Shirwell, Barnstaple, Devon, EX31

An exceptional non-listed country estate situated in a magical setting with gorgeous views, self-contained annexe and about 78 acres.

The property is offered for sale via Informal Tender with a guide price of excess £2,500,000, subject to contract. The closing date for all bids to be recieved by is 12 noon on Friday 6th November. A tender form can be requested from the selling agents.

Accommodation Summary

Porch • Reception hall • Library • Drawing room • Sitting room • Dining room • Study • Kitchen • Pantry • Utility room • Boiler room • Boot room • Cloakroom • Cellar

Principal bedroom with en-suite dressing room, bath & shower room • 5 Further double bedrooms • Family bath & shower room • Family shower room

Coach House (Annexe/Holiday Cottage)
2 Bedroom self-contained apartment • Games room • Workshop • Potting shed

Garaging • Heated swimming pool with gym, changing room and spa • Various outbuildings & stores (with permitted development rights) • Former walled garden • Kitchen garden • Tennis lawn • Croquet lawn • Wood fired oven & BBQ • Lake and summerhouse • Pond • Stream • Mature orchard • Pastureland • Mature & young woodland

In all about 78 acres (31.8 hectares)

Location

Kings Warren is approached through its own grounds via a long driveway and stands in an elevated, yet sheltered and private position, just on the western fringes of Exmoor National Park. It is also situated in one of the most beautiful and unspoilt parts of North Devon, where there is an abundance of wildlife and almost no light pollution and therefore, the night skies are magnificent. There are also excellent walking opportunities throughout the area with many National Trust properties, as well as the South West Coastal footpath and Tarka Trail. The spectacular North Devon coast is within easy reach having recently been selected as a ‘World Surfing Reserve’ (WSR) – the first in the UK and only cold-water WSR in the world, the sandy beaches of Woolacombe and Saunton are within a half hours drive. There is also world class golfing available at Saunton Sands with championship courses. The property is about a mile away from Shirwell village, which has a parish church and primary school and is conveniently near to the large former river-port town of Barnstaple, which has excellent everyday amenities including three large supermarkets. The town also has a regular rail service to Exeter (1 hour 15 minutes) and Exeter Airport connects to several UK and international destinations, including a regular, 1-hour service to London City Airport. There is a wide choice of schools within the area from the state and independent sectors. These include a choice of independent schools within the wider area including Blundell’s School in Tiverton plus King’s and Queen’s Colleges and Taunton School in Taunton.

Distances

Shirwell - 1.2 miles
Barnstaple town centre - 5.3 miles
Exeter - 1 hour 15 minutes
A361 - 6.5 miles
Woolacombe Beach - 12.4 miles
Tiverton (Blundells) - 36.4 miles
J27 M5 - 40.2 miles
Taunton - 48.6 miles
Exeter Airport - 56.2 miles (London City Airport 1 hour)
(Distances and times approximate)

Kings Warren

Set well within its own grounds with uninterrupted, south-facing views across a wide stretch of unspoilt Devon countryside, Kings Warren today is a beautifully presented family home that provides a rural haven set apart from the bustle of the wider world. It was built of stone under a Welsh slate roof in 1901, and is a classic example of a country house of the prosperous Edwardian period, famed for combining elegance, good design and high quality workmanship. It was built for Orlando Chichester, son of Arthur Chichester from Youlston. Kings Warren has beautifully proportioned and generously sized rooms that afford views across the garden and surrounding countryside. It is not listed and has retained many original architectural features including high ceilings with moulded cornices, plaster ceiling roses, wood block floors and elegant sash windows. It has a centrally positioned hall with the five reception rooms radiating off it, positioned to provide the optimum light for a given time of day. The dining room and sitting room look out to the east capturing the morning light, the library and adjacent drawing room face south to benefit from light throughout the day, with the study facing west to catch the afternoon/evening light. On the northern side of the house is the kitchen, which is very generously sized with plenty of space for both dining and seating areas and has twin roof lights and wide French windows looking out onto the garden. The kitchen has a range of fitted units at one end combined with a central island, has a stone-tiled floor and an adjacent, old-fashioned pantry with slate shelving and space for extra fridge/freezer capacity. The upper floor has an enclosed landing leading to all six bedrooms. The principal bedroom faces south and east and incorporates a dressing room and bath and shower room. All but one of the remaining bedrooms face west and between them share the family bath and shower room and a further shower room.

Outbuildings, Garden & Grounds

The gardens, grounds and land surrounding Kings Warren provide complete privacy and match the quality of the house, extending to about 78 acres. The approach to the house is superb and gives a wonderful sense of arrival as the long driveway sweeps through pastureland and the woodland screening the front of the house. A short distance from the house is a converted coach house that now accommodates a games room on the ground floor and a first-floor flat with two bedrooms. There is ample parking and garaging close to the house along with several outbuildings, including a large barn, woodsheds workshop and various storerooms. The beautiful, mature gardens encompass rolling lawns, richly stocked borders, tennis and croquet lawns and a heated swimming pool with adjacent pool room, gym and spa. The kitchen garden incorporates a greenhouse, soft fruit cage and a mature orchard. Adjacent to the house is a fantastic terrace with a wood-fired oven and built-in BBQ. Beyond and providing total privacy is a stretch of permanent pasture divided into three enclosures and about 55 acres of ancient and young woodland intersected by rides and walks. There is a pretty lake set within a woodland setting with a delightful summerhouse. The lake is well-stocked with fish and is also the home to ducks and geese.

Property Information

Services: Mains electricity. Private water & drainage. Oil-fired central heating. Bottled gas.

Tenure: Freehold

Agent's Note: The hunting rights for the property are owned by the Badgeworthy Land Company but have not been used in the 18 years of ownership by the current vendor.

The neighbouring farmer has a right of access across the intial section of the driveway.

EPC: D

Local Authority & Council Tax Band: North Devon District Council ( Band G.

Directions (Postcode EX31 4JZ / what3words///downsize.annotated.input)

From Junction 27 of the M5 Motorway, follow the A361 to Barnstaple. On the eastern edge of Barnstaple at the Portmore Roundabout, take the second exit onto Eastern Avenue/A39. Continue to follow the A39 through the town. As you emerge from the town North Road becomes Shirwell Road at a large roundabout. From this point the entrance to the driveway to Kings Warren will be found on the right after about 3.7 miles and is marked by two white stone gate piers beside a post box inset in a stone pillar.