House For Sale £780,000
Bulmer
previous price £800,000

Full description

PROPERTY SUMMARY

Clapps Farmhouse is an attractive Grade II listed 17th century family home with later additions in the 19th century. The property occupies grounds in excess of 5 acres offering a parkland setting. The property has recently undergone an extensive and sympathetic refurbishment program, creating comfortable living accommodation amounting to an impressive 3514 sqft. The versatile accommodation comprises; drawing room, family room, dining room, kitchen/breakfast room, library, study/home office, utility and an impressive vaulted studio. Whilst on the first floor there are four double bedrooms and three bathrooms.

THE STORY

Watching her children playing cricket out on the lawn or her husband painting in his light-filled studio - the current owner of Clapps Farmhouse has 10 years' worth of happy memories at the house to look back on.
As soon as she walked through the historic, four bedroom property at Bulmer, she knew this was where she wanted to live.
"I fell in love with it the very first time I visited. I stood at the bedroom window and looked out across the gardens and moat, and thought how beautiful it was," she said.
"It was a quiet, secluded place, which was exactly what we were looking for at the time. The children were growing up and we wanted a perfect family home, with lots of indoor and outdoor space, and somewhere that was ideal for parties.
"We knew we wanted to do it up and to look after it properly, in keeping with its history - and since then we have felt like its custodians. It has been our dream home."

FABULOUS KITCHEN

Once a working farm, Grade II Listed Clapps Farmhouse dates back to Elizabethan times and also features Georgian and contemporary additions. It sits in grounds of approximately five or six acres and has a moat.
"Inside, it offers very good living space; it has large rooms and is very light," she said. "There is a spacious dining room for entertaining and a large drawing room, with an inglenook fireplace and wood-burning stove, in what would have once been the dairy."
After moving into the house they decided to extend the kitchen and reconfigure the layout of the ground floor slightly.
"We have opened it up to create a lovely big farmhouse kitchen, where we now have an Aga, which is wonderful in the winter. This room is where we tend to live - it is where we sit round the big farmhouse table, have meals together and chat."
One particular feature in the kitchen always catches the attention of first-time visitors.
"We have a well in there, which is covered with glass, and when the light is switched on you can see right down to the water 60ft below!"

SYMPATHETIC STYLE

In all the work the couple have done at the house they have tried to retain the history and beauty of their character home - and in their decorating they have sought to complement it.
"We have thought carefully about the materials we have used and I did a lot of research into the colours of the period for particular parts of the house, and then used heritage paints. There are now beautiful, floor length silk curtains in some places and we still have the shutters in the formal Georgian reception rooms."
All four bedrooms and the family bathroom are on the first floor of the house. The master bedroom has an en suite bathroom.
"My daughter also has a huge bedroom, which is in the Georgian section of the property. Our son has his room at the other end of the house, which has given him his own space too," she said.
The house has been extended carefully by the current owners, creating a new ground area that could be reorganised slightly and used as an independent annexe. This currently features a library area, office and utility room, as well as an artist's studio.
"My husband loves his studio, which is an incredibly light room. It has a vaulted ceiling and big French windows that open on to the garden."

HAPPY TIMES

So many special family occasions have been spent at Clapps Farmhouse, from diamond and golden wedding anniversaries for their parents to numerous children's birthday parties.
"The children have also loved having their friends to stay and camp out here," she said. "They have been able to pitch their tents in the meadow and we have known they have been quite safe."
She added: "I remember on one occasion, we drained the moat and then filled it up with lovely clear water. The children went swimming in it when it was full - it was just of the many amazing days we have had here."

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MAGNIFICENT GROUNDS

There are so many beautiful outdoor areas to enjoy at Clapps Farmhouse, from the sheltered courtyard, which is enclosed on three sides and is a real suntrap, to the expanses of lawn, where the children have played cricket and rounders over the years.
The garden features more than 600 specimen trees, glorious rose beds and places to grow fruit and vegetables.
"When I arrived I wanted to plant some fruit trees," said the owner.
"I decided where to do it and then later discovered this was where the original orchard had been. I really believe this is a house that just talks to you," she said.

ACCOMMODATION

GROUND FLOOR ACCOMMODATION

Accessing the property from the rear you enter the Aga kitchen. The kitchen proves to be the real hub of the home with ample dining space for up to ten persons. The shaker style units are fitted in a traditional layout with a mixture of granite and wooden work tops, providing plenty of space for preparation of meals. Set within the attractive limestone floor is an interesting well feature which currently has a glass cover. From the kitchen doors lead off to an inner hall and the dining room. The sun filled dining room offers pleasant views over the south-west gardens whilst exposed studs, central tie beam and the mellow red brick Inglenook fireplace adds warmth and character. To the side of the fireplace you will note a door which accessing the vestibule which in turn provides access to the family room. The family room is similar in proportion and again has a pleasant dual aspect and mellow redbrick Inglenook fireplace, built in storage cupboard and an exposed pine floor. Moving on to the inner hall you will note to your left the ground floor cloak/wc. The drawing room forms part of the original cottage and is commanded by a central Inglenook with large bressumer housing a multi fuel burning stove. There is a wealth of exposed studwork, ceiling timbers and an attractive brick floor. Beyond the drawing room the property has been extended to create possible ancillary accommodation with the current arrangement comprising; library, study, utility/second kitchen and a fantastic sun filled vaulted artist studio with complementary cloaks/wc.


FIRST FLOOR ACCOMMODATION

On the first floor a spacious landing provides access to four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a cloakroom. The master bedroom sits above the dining room and offers a pleasant dual aspect over the grounds and comes with a complementary en-suite shower. Bedrooms two and three come with built in wardrobes.

SETTING THE SCENE

The property offers a high degree of privacy and is set at the end of a cul-de-sac location beyond a handful of properties. As previously mentioned the grounds extend to over 5 acres and offer a parkland setting. The principle grounds are laid to well tended lawn, and commence with a large expanse of sun terrace providing plenty of sun traps. The garden is interspersed by flowering herbaceous borders, a large rose bed and five specimen trees. Beyond the principle garden a Monet style arched timber bridge leads to the meadow, featuring more then 600 specimen trees, glorious rose beds and plenty of space to grow fruit and vegetables.

WHATS NEARBY

Clapps Farmhouse is within walking distance to the highly regarded Bulmer Fox which is a bistro style restaurant and country pub. The village also offers a church, primary school, garage and nearby post office. The popular village of Long Melford and the nearby market town of Sudbury both provide a wide range of day to day facilities including a good range of shops, school, recreational facilities with the Quay Theatre an Leisure Centre in Sudbury.

WITHIN EASY REACH

There are linked train services from Sudbury station, whilst mainline links to London's Liverpool Street are accessed from Colchester, Marks Tey and Kelvedon.



"The children were growing up and we wanted a perfect family home, with lots of indoor and outdoor space, and somewhere that was ideal for parties."

DIRECTIONS:

Leaving Colchester access the A134 and A131 through the villages of Nayland and Newton into Sudbury. On Newton Road roundabout take the 3rd exit onto King Street/A131. Continue into the Village of Bulmer turning right onto Church Road, take the next turning into Park Lane where the property can be found beyond a handful of houses.