HOMESNEWS Barn conversion is one for the list

COVER STORY Address: Samain, Duckpits Road, Petham, near Canterbury Price: £700,000 Agent: Charles Bainbridge

A barn conversion in the North Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is a great one for the viewing list. Four/five-bedroom Samain is a detached home in large gardens at Duckpits Road, Petham, near Canterbury. It’s just on the market with Charles Bainbridge, priced at £700,000.

There’s a detached double garage and Canterbury West station, with HS trains, is five miles away. Buyers will find five-bar gates and a gravel driveway leading to a large and light reception hall with floor-to-ceiling windows and a study off. Triple aspect sitting room has a vaulted and timbered

Once home to the winch that heaved tons of goods on and off the railway, this house is used to taking the strain.

Built around the end of the First World War, The Winch clung on to its industrial past when it was converted to a four-bedroom home in 1999.

It is tucked away in a yard of similar buildings and behind wooden gates. Buyers will love style touches including exposed girders, sections of steel lattice which allow light to pass through the building and industrial style flooring to the ground floor.

A 15ft kitchen/dining room is a light and bright room, with a steeltopped central island. Utility and cloakroom are also on this floor. On the first floor is a 16ft sitting room with a section of steel lattice floor that gives open views into the kitchen below. The sitting room is open to the floor above and makes the most of this with full-height book cases, complete with ladder. A bedroom and a bathroom are also on the first floor and three bedrooms are on the top floor. In the heart of St Dunstan’s and with the trains at Canterbury West on the doorstep, the house comes with a large gravelled courtyard with private parking. There’s even a detached double garage with a studio above.

For information ring 01227 452780 ceiling and a wood-burning stove set in exposed brick chimney breast and triple aspect windows. At the back of the house is a kitchen/diner. The utility room leads to one of two ground floor shower rooms and a door to garden.

An additional ground floor reception room could be called into play as a an extra bedroom if needed.

Four bedrooms with countryside views are on the first floor, with the family bathroom.

Estate agent Charles Bainbridge says: “This is an impressive and unique barn conversion providing extensive accommodation while retaining the aesthetic impact and integrity of the building located in an area of outstanding natural beauty in the North Downs.

WThe gardens extend to around a third of an acre.”

For information ring the agent on 01227 780227

ON THE MARKET Address: The Winch, Steam Packet Yard, North Lane, Canterbury Price: Guide price £650,000 Agent: Humberts