House For Sale £895,000
Built around 1800 using dark, honey-coloured Ham stone hewn from Ham Hill about 13 miles away, Masongill is a charming and beautifully proportioned small townhouse with a classic Georgian symmetrical front complete with a fanlight above the front door and inset boot scraper beside it. The property was originally called St. Aidan's but was re-named Masongill in 1943 after the pretty village in the Yorkshire Dales, where the house's owners had recently spent their honeymoon. It has two storeys plus a suite of four former servants' bedrooms in the attics and backs onto a private walled garden. The front façade is south facing and opens directly onto Long Street and the interior is light and airy and chock full of character. It has been sympathetically upgraded throughout, is Grade II listed and has retained many of its original architectural features including a polished flagstone floor in the hall, early 19th century fireplaces in all three reception rooms, sash windows, delicately moulded coving, picture rails and plentiful original joinery. The sitting room and dining room are off one side of the hall and are separated from each other by an archway fitted with sliding doors. When open a single space is created that is perfect for entertaining. The snug is off the opposite side of the hall looking out onto Long Street and has an open fireplace flanked by two attractive alcoves. The adjacent kitchen/breakfast room by contrast looks out over the rear walled garden, has a deep walk-in larder and is fully fitted with built-in electrical appliances and a gas hob and has a good-sized dining area lit by natural light pouring in through a roof light above it. The first floor landing area has been cleverly redesigned to create an open area at the centre of the house that is surrounded by three double bedrooms, a dressing room/single bedroom, the family bathroom and a shower room. A further staircase rises to the secondary landing in the attics, which serves as a home office space and leads to a suite of former servants' quarters that could provide up to four bedrooms but currently serve as three storage rooms plus a good-sized study with views out over rooftops to hilly countryside south of the town.
Masongill has a good-sized, rear walled garden that is very private and has a central lawn fringed by richly planted borders, sloping gently upwards to the garden room, which has power, light and a lovely south-facing view. Behind it is the former Georgian privy that now serves as a machinery and tool store. Immediately behind the house is a flat, paved area that provides a compact outside dining space with direct access to the rear of the entrance hall and a pair of French windows to the sitting room. A short flight of steps from the paved area rises up to the lower end of the lawn. On one side is a further lean-to storeroom housing the boiler.
Masongill has a good-sized, rear walled garden that is very private and has a central lawn fringed by richly planted borders, sloping gently upwards to the garden room, which has power, light and a lovely south-facing view. Behind it is the former Georgian privy that now serves as a machinery and tool store. Immediately behind the house is a flat, paved area that provides a compact outside dining space with direct access to the rear of the entrance hall and a pair of French windows to the sitting room. A short flight of steps from the paved area rises up to the lower end of the lawn. On one side is a further lean-to storeroom housing the boiler.
Sherborne station 0.5 mile (Waterloo 2.25 hours), Yeovil 5.8 miles, Wincanton/A303 9.6 miles, Castle Cary station 14 miles (Paddington 90 minutes), Dorchester 18 miles, Taunton J25 M5 30.2 miles, Bristol Airport 41.3 miles. (Distances & times approximate).
Masongill is located at the quieter end of one of the best residential streets in Sherborne and is about a ten minutes' walk to the town's main shopping street, where there are a wide range of shops including Sainsbury's and Waitrose. Sherborne station (12-minute walk) has a direct rail service to Waterloo (2.25 hours) and there is a fast service from Castle Cary to Paddington (90 minutes). Bournemouth, Bristol and Exeter Airports are all about 1 hours' drive. In addition, the local area offers a wide choice of schools, including the highly regarded Gryphon School for state secondary education plus three independent schools within the town.
