiet, openness, birdsong, big skies and the ability to step outside and feel immediately removed from the rush of everyday life.

What makes Hides Farm particularly appealing is the combination of substance and personality. It has the scale and flexibility expected of a substantial country home, with four bedrooms in the main house, attached ancillary accommodation, generous reception space, garaging, stabling and land. Yet it also has a story and character that distinguish it from more conventional modern houses. It was built as a long-term family home and has been shaped with care, humour and affection over the years.

For the next owners, it offers a rare opportunity: a modern country house with traditional presence, land and outbuildings, strong rural privacy and adaptable accommodation, all within reach of local centres and Peterborough. Hides Farm is individual without being impractical, rural without being inaccessible, and substantial without losing its warmth. It is a house made for family life, animals, gatherings, quiet mornings, big views and the particular pleasure of being somewhere that feels entirely its own.

Disclaimer:

These property details, whilst believed to be accurate, are set out as a general outline only for guidance and do not constitute any part of an offer or contract. Intending purchasers should not rely on them as statements of representation of fact but must satisfy themselves by inspection, or through their legal and other professional advisers or otherwise as to their accuracy. The responsibility for verifying aspects such as flood risk, easements, covenants and other property related details rests with the buyer. It should not be assumed that the property has all the necessary planning permissions, building regulation certificates or other consents.

No person in the employment of Fine & Country has the authority to make or give any representation or warranty in respect of the property. 

The floorplans are for illustration purposes only. All measurements: walls, doors, window fittings and appliances and their sizes and locations are shown conventionally and are approximate only and cannot be regarded as being a representation by the agent. Similarly, any areas, measurements or distances are approximate. Text, photographs and plans are for guidance only and are not necessarily comprehensive. Internal photographs are reproduced for general information and it must not be inferred that any item shown is included with the property. 

We have not tested any of the appliances. Purchasers should make their own enquiries to the relevant authorities regarding the connection of any services.