Ringwood Guide price £850,000

This individual architect designed home is situated within the desirable Avon Castle estate, on the edge of the Avon Valley. The interior includes four bedrooms, four reception rooms and a lovely kitchen/breakfast room. Outside there are delightful gardens, a double garage and a summerhouse/studio and children’s playhouse.
The Story
The grapes are ripening on the vines, the garden is full of colour, supper is almost ready in the large cream kitchen, and the house feels so peaceful.
It is just as they imagined when they first saw Holly Lodge and knew it was the perfect home for their family.
Professor John Vince and Annie thought they were looking for an historical Edwardian house until they fell in love with the newly-built, architect-designed four bedroom house, set on the private Avon Castle estate.
They adored its sun-filled spaciousness instantly, realising there would be space for a grand piano in the music room and their antique chandelier above the galleried landing.
It is a one-off house. We knew straight away it had to be our home. It is surrounded by trees and so safe and so private.
I still like just walking around the house and the garden; it does have a good feel. It’s just perfect for a family, said John.
GRAND WELCOME
The couple have kept the feeling of luxury throughout the attractive house, with everywhere decorated immaculately in pale Farrow & Ball shades, emphasising the well-proportioned rooms with a variety of lighting and Annie’s vibrant, abstract artwork.
With a choice of reception rooms, the couple feel they make the most of this unusual house where, in addition to the roomy drawing room, the large hall doubles as another excellent party venue.
The welcoming hall embraces anybody coming through the front door. It is a room in itself. John said.
CREATIVE SPACES
The sunny drawing room is a lovely room for relaxing, opening the doors to the garden and listening to the birds, or drawing the curtains and enjoying a cosy night in front of the fire.
We’ve two large sofas in there. It is a good room and it has double doors opening to the music room, where I have my library, so we can open it all up downstairs, he said. They used to have a large grand piano in the music room.
A university professor and author, he writes in the study with its floor-to-ceiling bookcase and view of the garden: It is a working room, it is really delightful, he said.
Artist Annie paints in the summerhouse studio in the garden, finding the peace and tranquillity perfect for concentration.
WHAT’S COOKING?
The family have a wealth of happy memories of breakfasts in the kitchen overlooking the garden and smart dinners and birthday parties in the light-filled dining room, with equally gorgeous views of the grounds.
It is a large kitchen. It’s very light and clean and it is a good place to cook, and we do like to eat here too if it’s just the family, John said.
It is a great house for social events too, he added. These have ranged from some excellent Christmas and New Year parties and meals to a superb fancy dress summer party, when guests flowed in and out of the house from the large terrace.
People can come in and go out in different places, it’s an easy house to move about in, he added.
FRENCH FEEL
John and Annie have always enjoyed the individual aspects of the house, not only the large hall and flowing layout, but the galleried landing – the perfect place for a rather fabulous chandelier.
It is an unusually large landing, he said, feeling that it adds to the space and sense of luxury at Holly Lodge.
While the couple love their south-facing, master bedroom, with its large en-suite bathroom, John particularly likes one of the guest bedrooms too: We’ve imported a lot of French wardrobes, they are very big and they are ideal here.
They have enjoyed their time here.
It has been absolutely glorious and we are going to miss it, but now the children have grown up, we don’t need such a large house.
Accommodation
GROUND FLOOR ACCOMMODATION
A light and airy reception hall with tiled flooring provides access to the drawing room, a bright double aspect expanse which boasts an Adam style fireplace with marble facia and a gas coal effect fire, creating a warm and cosy ambience. French doors open out onto the terrace generating a wonderful social flow, while further double doors open into the sitting room which also enjoys French doors to the garden. The delightful kitchen/breakfast room has been comprehensively fitted with a range of cream wall and base cabinets offering plenty of storage and there is also tiled flooring, along with an array of appliances including a built-in dishwasher, fridge/freezer and a Falcon range style cooker (included subject to negotiation). The adjacent utility room has further tiled flooring and there is space for a washing machine and tumble dryer. Additionally on the ground floor you will find a lovely dining room, perfect for entertaining guests and practical study with built in shelving, ideal for those wanting to work from home. There is a door from the reception hall leading into the attached double garage.
FIRST FLOOR ACCOMMODATION
The galleried landing guides to the master bedroom which has an en-suite bathroom and pleasant views over the garden. The three remaining bedrooms are all well proportioned, one of which has an en-suite shower room. Completing this floor is the family bathroom and a separate cloakroom.
Setting the Scene
Holly Lodge is situated on a quiet road and approached via double wrought iron gates with brick pillars and a paved brick driveway. There is ample parking space for several cars to the front and access on both sides to the private, well maintained gardens which incorporate a large terrace. Steps guide you past the children’s playhouse to the raised lawn and there is a pergola on the embankment which was originally part of the old Avon Castle railway.
The garden is beautiful. Surrounded by trees, it’s sunny, quiet and it’s brilliant for children to run around in, said John
Within Easy Reach
There are international airports at Bournemouth and Southampton, while the M27 and M3 motorways make it easy to connect to other parts of the country. For those needing to get to London, there are regular trains between Bournemouth, Southampton and London, taking between 90 minutes and two hours
DIRECTIONS:
From junction 1 of the M27 follow the A31 through the New Forest. Upon reaching Ringwood, take the B3081 towards Verwood/Matchams, turning left onto Hurn Road. Continue along this road, turning left onto Avon Castle Drive and then left onto Windmill Lane. Continue straight along and the property will be found on the left hand side.
For those with satellite navigation the postcode for the property is BH24 2DQ
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