Bures Road, Nayland With Wissington

“A contemporary home with deep-rooted ties to its agrarian setting”

A rare surviving example of late-Victorian agricultural housing, this wonderful home sits on Bures Road, within the rural hamlet of Wissington. The home’s 19th-century core was sensitively added to, encompassing an impressive 3,302 sq ft engineered for flexible living, multigenerational, or otherwise, with four double bedrooms and a self-sustaining two-bedroom contemporary extension. A private, subtly landscaped garden extends at the rear, while southerly light gently enhances the front-facing rooms.

The Building

Blacksmiths Cottages and its terraced neighbour were built as a matching pair of semi-detached farm workers' dwellings in the late 19th century. Used as farm cottages for the historic Wiston Grove farm, they came into separate ownership and are now recognised as highly rare, intact examples of late-Victorian and Edwardian tied agricultural housing.

Designed to meld seamlessly within its agrarian setting, the home’s vernacular composition places traditional red brickwork beneath a plain-tiled pitched roof. The house has since been updated with a modern, architect designed, side extension, significantly increasing its original footprint and providing excellent pastoral camouflage, wrapped in weathered timber cladding.

The Tour

A private, tree-lined gravelled driveway forms the approach. A short set of stairs rises to a shared lobby flooded with light and epitomising the home’s contemporary configuration: to one side lies the Victorian part of the house, and, to the other, its newer extension.

Entry to the right opens to an open-plan kitchen-living area that occupies the full width of the ground floor with a set of glazed doors onto the garden. The kitchen, dining and sitting areas flow together, arranged around an open ash staircase that lends a subtle mid-century character to the interior. Sleek dark-stained cabinetry with glass and stainless-steel elements compose a refined material palette, while another run of kitchen cabinetry lines the rear wall. Integrated appliances are throughout, and skylights bathe the space in natural light. A wood-burning stove set beneath a fireplace creates a focal point at the opposite end.

A separate open-plan kitchen and living room lies in the new extension just opposite, with oak cabinetry, a vibrant orange glazed splashback and horizontal, timber-framed glazing. This part of the house also has two double bedrooms – throughout, picture windows and full-height glazing capture the gently undulating garden and open to terraces at both ends of the house. There is a lower-ground floor, occupied by a large double bedroom, kitchenette and bathroom with sliding doors to the front leading onto its own terrace. The bathroom has a freestanding bathtub, raised and enclosed by large earth-toned tiles.

The remaining four bedrooms are on the first and second floors of the original house and share a well-appointed bathroom. One has an en suite shower room, while the decoration throughout is equally pared-back with simple whites and occasional feature brickwork.

Outdoor Space

The garden rises gently through planted terraces framed by limestone gabion walls, creating a series of sheltered, restorative spaces and culminating in an elevated seating area with far-reaching views across open fields. The gardens have been thoughtfully planted for year-round colour while remaining easy to maintain. There is a summer house at the end of the garden, currently used as a studio, and a large, gravelled parking area.

The Area

Blacksmiths Cottages lies in a tiny rural hamlet, utterly immersed in the rolling countryside of the Dedham Vale National Landscape. The River Stour meanders just to the south, marking the historic border between Suffolk and Essex, while the surrounding countryside, celebrated by artists and writers including John Constable, John Nash, and Ronald Blythe, is rich with picturesque villages, riverside walks and nature reserves.

The nearby villages of Nayland and Stoke-by-Nayland provide everyday amenities, including independent cafes and village shops. The Angel Inn in Stoke-by-Nayland and The Anchor at Nayland are local favourites, while the market towns of Hadleigh and Sudbury have a wider selection of independent shops, restaurants and cultural attractions.

Bures railway station is around 10-minutes away, providing a link to London Liverpool Street via Marks Tey. Colchester main station is around 20 minutes away for direct rail services to London and Norwich while the A12, A14, and A120 offer convenient road links to London, Stansted Airport, Cambridge and the Suffolk coast.

Council Tax Band: C