A 450-year-old thatched cottage that's had an award-winning restoration, complete with orchard, paddock and kennels
Dating back to around 1580, the poetically-named Bumble Cottage has eye-catching period features and charming grounds to keep the new owner busy.


After a peaceful idyll? Look no further than Bumble Cottage, a ‘most enchanting’ home in the farming village of Ellenhall, Staffordshire.
The thatched, timber-framed property was part of Lord Lichfield’s Ranton estate until the 1930s, when it fell into disrepair.
Luckily, the three-bedroom cottage was given a new lease of life when it was extended and restored in the 1960s. And it won a Council for the Protection of Merit award, says selling agent Knight Frank. Bumble Cottage is now on the market for £795,000.
Dating back to around 1580, Bumble Cottage ‘is formed in the rare reverse cruck construction, which includes vertical oak beams with wooden dowels,’ says Knight Frank.
No surprise, then, that this home is packed with period features. Ornate wood panelling here, inglenook fireplace there. Yes, some of the décor may be a little on the dated side but it’s certainly not short on character.
The heart of the cottage is the drawing room, where a pair of bay windows allow light to flood in. Bumble Cottage has all the key rooms you’d expect of a country home: kitchen, dining room, boot room, utility room, and study. There is also a conservatory that ‘could double as a craft room or studio’, suggest the agents.
All three bedrooms are upstairs, with the main bedroom boasting a striking vaulted ceiling with exposed timbers. Sweet dreams...
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The property is ideal for green-fingered buyers. The gardens are charming, with more than an acre of manicured lawns, raised beds, herbaceous shrubs, various seating areas and an ornamental pond.
A pathway leads from the driveway to a greenhouse beside a sheltered vegetable patch with brick raised beds and a pond; from there, a gate leads to an orchard, which opens onto a fenced paddock.
There’s numerous outbuildings too, including a workshop, stables and kennels, offering plenty of flexibility.
Bumble Cottage is on the market for £795,000 via Knight Frank — see more details and pictures.
Credit: Strutt and Parker
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