Shudy Camps Park, Shudy Camps, Cambridge, CB21 4RD

Elizabethan House

Elizabethan House forms part of the historic Shudy Camps Hall estate, an attractive collection of houses and former estate buildings surrounded by mature trees, parkland and open South Cambridgeshire countryside.

Thought to date from around 1700, the house was originally built as accommodation connected with Shudy Camps Hall and remains an important part of the architectural composition of the estate. Shudy Camps Hall itself was built by the Dayrell family, who remained here for almost two centuries.

Elizabethan House feels remarkably private, with just under an acre (0.71 acres) of its own gardens and grounds, yet retains the atmosphere and scale of being part of an established country estate rather than an isolated house in the countryside.

The current owners have approached the house particularly well. Rather than attempting to disguise its age, the interiors make a feature of the original brickwork, substantial timbers, old floorboards and sash windows, introducing a simpler contemporary palette alongside them.

The House

The principal entrance is through a classical pedimented porch into the older part of the house.

On the ground floor, the accommodation centres around three particularly good living spaces. The dining room has an impressive brick inglenook fireplace and opens directly onto the courtyard garden, while alongside is a recently updated kitchen with bespoke cabinetry, exposed beams and a large central island.

The drawing room occupies much of the remaining ground floor and is a wonderfully relaxed room, with whitewashed brick walls, substantial exposed timbers and plenty of natural light. Double doors lead directly into the gardens, creating a strong connection between the house and its courtyard during the warmer months.

There are two staircases, including an unusual original spiral stair, which is one of several reminders of the building's long history.

The first floor opens onto a broad landing which is large enough to work as a library, study or informal sitting area. Wide old floorboards remain here and the space leads to two bedrooms, including the principal bedroom with its own shower room.

The family bathroom is particularly successful, with exposed historic brick and timberwork providing the backdrop to a freestanding bath and large walk-in shower.

Two further bedrooms and a shower room occupy the second floor, together with a substantial loft room providing useful additional space.

The Gardens

The gardens are an important part of Elizabethan House and have the maturity one would expect of its estate setting.

Immediately behind the house is a completely enclosed walled courtyard garden, arranged into a series of smaller spaces for eating and sitting outside. Brick, gravel and stone sit naturally against the old red-brick elevations of the house, while an established vine grows over the pergola beside an old wishing well.

Elsewhere is a walled kitchen garden with raised vegetable beds, mature lawns and a more informal wooded area. Beyond the trees, the land opens towards the surrounding fields, giving long views across the countryside.

It is this progression through the gardens that is particularly appealing: enclosed courtyard and kitchen gardens close to the house gradually give way to mature trees, woodland and the much wider landscape beyond.

There is extensive gravelled parking to the front of the house.

The Setting

Shudy Camps lies in attractive rolling countryside close to the Cambridgeshire/Essex border, approximately 15 miles from Cambridge and eight miles from Saffron Walden.

Castle Camps is close by, while Linton provides useful everyday amenities. Saffron Walden has a particularly good range of independent shops, cafés and restaurants alongside Waitrose and its twice-weekly market.

For London, Audley End station is approximately 10 miles away, with direct services to Liverpool Street, while the M11 provides straightforward access south towards Stansted and London.

The surrounding countryside is excellent for walking and riding, and Cambridge is within easy reach to the north.

Elizabethan House therefore occupies a rather unusual middle ground: a genuinely private country house with its own mature gardens and woodland, but with the architectural context and quiet sense of community that comes from living within an established country estate.