Houndwood House, Eyemouth, Berwickshire Offers in excess of £850,000

Situation

Houndwood House has a wonderful private setting, in wonderful rolling countryside. The house is only a few miles from the rugged Berwickshire coastline and the attractive villages of Coldingham and St Abb’s. Despite its rural position, local facilities are excellent. Berwick-upon-Tweed, approximately 12 miles, is an historic town and has an excellent range of services, including a Morrison’s supermarket.
Access by road both north and south is good, the A1 being nearby. The mainline railway station at Berwick-upon-Tweed provides a fast link to London Kings Cross and Edinburgh can be reached in approximately 50 minutes. Edinburgh and Newcastle Airports are within easy reach and have regular flights to London and a variety of foreign destinations.
Berwickshire is one of the genuinely rural areas of Scotland. Despite its proximity to both Edinburgh and Newcastle, the country has a low population and can therefore offer a quality of life that is becoming increasingly rare. The area provides excellent opportunities for the country sports enthusiast. There is salmon fishing on the River Tweed and trout fishing in various lochs, including nearby Coldingham Loch, while pheasant and grouse shooting can be taken on local estates. There are good opportunities for golfing in the locality; the famous links of East Lothian are within easy reach and there are local courses at Eyemouth and Berwick-upon-Tweed (Goswick).

Description

Houndwood House is a superb, imposing, B listed property. The house has a fascinating history, having originally formed part of the estates of Coldingham Priory. The building is thought to date from the 1500’s and has been in the ownership of, amongst others, the Home, Turnbull and Coulson families. The architecture has evolved over the centuries, with major re-working in the 1840’s and c. 1907.

Accommodation

The main living space inside is well balanced and arranged over lower ground, upper ground and first floors, the principal living accommodation being on the upper ground floor. Both the sitting room and the dining room are superb south facing rooms, which enjoy views over the grounds to the fields beyond. The sitting room has an Adam fireplace. There is also an open fireplace and ornate plaster work in the dining room. The dining room has a door leading directly into the dining kitchen, which has a range of floor units incorporating a Nobel oil fired cooker. From the kitchen there are double doors which lead out to a balcony and staircase to the terrace below. Double doors also lead to the balcony and stairs from the magnificent drawing room which has a full height ceiling, a wood burning stove and ample book shelving.
The first floor accommodation can be accessed either from the from the modern staircase at the west end or the newell staircase at the east end of the house. It includes five bedrooms (three with en suite bathrooms) and a family bathroom.
The lower ground floor has extensive additional accommodation. It houses a two bedroom, self-contained flat, with a separate entrance, kitchen, bathroom and wood-panelled sitting room (the sitting room currently being used as a billiard room). In addition, there is ample storage space in the vaulted store rooms, a boiler room, a study with open fireplace, a wine cellar and a garden room (formerly the kitchen), with access directly from the drive.
GARDENS AND GROUNDS
Houndwood House occupies a secluded position in the centre of its 22 acres of gardens and grounds. The house is accessed from the public road by a long private driveway, which leads to a gravelled parking and turning area to the north of the house. The gardens are mature and quite magnificent, the landscaping thought to date back to the 17th century, with significant alterations in the 19th and 20th centuries.
To the north of the house there is a large lawn which gives access to both the walled garden and Japanese garden. Throughout the grounds the trees and rhodedendra are spectacular, including a variegated beech, a fine cedar, a mature wellingtonia, mature copper beeches, oak, ash, holly sycamore and a variety of conifers. Hidden among the trees is a pond with water lilies.
The walled garden is a wonderful, private space with a central avenue with a herbaceous border on either side, shaded by cherry and apple trees. A lawn to the west has a trellised rope around the exterior, upon which climbs a mix of roses, honeysuckle, wisteria and clematis. At the north end of the garden there are Victorian greenhouses with vines and fig tree. East of the central walkway, there is a productive vegetable garden and fruit cage. The perimeter walls shelter an impressive herbaceous border and have a number of espalier trained fruit trees.
On the south of the house is a terrace with garden adjacent. This has a variety of shrubs and plants including magnolia, lilacs and a variety of paeonies. Steps lead down to an extensive lawn with a pond and water feature. Accessed from an iron staircase from the balcony outside the drawing room and kitchen is a patio, which benefits from the sun for most of the day and is ideal for barbecues and outdoor entertaining. The principal lawn to the south of the house has a wood and glass conservatory, used at all times of year. A mass of young trees have been planted providing additional privacy and shelter.
There are two principal paddocks included with the sale giving scope for equestrian use.

Directions

From Edinburgh, take the A1 south, signed for Berwick-upon-Tweed. Continue on the A1, by-passing Dunbar and Cockburnspath. Approximately 9 miles south of Cockburnspath, and opposite the turning to Auchencrow and Chirnside, turn left, signed for Lemington. Having turned off the A1, turn immediately left, and take the first turning right, up the drive next to the gate lodge.