Five utterly charming properties which will make you want to live in an Arts-and-Crafts era house
Five utterly charming properties which will make you want to live in an Arts-and-Crafts era house


Inspired by socialist principles, the Arts-and-Crafts movement was championed by anti-industrial English designers and writers, such as William Morris and John Ruskin, who wanted to see a return to well-made, handcrafted goods.
The movement used simple decorative forms, often inspired by medical, romantic or folk styles, and flourished in Europe between 1880 and 1920. If you don’t know about it, you probably should have paid better attention at school.
Hampshire, £1.95 million
Deep in the Itchen Valley, with views across water meadows to the South Downs, the garden at Edwardian Norton House, in the village of Shawford, near Winchester, runs right down to the river, where the owners enjoy canoeing, swimming and fishing.
Elegantly extended in recent years to include a magnificent drawing room with a log burner, there are five bedrooms and oak floorboards throughout the ground floor. On the market via Savills – see more pictures and details.
Cambridgeshire, £1.65 million
Amid the low, chalk, folkloric Gog Magog Hills sits a Grade II-listed ‘master-piece’ by William Flockhart, Scottish architect and influential player of the Arts-and-Crafts movement. Near Great Shelford, the imposing building – which includes a Gothic tower and dormer windows – is now divided into three parts.
One of these, four-bedroom Galewood House, is now for sale and incorporates a Flockhart-designed 5ft-wide front door, an imposing entrance hall and a series of period features, including original fireplaces and staircase. It comes with almost two acres of gardens as well as a pond ‘set in a secret woodland enclave’. On the market via Cheffins – see more pictures and details.
West Sussex, £2.95 million
A delightful timber-framed Tudor-style house of the Arts-and-Crafts era, Hambrook Hall has six bedrooms, six bathrooms and dormer windows.
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
Not far from Chichester, its four acres of gardens contain a lawn-tennis court and outbuildings. On the market via Strutt & Parker – see more pictures and details.
Hertfordshire, £4.75 million
The grounds at aptly named Windmill House, in the village of Arkley, are presided over by a Grade II*-listed windmill that is irresistible.
The interior of the house is bright and immaculate; there’s also a tennis court and two lakes.
A three-bedroom cottage and barn are available separately, but the main house has five bedrooms, a large indoor swimming pool and oak beams throughout. On the market via Knight Frank – see more pictures and details.
Suffolk, £1.4 million
Built in 1933 in the Arts-and-Crafts butterfly style, charming Trianglewood, in Herringswell, just seven miles from Newmarket, has four bedrooms, a lovely red-brick fireplace, oak floors and exposed beams.
The accompanying 33 acres of land contain two cottages, woodland, a pond and paddocks. On the market via Jackson-Stops & Staff – see more pictures and details.
Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by His Majesty The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.
-
What everyone is talking about this week: Where are the new Cotswolds?
The appearance of American Vice President J. D. Vance in the Cotswolds is a sure sign that they're saturated, but where else can you escape to that has the same charm?
By Will Hosie Published
-
Audi RS3: The devil in a green dress
Audi's iconic hot hatch has had a 2025 facelift. It might be the best one they've ever made.
By James Fisher Published
-
What everyone is talking about this week: Where are the new Cotswolds?
The appearance of American Vice President J. D. Vance in the Cotswolds is a sure sign that they're saturated, but where else can you escape to that has the same charm?
By Will Hosie Published
-
19 outstanding country homes, from £450,000 to £20 million, as seen in Country Life
A spectacular country house in Yorkshire and an enormously impressive Channel Islands retreat are among the stand-out homes on the market this week.
By Toby Keel Published
-
Three homes down by the Thames, perfect for those who love messing about on boats
This summer’s scorching temperatures will no doubt have endorsed the perennial appeal of Thames-side houses with frontage and private access to the river. Penny Churchill and Toby Keel pick out some prime examples.
By Toby Keel Published
-
A pavilion, pool and pleasure gardens at this Devon country house 'with not another building in sight'
Ebberly House is a majestic country house in Devon built by one of John Soane's pupils — and as it comes to the market, it's a place Penny Churchill knows well.
By Penny Churchill Published
-
Take over the world or throw a great big party on this private fort for sale in Pembroke
Thorne Island, dubbed the British Alcatraz, has been a £2 million labour of love. Now it could be yours.
By James Fisher Published
-
The perfect summer house? A country home, beach house and rural escape rolled into one in a prime spot in Sussex
If there's a finer house than Grangewood House in which to enjoy the summer, we'd love to see it. Penny Churchill takes a look.
By Penny Churchill Published
-
A six-bedroom modern masterpiece mere minutes from Europe's best golf course
Villa Stern catches the eye with its distinctive design, and is imbued with luxury inside and out.
By James Fisher Published
-
Everything the light touches… The London penthouse for sale that will make you feel like a king
The Observatory in London’s Fulham boasts 360-degree views of the capital.
By Rosie Paterson Published