House For Sale £1,595,000
A beautifully extended and improved period cottage, with parts believed to date back approximately 400 years and once forming part of the Turville Park estate.
The property is approached by a gravel driveway large enough for several cars. The house has distinctive dark wooden cladding, brick and flint, with a clay tiled roof. From the road, the nearest part of the building is the original "Smithy" which once stood separate from the cottage behind and incorporated in the 1930's.
An attractive oak-framed front porch leads through an antique wooden front door with windows to either side. The wide entrance hall has a tiled floor and connects all parts of the house. A cloakroom has dual-aspect windows, recessed spotlights, built-in storage, a wash-hand basin, heated towel rail, w.c. and a shower. It also houses the oil-fired central heating boiler behind a fitted cupboard.
A wooden staircase leads to the guest bedroom suite (bedroom 4), with a carpeted double bedroom with dual-aspect windows, and an en suite bathroom with shower, wash hand basin and w.c., with heated towel rail.
Turning right down the corridor you get to the original blacksmith’s workplace, the "Smithy" now in use as a generous carpeted sitting room with a vaulted ceiling, exposed and reinforced wooden beams, and triple aspect wooden double-glazed windows. The original chimney stack has been removed and room layout altered. A modern inglenook fireplace now features a Nordpeis wood burner installed by NonFumo Stoves. The west wall was replaced and the southern wall strengthened and the room has been insulated throughout.
A traditional door leads into a small reception room or study, with wooden floor and a window over the rear garden.
The separate dining room has period tiles to the floor, an inglenook fireplace, a cupboard, beams to the ceiling and a window over the rear garden. A pair of French doors also open out to the rear garden.
The open-plan country kitchen / breakfast room has high beamed ceilings, with ceiling-height windows and a pair of glazed French doors providing lots of natural light. A wooden breakfast bar is set into a supporting wooden beam. The room features painted shaker-style base units and a granite worktop, wood-effect ceramic floor tiles with underfloor heating. A free-standing 2-oven electric Aga enhances the country-kitchen look, and there is also a separate integrated electric oven, an integrated microwave, and a 4-ring induction hob. An integrated dishwasher sits next to the 1 1/2 bowl under-mounted composite sink. Attractive industrial style lighting lends a contemporary feel. There is a separate double under-mounted sink near to the French doors. The kitchen opens through to a cosy family room with the original inglenook fireplace with a wood-burning stove installed. It is tiled with period floor tiles; with a cupboard recess, and dual aspect windows to the rear garden.
From the kitchen, a separate utility room has further fitted shaker-style wall and base units, with a slate worktop. There are spaces for a washing machine and dryer, and for a freezer or a wine fridge. There is a stainless steel sink with a window out to the side of the property, and the original brick fireplace, now in use as an inventive laundry drying area.
The staircase has a panel of thick safety glass as a bannister, to brighten up the transition upstairs.
Bedroom 1 is a double bedroom with a vaulted ceiling, a skylight and windows to dual aspects. A wooden floor and exposed brick with whitewashed walls make this a bright and characterful space.
The bathroom has a freestanding bath with shower wand, a pair of wash hand basins, a w.c. and two heated towel rails. It has dual-aspect windows with rural views, and a wooden floor.
Bedroom 2 is a double bedroom with a vaulted ceiling, wooden floors, whitewashed walls with beams and dual-aspect windows. It has a period brick fireplace and a cupboard recess. An intriguing small wooden door leads through to a second room, ideal as either a dressing room, a potential for an en suite bathroom, or as a playroom for a child, including a mezzanine storage space.
Bedroom 3 is a double bedroom with a vaulted beamed ceiling, dual-aspect windows, wooden floors and a recessed cupboard space.
Outside the property
The house is surrounded by an enclosed fenced garden, with two pedestrian gates to the either side. A pretty patio area has a brick barbecue and a path leading to a large shed and a further, smaller shed. The sunny garden is mainly laid to lawn with mature trees and shrubs. There is a well-stocked fruit and veg bed to the side of the pretty brick and flint facade. To the front, the entrance to The Smithy is via a gravel drive and parking area, adjoining picturesque woodland and common land.
Living in Turville Heath
Set in the pretty hamlet of Turville Heath high in the Chiltern Hills "The Smithy" is in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Turville Heath is a relatively quiet rural area, which offers an abundance of footpaths and bridleways to enjoy the beautiful countryside, and from the front door it is a short woodland walk to grassy areas of the common land, and the "Barn on the Heath" where you can purchase refreshments.
Northend and Turville both lie about 2 miles away. Watlington is 5 miles away and offers a butcher, delicatessen, petrol station, Co-op and other day-to-day amenities. Henley-on-Thames is also a 15 minute drive away, with a Waitrose, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Planet Organic supermarkets, a regular local market, an excellent butcher, a cinema, well-regarded theatre, 2 doctor’s surgeries and an array of other shops and excellent hospitality venues.
The area is awash with good country pubs nearby: The Five Horseshoes at Maidensgrove, the Frog at Skirmett, The Chequers in picturesque Fingest, The Bull & Butcher in Turville (of Vicar of Dibley fame), and the Stag and Huntsman at Hambleden.
Transport
Henley-on-Thames 6.5 miles; Marlow 8 miles; High Wycombe 9.5 miles, Reading 15 miles.
High Wycombe, Henley-on-Thames, Marlow and Reading have railway stations serving London, Paddington (from 32 minutes) and Marylebone (from 28 minutes).
Education
The property is located in Buckinghamshire and is treated as such for school catchment areas. Moulsford (boys) and Cranford House (co-ed) school buses collect from the immediate area - and a minibus collects according to need. There is also access to the highly sought-after Grammar schools in Wycombe and Marlow.
History of the property
Owned by Jack Beddington in the 1930's who established the "Shell Guides to the UK”. The property appeared in ITV’s Midsomer Murders, Miss Marple and BBC Countryfile.
