Ashes House is a substantial and handsome early Victorian country house which stands in an elevated setting with far reaching southerly views.
On the ground floor the comfortable and free flowing internal accommodation provides a sequence of beautifully proportioned formal reception rooms arranged off a welcoming and impressive reception and staircase hall. The breakfast kitchen with Aga provides a heart to the house and has beautiful views over the garden. The view through the conservatory of the walled garden with its wide and richly planted flower bed is extremely special. A study or downstairs bedroom with an en suite cloakroom is just off the reception hall. Domestic offices are off the kitchen beyond the secondary staircase comprising a good size utility room with larder and door giving access to the cellars made up of two compartments, one with wine bins and the other a fuel store with a coal chute from courtyard.
The first floor accommodation is arranged off a spacious and well lit landing and comprises five bedrooms and two bathrooms. Two principal south facing bedrooms have astonishingly good south facing views and are each of a very generous size. The remaining bedroom accommodation is well laid out. Each bedroom is a double bedroom.
The stable conversion across the enclosable courtyard to the north of the house is a strong attribute providing high quality secondary accommodation. This space would serve well in order to house a dependent relative or simply to provide a useful income stream.
Planning
Planning permission exists for the refurbishment and extension of Ashes House to create either two separate four bedroom dwellings, alternatively one single and substantially extended dwelling. The planning application Number is 3/2008/0667. Further details can be provided by Strutt & Parker. The planning permission was granted on 22.10.2008 and expires after three years.
Ashes House occupies an enviable elevated situation high up above the beautiful Weardale village of Stanhope with far reaching southerly views across the dale and towards the Pennines.
The rural location of Ashes House is a significant attribute although the convenience of being within extremely easy striking distance of the everyday facilities provided by Stanhope makes this house an excellent option.
Durham City with its renowned university and stunning cathedral is 21 miles. The university town and regional financial centre of Newcastle Upon Tyne is about 26 miles and Darlington (for the north east coast train service) is about 22 miles.
County Durham offers a diverse range of sporting activities including sailing and bird watching, walking and grouse shooting in the North Pennines. Golf courses are at Crook, Bishop Auckland, Slaley Hall and Barnard Castle.
Salmon fishing on the River Wear, Tees and Tyne and hunting with the Braes of Derwent foxhounds and Sinnington provide wonderful sport in some of the finest and most unspoilt countryside in the north of England.
The gardens are important highlights of this property. They have been knowledgeably improved and maintained by the vendors during their 42 year ownership. A south facing and curved high stone wall forms a principal feature in the garden and separates the garden from the woodland. The extensive lawns are interspersed with various richly planted beds and mature specimen trees.
Immediately south of the house is a gravel terrace with fabulous views and beyond is a formal rose garden planted with over one hundred David Austin English roses. The lawn sweeps south to a mature hedge at the foot of the garden providing a good degree of shelter and privacy.
The kitchen garden has been painstakingly created and is surrounded by a low drystone wall with various trellises planted with climbing plants.
The approach to Ashes House is through impressive cast iron gates hung from appealing stone piers in a high park type wall. The drive crosses a cattle grid to the western triple gabled elevation of the house. There is plenty of space for parking and turning and direct access given to the double garage and courtyard. The garden is arranged to the south of the house and an area of woodland (just under 5 acres) lies to the north and east providing excellent amenity space and useful fuel supply.
The paddock
The grass paddocks (about 2.76 acres) are to the south of the house, also providing fabulous amenity space and grazing for those who wish to keep horses or other livestock. They each have a water supply. Access is from the highway at the southern end of the paddock.
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