House For Sale £450,000
Dating back some 300 years, a bright, well proportioned (1,177 sq ft) detached cottage with three double bedrooms, two ample receptions, remodelled kitchen plus utility room, even a small "workshop/store" purpose-built at the rear. Lovely order throughout and packed with great character.
Fritwell is a pretty village dating back to before the Norman Conquest. For a village of less than 500 inhabitants it is fortunate to have a post office and shop plus an award-winning butchers, a Village Hall for community and private events, two churches and a playing field with play and multi-sports areas for children, plus there is a great C of E first school - an unusual level of amenities for a village of this size. And within just a few mile radius there are masses of other amenities including several really lovely pubs. Its access is also excellent with the M40 nearby and Bicester rail station to London less than 6 miles away - with a service to Marylebone as fast as 40 minutes. This combined with its situation amid some of the prettiest countryside makes it a great place to live.
We've known this cottage for some years through successive ownerships. The gorgeous, character-laden place that you find today is a culmination of successive owners' love and care. In the last few years this has included a new solid oak kitchen and utility suite, upgrades to bathroom, new solid wood windows, landscaped garden, new Worcester combi boiler, to name just a few. And this all sits very seamlessly within a house that's packed with such lovely things as a charming inglenook fireplace in the sitting room and thick timber beams overhead. Bay Tree Cottage offers something for everyone...
There are essentially two "front" doors, so we will bring you in via the door that enters the living room. Your first impression is of irresistible character. A large inglenook fireplace with a thick timber lintel, lots of beams, an oak floor etc all draw you in and raise a smile. And because the room is double aspect it is very light hence very positive. To the right what used to be the study is now fitted out as utility room (easy to reverse if you want to work from home), light and airy with a window looking out to the front of the house, and the same oak floor continues through. At the rear the dining room is delightful. The decision of the previous owners to shoulder the extra expense of a lantern glass roof overhead really paid dividends as the room is so delightfully bright. And the double doors to the rear open onto a pretty terrace beyond which the mainly lawned walled garden is a very private and attractive place to be.
Completing the downstairs is the kitchen, located to the front of the house. Recently refitted to the same style and finish as the utility with solid oak units, it's a wonderful and cleverly planned room. The units range round three sides with distinctly Victorian-style handles and pastel shade painted fascias that contrast perfectly with thick timber work tops. It's comprehensively fitted including washing machine, dishwasher, double oven and even a Belfast-style sink! And unlike many cottages, the layout allows for a breakfast table to sit in the centre with ease. Stairs rise off to the side, and next to them a second door leads out to the gravelled parking alongside which the oil tank for the central heating is situated.
Upstairs the whole house continues the same theme of light and space. A long main hallway with painted timber floor leads off to all rooms. At the top of the stairs, turn left and you find a pretty double bedroom, well proportioned but also including a deep over-stairs cupboard providing masses of useful storage. Next left is the bathroom. A chequerboard floor contrasts tastefully with the simple white suite which includes a bath over which a high quality thermostatic shower is fitted - with a glass screen. Head further down the corridor, past the airing cupboard, and you find another double bedroom, this time longer and more spacious, with another deep cupboard recess to the side. And the third bedrooms at the end of the landing is perhaps the most charming as it is double aspect hence the natural light is wonderful.
Outside to the front there are two separate areas gravelled for ease. To the right the oil tank sits at the rear of a parking area running up to the door, this is also handy for bins, bikes etc. To the left the wooden gate leads into another gravelled area leading to the living room front door. At the back of the house, the garden has been delightfully landscaped in the last couple of years. A terrace immediately behind the dining room ensures that outside dining is the norm. Terrace then changes to a lawn that predominates, surrounded by walls hence it's incredibly private as well as quiet. Various border plants lazily climb the wall to the right, and at the back of the garden a further, slender terrace area is a great sun trap. And at the side of the dining room, a wooden workshop/shed has been purpose-built to offer really clever storage - 3m by 1.6m (narrowing down to 1.3m). This has been tailored to maximise the amount of space for bikes/garden furniture/garden tools that may be required.
Mains water, drainage, oil c.h.
Cherwell District Council
Freehold
Council Tax Band D
£2,061-98 p.a. 2021/22
Fritwell is a pretty village dating back to before the Norman Conquest. For a village of less than 500 inhabitants it is fortunate to have a post office and shop plus an award-winning butchers, a Village Hall for community and private events, two churches and a playing field with play and multi-sports areas for children, plus there is a great C of E first school - an unusual level of amenities for a village of this size. And within just a few mile radius there are masses of other amenities including several really lovely pubs. Its access is also excellent with the M40 nearby and Bicester rail station to London less than 6 miles away - with a service to Marylebone as fast as 40 minutes. This combined with its situation amid some of the prettiest countryside makes it a great place to live.
We've known this cottage for some years through successive ownerships. The gorgeous, character-laden place that you find today is a culmination of successive owners' love and care. In the last few years this has included a new solid oak kitchen and utility suite, upgrades to bathroom, new solid wood windows, landscaped garden, new Worcester combi boiler, to name just a few. And this all sits very seamlessly within a house that's packed with such lovely things as a charming inglenook fireplace in the sitting room and thick timber beams overhead. Bay Tree Cottage offers something for everyone...
There are essentially two "front" doors, so we will bring you in via the door that enters the living room. Your first impression is of irresistible character. A large inglenook fireplace with a thick timber lintel, lots of beams, an oak floor etc all draw you in and raise a smile. And because the room is double aspect it is very light hence very positive. To the right what used to be the study is now fitted out as utility room (easy to reverse if you want to work from home), light and airy with a window looking out to the front of the house, and the same oak floor continues through. At the rear the dining room is delightful. The decision of the previous owners to shoulder the extra expense of a lantern glass roof overhead really paid dividends as the room is so delightfully bright. And the double doors to the rear open onto a pretty terrace beyond which the mainly lawned walled garden is a very private and attractive place to be.
Completing the downstairs is the kitchen, located to the front of the house. Recently refitted to the same style and finish as the utility with solid oak units, it's a wonderful and cleverly planned room. The units range round three sides with distinctly Victorian-style handles and pastel shade painted fascias that contrast perfectly with thick timber work tops. It's comprehensively fitted including washing machine, dishwasher, double oven and even a Belfast-style sink! And unlike many cottages, the layout allows for a breakfast table to sit in the centre with ease. Stairs rise off to the side, and next to them a second door leads out to the gravelled parking alongside which the oil tank for the central heating is situated.
Upstairs the whole house continues the same theme of light and space. A long main hallway with painted timber floor leads off to all rooms. At the top of the stairs, turn left and you find a pretty double bedroom, well proportioned but also including a deep over-stairs cupboard providing masses of useful storage. Next left is the bathroom. A chequerboard floor contrasts tastefully with the simple white suite which includes a bath over which a high quality thermostatic shower is fitted - with a glass screen. Head further down the corridor, past the airing cupboard, and you find another double bedroom, this time longer and more spacious, with another deep cupboard recess to the side. And the third bedrooms at the end of the landing is perhaps the most charming as it is double aspect hence the natural light is wonderful.
Outside to the front there are two separate areas gravelled for ease. To the right the oil tank sits at the rear of a parking area running up to the door, this is also handy for bins, bikes etc. To the left the wooden gate leads into another gravelled area leading to the living room front door. At the back of the house, the garden has been delightfully landscaped in the last couple of years. A terrace immediately behind the dining room ensures that outside dining is the norm. Terrace then changes to a lawn that predominates, surrounded by walls hence it's incredibly private as well as quiet. Various border plants lazily climb the wall to the right, and at the back of the garden a further, slender terrace area is a great sun trap. And at the side of the dining room, a wooden workshop/shed has been purpose-built to offer really clever storage - 3m by 1.6m (narrowing down to 1.3m). This has been tailored to maximise the amount of space for bikes/garden furniture/garden tools that may be required.
Mains water, drainage, oil c.h.
Cherwell District Council
Freehold
Council Tax Band D
£2,061-98 p.a. 2021/22
