Nailsea - hidden away in the most delightful mature gardens

A fascinating period cottage of great character, with an interesting history linked to Nailsea’s 18th-century Glass Works. Originally built around 1820 as two cottages, one serving for a time as an ale house known as The Glass Makers Arms, the property was later converted into one house during the 1920s. In more recent years it has been carefully restored to create the very comfortable and distinctive home we are able to offer today, set within beautiful mature gardens.

The cottage stands in a charming and surprisingly secluded setting, with lovingly designed gardens arranged on three sides and laid out to take full advantage of the sunny south and west-facing position. The property is set a considerable distance back from the High Street and is almost invisible from the road yet offers good vehicular access to the triple garage and parking. The location could hardly be more convenient for Nailsea’s many town centre amenities, while remaining away from through traffic.

The property was once known as Fir Tree House and later became Fir Tree Cottage, eventually being sold at auction to the previous owners in 1972. Our clients acquired the house from them in 2019 and have since preserved and improved this delightful home. A relocation to Yorkshire now requires that they move, allowing new owners the opportunity to enjoy the property for many years to come.

The accommodation is remarkably light, bright, and airy, a feature that is rare in many character homes, and the space within is very generous. The true front door is actually towards the east side of the cottage, with a pathway leading from a gateway to the lane at the side. 

On the south elevation, as depicted, an attractive conservatory draws the living space into a picturesque area of the garden enclosed by local stone walls topped with black clinker from the old Glass Works and framing an established Acer tree. The conservatory opens into the first of the four lovely reception rooms. The sitting room includes a particularly pleasing period stone arched fireplace with a wood-burning stove inset, together with fitted bookcases set into the chimney breast recesses to either side. 

The accommodation continues to the dining room and into a generous study with parquet flooring and fitted study furniture, including a desk with matching cabinets and extensive bookshelving. A low-sill window with a window seat overlooks a section of the garden, while a plank door with strap hinges and latch opens to the staircase, which meanders up to the first floor, while the pretty double-aspect dining room as presently arranged, is very versatile offering scope to use this space in a variety of ways.

From dining room, the accommodation flows into the breakfast room/family room that overlooks the main west-facing garden and leads via a stable door to the kitchen, which enjoys a wonderful light double aspect over the gardens. The kitchen is fitted with contemporary Shaker-style wall and floor cupboards that suit the house very well. There are ample work surfaces with an inset sink, space for a cooker with cooker hood above, and space for a dishwasher. Doors open to a hallway leading to the garden, with a cloakroom to one side, while a further doorway leads to the tremendously useful utility room, fitted to match the kitchen.

Upstairs, there are very comfortable bedrooms, with the two larger rooms featuring attractive bay-effect windows set into the deep stone walls. Bedroom three has a loft stair leading up to valuable attic space above, and off the landing there is an excellent walk-in storage cupboard.

The accommodation is completed by an exceptionally spacious family bathroom, once no doubt a bedroom, but today another attractive feature of this delightful historic home.

Outside
The house is approached via Friendship Grove, arriving at the triple garage block, comprising a double garage and a single garage with up-and-over doors, lighting, power and personnel doors to the garden.

The garages stand to the far west side of the property, with a garden gate opening to the breathtakingly attractive private walled gardens. These are predominantly arranged to the west side of the cottage and flow around to the front and rear, where clever planting and landscaping have created various ‘rooms of the garden’. Deep floral borders, specimen shrubs and bushes, and several mature trees combine to frame the lawns, pathways and terraces, which enjoy sunshine throughout the day and into the evening.

A timber garden shed and log store are tucked away to one side, and there is also outside lighting and an outside tap.

Services & Outgoings
Mains water, gas, electricity and drainage are connected. Telephone connection. Gas fired central heating through radiators. Water softener.  uPVC double glazing. High speed broadband services are available, including Cable Services and Cable/fibre optic services with download speeds of up to 1Gb or better.

Council Tax in Band E. Please be advised when the house is sold the Council Tax Band may be reassessed, this is quite normal when a property has been extended.

Energy Performance
The house has been rated at a very good D-61. The full certificate is available on request by email from Hensons at

Construction
The house is traditionally constructed. 

Viewing
Only by appointment with the Sole Agents: Hensons – Call or email our friendly and knowledgeable team to view.

The Town
Nailsea is the smallest of the four North Somerset towns but the most conveniently placed for Bristol at just 8 miles from the city.

A wide range of amenities are available in the town centre which is barely more than 5 minute walk from the property, and these include large Tesco and Waitrose supermarkets, Doctors and Dental surgeries, post office, library and a pedestrianised shopping centre with nationally known and smaller independent retailers and a leisure centre with a gym. In addition, there are good selection of cafes, pubs, wine bars  and restaurants including the acclaimed White Truffle restaurant at Ivy Court.

Though well placed for the commuter, Nailsea is surrounded by pretty North Somerset countryside but with easy access to other major centres in the area and access to the SUSTRANS national cycle network with a good route to Bristol and other destinations. Junctions 19 and 20 of the M5 are less than 6 miles away giving easy access to the country’s motorway network and a main line rail connection is available at Nailsea and Backwell Station which is within walking distance with direct trains to Bristol, Filton-Abbeywood, Bath and London- Paddington.

N.B. The agent has not tested any apparatus, equipment, fixtures, fittings or services and therefore cannot verify that they are in working order or even connected. A buyer is recommended to obtain verification from their solicitor or surveyor. The particulars are provided subject to contract and include floor plans that can only give a general indication of the layout of the property. Drone and similar photographs are for identification purposes and general guidance only and do not accurately depict boundaries; accuracy is not guaranteed and should not be relied on for any purpose. All measurements are approximate and may be rounded up or down when converted between imperial measurements and metric measurements. All fixtures and fittings are excluded from the sale unless separately included within the ‘fixtures and fittings’ list that will be provided by the sellers’ conveyancer’s or solicitors as a sale proceeds. Any reference to planning consent and land areas is only an opinion or estimate or, where mentioned, based on information provided by the sellers. Where potential for development, improvement or extension is mentioned, no guarantee of a favourable planning consent is given, and no detailed exploration of supposed potential has been undertaken unless otherwise expressly stated as having been carried out by Hensons rather than the seller or their architect or town and country planning advisors. For further information about planning consent requirements and possibilities, we recommend that an appointment is arranged to meet with our fully qualified planning consultant (there may be a charge for that service). These draft particulars do not form part of any contract, and no warranty is given; neither do they form part of any offer made by the agents or the seller. © Hensons 2026