Properties of the week
With the days growing longer, where better to enjoy the evening sunset than a home in the West Country?
Devon, £1.15 million
There are few greater privileges in life than looking after a Devon longhouse, such as Grade Ii*-listed Middle Venton Farm. The property, which boasts a thatched roof and some four acres of gardens and grounds, sits in an enviable elevated position within Dartmoor National Park. The interiors proudly display their heritage—the house having been built in the 15th century—but have been painstakingly restored, meaning you can enjoy the exposed oak and granite stonework in contemporary peace. The farm is approached via a gated entrance to a large central courtyard that is surrounded by the main house, a number of outbuildings and a two-bedroom cottage. The gardens are mostly laid to lawn and interspersed with mature trees, such as Italian alder, pin oak, beech and various fruit trees. Rockeries and established flowerbeds can also be enjoyed from the garden room. Strutt & Parker (01392 229405)
Cornwall, from £310,000
The Courtyard is a new collection of two- and three-bedroom apartments, houses and bungalows on the site of the Duporth Manor Estate, moments away from the fishing village of Charlestown. Despite being a new development, the site is steeped in history, with Duporth Manor having originally been built and owned by the Rashleigh family some time between 1791 and 1805. As well as some new-build properties, the development also includes original buildings that have been converted and restored. The listed clock tower, built by Thwaites & Reed, remains in the heart of the site. Ideal for those looking for somewhere to retire or perhaps a holiday home, the development also boasts a private beach and southerly ocean views. Acorn (01637 876000)
Devon, £1.795 million
Those looking to really bed into the West Country lifestyle need look no further than Wilsham Farm, a compact estate on Exmoor near the village of Countisbury. As well as being near the North Devon AONB, the estate also comprises a main 17th-/18th-century farmhouse, a five-bedroom cottage, an indoor swimming pool and various outbuildings that are ripe for conversion. The farmhouse offers five bedrooms and is listed Grade II; within its local coursed sandstone exterior, you will find a refurbished interior with lashings of period charm. The estate comes with some 70 acres of farmland, which is a mix of young pasture and some young woodland, and the property adjoins woodland under the care of the National Trust. There is scope for a small family shoot and two blocks of stabling are already on site. Pritchard and Company (01608 801030)
Cornwall, offers in excess of £2.5 million
With four acres of mature grounds that have been restored to plans developed by award-winning landscape architect Jinny Blom, Grade Ii*-listed Trebrea Lodge near Tintagel is a true West Country manor house. The property, which dates from the mid 18th century, offers eight bedrooms over three floors, as well as solid oak and slate floors, and divine sash windows from which you can see St Materiana’s Church and the Atlantic Ocean beyond. Outside, a terraced garden rises up to a woodland and paddock at the rear. More formal lawned areas surround the property and offer ideal space for entertaining and alfresco dining in the fresh sea air. John Bray and Partners (01208 862601)
Somerset, offers in excess of £1 million
Nestled under the Brendon Hills near Huish Champflower sits the immaculate Harts Farm, a Grade Ii-listed farmhouse of stone and slate and some 35 acres. The home offers four bedrooms over its two floors, as well as a study, boot room, dining room, living room and kitchen/breakfast room with an island. However, although the interiors are more than gorgeous, with plenty of period features throughout, they pale in comparison with the views of the surrounding countryside afforded by the property’s south-facing aspect. Most of the land is offered to pasture and woodland, which would be perfect for agricultural or equestrian use, and more formal gardens at the front of the property make the most of the southerly position. Greenslade Taylor Hunt (01823 277121)