Laundry Cottage, Langdon, Down Thomas, Devon

Laundry Cottage is approached along a private drive, which opens onto a generous parking area beside the house and detached garage. From here, the scale of the property gradually reveals itself: a stone-built period home with later additions that sit comfortably alongside the original cottage, all surrounded by mature planting and open countryside.

The house is understood to have once served as the laundry for nearby Langdon Court. Its oldest parts are believed to date from the 17th century, while a substantial two-storey addition has created the spacious and adaptable home seen today. The result is a house with several ways to live in it. There are rooms for company and rooms to withdraw to, space for work and entertain, and a natural connection with the gardens throughout the ground floor.

The main sitting room is generous in scale, with oak flooring, a window seat and a fireplace with a wood-burning stove. An opening leads into the double-height hall, where the second staircase rises towards the galleried landing. The snug has a very different feel. Smaller and more intimate, with its own stove and garden outlook, it is a place to settle in for the evening. The separate cinema room offers another generous sitting space, with doors opening outside. Together, these rooms give the household the freedom to spend time together or pursue different things without feeling separated from one another.

At the other end of the house, the kitchen and breakfast room is large enough to accommodate everyday family meals and more leisurely gatherings. Handmade cabinetry, granite work surfaces, a butler sink and an AGA give the room its established country-house character. There is ample worktop and storage space, as well as room for a substantial table. The adjoining spacious utility room and ground-floor WC are conveniently placed, while doors from the rear hall make it easy to move between the kitchen and garden.

The office is another particularly useful room. It has a wood-burning stove, fitted shelving and windows looking towards the garden, equally it could be used as a formal dining room. Its position and atmosphere would make it a lovely place for longer meals with family and friends.

There is also a separate ground-floor bedroom with an en-suite shower room. This is a valuable part of the layout, providing accommodation for guests or anyone who would prefer a bedroom on the ground floor, without giving up the office or the choice of reception rooms. This wing of the house could equally lend itself to creating self-contained accommodation if required.

The First Floor
Two staircases serve the first floor and contribute to the house’s flexible layout. The principal bedroom is an especially spacious room, with window seats and a walk-in dressing room fitted with extensive storage. Its en-suite bathroom has both a bath and a separate shower, giving the suite the comfort and privacy expected of the principal accommodation.

Three further bedrooms occupy the first floor, one of them a smaller single room. A family bathroom, again arranged with both a bath and separate shower, serves these bedrooms.

Gardens and Grounds
The gardens deserve as much attention as the house. They have been developed into a series of places with their own purpose and outlook: rose gardens and established borders, open lawn, productive growing space and terraces for sitting and dining. Mature trees and hedges bring privacy, while the countryside remains present beyond them.

Close to the house, paved areas provide convenient places to step outside with a coffee or eat together in warmer weather. Elsewhere, a larger dining terrace and quieter seating spots draw you farther into the garden. This is a garden that rewards time spent in it, whether tending the planting, growing food or simply choosing a different place to sit as the day goes on.

The kitchen garden area, greenhouse and an espaliered fruit trees add a productive dimension to the grounds. There is room for play too: an in-ground trampoline and a small, single-hoop basketball practice area sit within the wider garden. Their position allows the outdoor space to work for different generations. Beyond the gardens is an adjoining fenced paddock.

The detached double garage sits beside the parking area, while a further outbuilding formally the stables building is now arranged as a gym, study and store.

The Setting
Langdon is a small historic hamlet between Down Thomas and Wembury. Laundry Cottage feels sheltered and rural, yet the coast is an easy part of daily life. Wembury Beach, with its rock pools, National Trust car park and Old Mill Café, is approximately a mile away. The South West Coast Path follows this stretch of coastline, with views across the water to the Mewstone.

Down Thomas village, with The Mussel Inn at its heart, is approximately a mile from Laundry Cottage. Wembury village is around 1¼ miles away. For a wider choice of everyday shops, The Broadway in Plymstock is around 3 miles away, while Plymouth railway station is approximately 6 miles away. All distances are approximate.

Laundry Cottage combines the space of a substantial family house with the character of its older origins. Its varied living rooms, five-bedroom layout and gardens give it room to accommodate different stages of life, all within a secluded countryside setting remarkably close to the sea.