Exceptional period home in thriving town
Welton House, Pocklington, £695,000
LIZ and Richard Whitaker were well ahead of the curve when 22 years ago they abandoned their dream of buying a period property in central York and turned their attention to Pocklington.
House prices in central York, then as now, were high and spending a small fortune on an historic home in the city couldn’t even guarantee them parking or a decent size garden.
Many house hunters have since followed in their footsteps in moving to the amenity rich market town of Pocklington.
“It’s a great place to live and it’s an easy 12-mile drive from York, and you can access the M1/A1 and the M62 from here plus the Yorkshire Wolds are on the doorstep and it’s a half-hour drive to the coast.”
Along with an enviable lifestyle, she and Richard also found the house of their dreams. They bought their Edwardian home, Welton House, complete with four parking spaces, a garage and a 100ft-long garden, 13 years ago when it was in dire need of renovation and updating.
No expense was spared and it took a £230,000 spend plus hours of planning, project managing and interior designing to make it the perfect family home.
Such was the scale of the project, the Whitakers rented a property while the work was ongoing. It included a loft conversion and a large rear extension designed by a local architect, which turned the galley kitchen into a fabulous open plan kitchen/dining room and a garden room. Great care was also taken to preserve original features and replace those that had been lost.
The semi-detached house, which is in walking distance of Burnby Hall Gardens and the town centre, has a hall, a living room with original timber floor and an open fireplace, a snug with woodburning stove, a kitchen/dining room with handmade cabinetry, a garden room, study, utility room and a W.C.
Upstairs are three bedrooms and two bathrooms on the first floor and on the second floor, there is a double bedroom with an ensuite shower room. Outside, there is the south-facing rear garden with apple trees, a patio and garden room, a garage and four parking spaces.
“I call it a Narnia house. It doesn’t look big from the outside but if I had £1 for every time someone walked into the house and said they didn’t realise how big it was, I’d be rich,” says Liz, who is sad to be selling her perfect period property.
She and Richard are moving to be closer to her parents who need support. “We love this house,” says Liz. “It’s only had three owners since it was built and that says a lot.”
Pocklington has independent retailers including coffee shops, restaurants, butchers, bakers, gift shops and home/interior design shops. It also has supermarkets, good state and independent schooling, a leisure centre with a pool and the Pocklington Arts Centre, a much-loved asset that is home to a cinema and also hosts music, comedy, and theatre productions.
Welton House is on the market for £695,000. For details of the sale contact North Residential, Pocklington, tel: 01759 779 025