House For Sale £385,000
GORGEOUS STONE COTTAGE, FULL OF PERIOD CHARM AND WITH A GARDEN OFFICE
A lovely 2-bedroom, stone and clay-tiled cottage in the conservation area of the beautiful North Bedfordshire riverside village of Pavenham. Thought to date from the middle of the 17th century, yet unlisted, the delightfully named Cobweb Cottage comes with a relaxing, courtyard-style garden complete with hot tub and outdoor office.
Cobweb Cottage is at the end of a row of cottages off Pavenham’s historic High Street, possibly constructed for estate workers and their families within what is believed to have been one huge stone barn built for Pavenham Bury Manor House.
The village itself is surrounded by beautiful countryside yet is minutes from the County town of Bedford, its supermarkets, gyms, restaurants and music venues, exceptional schools and fast trains to London and elsewhere. Catchment schools, surgery, shops and post offices are all in the adjoining villages.
Pop over to the farm on the opposite side of the street to pick up the Sunday joint. Wander a little further to Sunday service at Pavenham’s glorious 13th century Church of St Peter, and to the Cock Inn or the village hall to mix with the friendly community. Few villages provide so many sporting facilities. Playing fields, cricket, tennis and golf clubs are all on the doorstep.
Moreover, the village is blessed with wonderful walks. Follow the John Bunyan trail along the beautiful River Great Ouse to Stevington, taking in the holy well and the ancient cross referred to in ‘Pilgrims Progress’. A lovely environment in which to live.
ABOUT THE PROPERTY
Tucked between old native hedging and the stone gable of Cobweb Cottage, an oak door beneath clay pantiles opens Narnia-esque into an enchanting garden that you’d never know was there.
Packed with pollinator-friendly planting around huge autumn gold stone slabs, beautiful Ceanothus mingles with ferns Japanese Japonica, False Spiraea and Nandina. Umpteen varieties of colourful Heuchera bloom in the raised sleeper bed, and a highly scented Pink Jasmine tumbles over the pergola.
This is the peaceful, low maintenance, setting in which you can relax with coffee and crossword, wallow in the hot tub with glass of wine, and, indeed, work all year round in your garden office, double glazed French doors thrown open to the summer’s sun.
And through the heavy front door, beneath its fragrant hydrangea-clad hood, step onto the old red brick floor of the sitting room, a roaring log fire ablaze in the multifuel stove, beautiful beams above your head (even for 6-footers), and immediately fall in love.
Hidden, yet open to the sitting room, the kitchen has all the appliances you need, and then some, built in to Crown Imperial oak furniture, topped by gorgeous granite. Sit at table with coffee and chat to the cook. And imagine friends and family milling around in the perfect space for your housewarming party.
Cobweb Cottage oozes character. Wonderful wall and ceiling timbers, exposed stone and brick, oak doors, niches and wooden window seats abound. You even have a ‘coffin drop’, which will surely not be used for its original purpose, but what a boon for hauling your mattresses upstairs.
Clamber up the wooden staircase (an oak handrail helps) to dreamy bedrooms (one which you must walk through, but which could be screened) with their tall, sloping ceilings and beautiful timber frame of the dividing wall. Sit on the low, wooden sills and gaze out at gorgeous old clay rooftops beyond the garden. Stand on tiptoe in the bathroom for an enticing view between beautiful houses across the street and look forward to some of the best walks in the Country.
