Wotton under Edge, Gloucestershire Guide price £1,950,000

Situation

Hill House is situated on the edge of the picturesque and historic conservation village of Wickwar. It offers many amenities including a convenience store and post office, a public house, a highly-rated primary school, an active social club and village hall, extensive outdoor leisure and recreational facilities and well-supported cricket and football clubs.
A wider range of shops and amenities can be found in Chipping Sodbury and Wotton-under-Edge. Wickwar is extremely well placed to access Bristol and Bath to the south, as well as Cirencester, Gloucester and Cheltenham to the north. There is a good selection of both public and private schools in the area. Motorway networks are well serviced by junction 18 of the M4 and junction 14 of the M5. High speed train links to London Paddington are offered from both Bristol Parkway (about ninety minutes) and Yate (about two hours). In addition this area offers a range of outdoor pursuits including excellent bridle paths and nature trails in the local vicinity as well as Bath and Cheltenham racecourses and generous golfing facilities including both Bristol and Chipping Sodbury.
‘Wickwar’ is first mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 where it appears as “Wichen” meaning dairy farm or settlement. Originally the village lay on the Old Saltway from Droitwich to Chipping Sodbury and Pucklechurch and was developed in the late 13th century by the de la Warre family with the establishment of a market in 1285. The main street, the present High Street, was laid out around the market place with uniform burgage plots and rear access lanes.

Description

A charming William and Mary house (with additions), situated in the Cirencester, Cheltenham, Bristol triangle, within easy reach of M5 and M4.
Hill House was first built in the 1690s as a Dowager House by the Earl of Ducie, whose ancestral seat was at Tortworth Court in Gloucestershire. It is a Grade II Listed property which offers elegant and refined accommodation combined with an extensive range of outbuildings to provide an ideal family house within a wonderfully private setting, shielded by numerous trees. The house was previously owned by Sally, Duchess of Westminster who converted the drawing room to house a dance floor, which has doors leading through to the library and provides the ideal entertaining space. There is also a sitting room with built in display cabinets and a formal dining room on the ground floor.
The house has been completely refurbished to the highest of standards whilst retaining many of the original features including working fireplaces, flagstone flooring, shutters and exposed timbers. In addition there is a Christian’s designed kitchen with a four oven Aga opening to a breakfast area and family room, along with a flower room and utility room all of which provide the more functional part of the house. There is also a very useful two roomed cellar currently used as wine cellar, storage and workshop. The property uses well-proven air source heat pumps to heat the radiators and the hot water and has secondary glazing throughout.
On the first floor the main bedroom is well proportioned and incorporates a dressing area with extensive wooden panelled wardrobes and a separate modern en suite faced with marble worktops. Bedroom two is also of generous proportions and accommodates a good sized en suite. Further accommodation on this floor includes four more double bedrooms and one single; three with en suites; and one further large bathroom.
On the second floor, reached by a wide staircase, there are four further good-sized rooms, two currently used as offices (one with access to a tiled terrace), one used as kitchen come shower room and one used for storage. This floor also provides a further staircase to a loft room, currently used for storage.
The property is approached via a private tarmac and then gravel driveway which provides parking for several cars.
The gardens of Hill House are a particular feature of the property and being surrounded by stone walls offer seclusion and privacy throughout the year. Having been designed in part by Rosemary Verey and the then owner, Sally Duchess of Westminster, the gardens are well known throughout the gardening world.
A west facing terrace runs along the length of the rear of the house and provides generous space for summer entertaining. A pond bed abuts the terrace providing the gentle sounds of water on balmy summer evenings. Lawns and planting schemes stretch away from the house leading to hidden surprises for the visitor as they wander away from the house to have their eyes drawn to different ‘rooms’ including the kitchen garden, the pleached lime walk, the heather bed, the holly bed and rare specimen trees in an arboretum type setting.
Outside, the outbuildings comprise a recently refurbished cottage now used as a gymnasium, but easily used as offices. Further buildings include two large garages, with a staircase access to upper floor, (currently used for storage, but easily converted to living space); one slightly smaller garage; four further connected outbuildings; a large gardeners stone-built shed, a greenhouse and a summer house.
In all the property sits in about 6.55 acres, including two good sized paddocks incorporating two old stables in need of renovation. There is rear access to the property via a lane that leads into the paddocks.

Accommodation

Entrance Hall, Reception Hall, Drawing Room, Dining Room, Sitting Room, Library, Kitchen/Breakfast Room leading to Family Room, Flower Room, Pantry, Utility/Boot Room, Two Cloakrooms, Cellars. Master Bedroom with En Suite Shower Room, Three Further Bedroom Suites, Three Further Bedrooms, Two Further Bathrooms. Two Second Floor Offices, Shower Room & Store Room.
Extensive Range of Outbuildings including: Garaging with Storage Room above, Boiler Room, Three Store Rooms, Lean To Store, Machinery/Garden Store, Gymnasium & Studio.
Beautifully Landscaped Gardens including Productive Vegetable Garden. Paddocks. In all about 6.55 acres.

Directions

Leave the M5 at Junction 14 and travel on the B4509 in the direction of Wotton under Edge and Wickwar. After about two miles turn right at the roundabout onto the B4058. Continue on this road for about six hundred yards and turn left (which is a continuation of the B4509) signposted to Wickwar. Follow this road for about one a half miles and having passed the Wickwar village sign and a right hand turn signposted to Cromhall, Hill House is the first property on the right hand side just after the 30mph speed restriction sign. Drive through the black wooden gates and onwards to the house.