House For Sale £600,000
A rather lovely early Victorian house with 4 beds (annex if required), 2 delightful receptions (one vaulted), kitchen/breakfast room, plus outbuildings incl a home office. Masses of charm, good order, & tucked away on a quiet lane in a village just a few miles from Bicester. No chain
Middleton Stoney is a small village set between Bicester to the East and Lower Heyford to the West. It has history dating back to at least the 13th century, a fact confirmed by the age of the Jersey Arms hotel/ restaurant. The access to both towns and arterial routes is excellent, with Bicester a short drive away (from where London Marylebone is as little as a 42 minute journey by rail) and Oxford a straight run to the South. Surrounding the village is wonderful open countryside and farmland with some delightful established walks including at least one tree lined avenue that was once a Roman road.
Constable’s Cottage started life as a pretty 3 bed house, noted in the local school records as built in 1837, first year of Queen Victoria's reign. The lovely window seats, thick and patinated oak floor boards, flagstones etc that go with the style of that era are still present in many rooms. In more recent times it has evolved into something rather more. Extended by our sellers to accommodate a family needing lots of flexible living space (including a potential annex), it also has a fully prepped, ready to go home office in a separate building. With working from home never more important, to find a house already set up for the perfect work/life balance is rare. And to do so with character and charm is rarer still. Be quick…
Opening the front door brings you into a rather charming hallway. Elegant stairs with exposed timber treads rise to the right, and ahead of you a delightfully patinated stone tiled floor run through the widening hallway, with bags of space for storage, coats and boots. Through the door ahead of you is a characterful, bright and spacious living room. The pair of windows with seats and shutters on the left are everything you would hope for from such a charming room, as is the elegant fireplace - now equipped with a modern wood burner, perfect for cosy winter evenings. In the corner there is also a large cupboard, providing really useful day to day storage. Take a right and you walk into a generously proportioned kitchen. The same stone floor that you found in the hallway continues in the kitchen. The layout is superb. To one end a Belfast sink sits amongst various units topped off with a timber work surface. At the opposite end another fireplace, which does retain the chimney above, currently house is a wine rack. And opposite the large window is a built-in dresser, with a long run of drawers, cupboards and shelving providing excellent storage in a really pretty style. The room shape is such it houses a table plus six chairs with ample room to spare, perfect for everyday family living. Walk past the fireplace and the link between the old cottage and the new extension is a utility room, in which the boiler is housed, plus there's plumbing for a washing machine, tumble dryer et cetera.
Beyond, the extended part has some serious wow factor! A large and impressive room with a vaulted ceiling and exposed roof trusses, there are vast areas of glazing to the end wall, the right-hand roof slopes and also a pair of side windows that conspire to ensure this wonderful room is light at all times. Currently set up as a dining room, it would swallow the most enormous of family Christmases with ample space to spare. But equally, it could be a great second reception room if desired. And with glazed doors to the rear opening out onto the terrace, you’re likely to want to spend a lot of time here in the summer. Take a left and you enter what is currently set up as a very effective fourth bedroom/annex, complete with another alluring vaulted ceiling overhead as well as a generous en-suite bathroom.
Now to the first floor. From the entrance hall, take those stairs to the landing at the top where you find original, timber floor boards that run straight ahead of you and into two of the bedrooms. Take the left and you enter the first of three double bedrooms on this floor. Well proportioned and very charming, it also has a large, walk-in cupboard to the corner - so large in fact that we suspect it could become an en-suite if desired. Carry on along the landing and the largest of the bedrooms is an ample double, complete with deep alcoves either side of the bed providing great storage opportunities. And you’ll notice the window seat beneath the casement window, another period feature to raise a smile. The last of the bedrooms initially appears longer and thinner but in fact currently houses an enormous wardrobe! Our vendors will be delighted to leave it if you wish as it’ll be far easier not to dismantle... Serving all three bedrooms is a spacious and bright bathroom, the majority of which is tiled with smart mosaic white tiling contrasted with slender black edging. The bath also includes a “soaker” shower head above plus a glass screen, catering for all tastes. And it is worth noting that the loft space is very tall, hence there appears to be potential to convert to further accommodation if desired - subject to the usual checks.
Outside takes a little explanation. The sellers have block paved the frontage to provide space for various cars off street, in addition to which there’s ample parking on the lane outside. The driveway to the side narrows to a little over six feet, so the garage beyond could be accessed by a classic Austin but less likely a Rolls! That same garage currently provides masses of storage, and power is present. Attached to it is the office. As our clients have worked from home for many years, this is a very effective work space complete with double glazing and its own fuse box. They have in the past run a cabled phone line to it, but with modern broadband repeaters they simply run internet wirelessly from the house. The office is ideal for two people plus desks, cabinets etc, and with the lovely view of the rear of the house plus garden it’s a wonderful place to work. Also attached to the office is a further structure, this time a red brick outhouse, the roof of which also continues along to provide a large covered space for firewood. The lawn runs the full width of the house, punctuated by a mix of well-stocked planters and borders with a great array of veg, shrubs and flowers. Sat as it is on a no through village lane, the position is idyllic and secluded with very little noise from any source, a lovely family garden. For those wanting more room to stretch their legs, there is a local playground at the end of the lane plus various lovely local walks.
Middleton Stoney is a small village set between Bicester to the East and Lower Heyford to the West. It has history dating back to at least the 13th century, a fact confirmed by the age of the Jersey Arms hotel/ restaurant. The access to both towns and arterial routes is excellent, with Bicester a short drive away (from where London Marylebone is as little as a 42 minute journey by rail) and Oxford a straight run to the South. Surrounding the village is wonderful open countryside and farmland with some delightful established walks including at least one tree lined avenue that was once a Roman road.
Constable’s Cottage started life as a pretty 3 bed house, noted in the local school records as built in 1837, first year of Queen Victoria's reign. The lovely window seats, thick and patinated oak floor boards, flagstones etc that go with the style of that era are still present in many rooms. In more recent times it has evolved into something rather more. Extended by our sellers to accommodate a family needing lots of flexible living space (including a potential annex), it also has a fully prepped, ready to go home office in a separate building. With working from home never more important, to find a house already set up for the perfect work/life balance is rare. And to do so with character and charm is rarer still. Be quick…
Opening the front door brings you into a rather charming hallway. Elegant stairs with exposed timber treads rise to the right, and ahead of you a delightfully patinated stone tiled floor run through the widening hallway, with bags of space for storage, coats and boots. Through the door ahead of you is a characterful, bright and spacious living room. The pair of windows with seats and shutters on the left are everything you would hope for from such a charming room, as is the elegant fireplace - now equipped with a modern wood burner, perfect for cosy winter evenings. In the corner there is also a large cupboard, providing really useful day to day storage. Take a right and you walk into a generously proportioned kitchen. The same stone floor that you found in the hallway continues in the kitchen. The layout is superb. To one end a Belfast sink sits amongst various units topped off with a timber work surface. At the opposite end another fireplace, which does retain the chimney above, currently house is a wine rack. And opposite the large window is a built-in dresser, with a long run of drawers, cupboards and shelving providing excellent storage in a really pretty style. The room shape is such it houses a table plus six chairs with ample room to spare, perfect for everyday family living. Walk past the fireplace and the link between the old cottage and the new extension is a utility room, in which the boiler is housed, plus there's plumbing for a washing machine, tumble dryer et cetera.
Beyond, the extended part has some serious wow factor! A large and impressive room with a vaulted ceiling and exposed roof trusses, there are vast areas of glazing to the end wall, the right-hand roof slopes and also a pair of side windows that conspire to ensure this wonderful room is light at all times. Currently set up as a dining room, it would swallow the most enormous of family Christmases with ample space to spare. But equally, it could be a great second reception room if desired. And with glazed doors to the rear opening out onto the terrace, you’re likely to want to spend a lot of time here in the summer. Take a left and you enter what is currently set up as a very effective fourth bedroom/annex, complete with another alluring vaulted ceiling overhead as well as a generous en-suite bathroom.
Now to the first floor. From the entrance hall, take those stairs to the landing at the top where you find original, timber floor boards that run straight ahead of you and into two of the bedrooms. Take the left and you enter the first of three double bedrooms on this floor. Well proportioned and very charming, it also has a large, walk-in cupboard to the corner - so large in fact that we suspect it could become an en-suite if desired. Carry on along the landing and the largest of the bedrooms is an ample double, complete with deep alcoves either side of the bed providing great storage opportunities. And you’ll notice the window seat beneath the casement window, another period feature to raise a smile. The last of the bedrooms initially appears longer and thinner but in fact currently houses an enormous wardrobe! Our vendors will be delighted to leave it if you wish as it’ll be far easier not to dismantle... Serving all three bedrooms is a spacious and bright bathroom, the majority of which is tiled with smart mosaic white tiling contrasted with slender black edging. The bath also includes a “soaker” shower head above plus a glass screen, catering for all tastes. And it is worth noting that the loft space is very tall, hence there appears to be potential to convert to further accommodation if desired - subject to the usual checks.
Outside takes a little explanation. The sellers have block paved the frontage to provide space for various cars off street, in addition to which there’s ample parking on the lane outside. The driveway to the side narrows to a little over six feet, so the garage beyond could be accessed by a classic Austin but less likely a Rolls! That same garage currently provides masses of storage, and power is present. Attached to it is the office. As our clients have worked from home for many years, this is a very effective work space complete with double glazing and its own fuse box. They have in the past run a cabled phone line to it, but with modern broadband repeaters they simply run internet wirelessly from the house. The office is ideal for two people plus desks, cabinets etc, and with the lovely view of the rear of the house plus garden it’s a wonderful place to work. Also attached to the office is a further structure, this time a red brick outhouse, the roof of which also continues along to provide a large covered space for firewood. The lawn runs the full width of the house, punctuated by a mix of well-stocked planters and borders with a great array of veg, shrubs and flowers. Sat as it is on a no through village lane, the position is idyllic and secluded with very little noise from any source, a lovely family garden. For those wanting more room to stretch their legs, there is a local playground at the end of the lane plus various lovely local walks.
