A 500-year-old house with four-poster beds, stables and its own cider orchard
In a pretty hamlet on the border between Gloucestershire and Herefordshire, Pound Farm is a home full of history that's a dream for equestrians.
The Forest of Dean in west Gloucestershire forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and north-west, Herefordshire to the north, the Severn to the south and the city of Gloucester to the east. It covers an area of more than 42 square miles and in medieval times was a royal hunting ground, the second largest Crown forest in the country after the New Forest. Renowned for the quality of its timber, it is small wonder that the materials for many fine houses in this part of Gloucestershire were taken from the Forest of Dean, where forestry was a primary source of work.
Described in Pevsner’s The Buildings of England: Gloucestershire as one of the finest timber-frame farmhouses in the county, Grade II*-listed Pound Farm in the hamlet of Tillers Green, near Dymock in the Forest of Dean, four miles from Ledbury on the Gloucestershire/Herefordshire border, is for sale through Phil Bates of Savills in Cheltenham at a guide price of £3.5 million.
Owners Angela and Glyn Miles were looking to move with their beloved horses from Worcestershire sheep-farming country to a new home in the Cotswolds, when, in 2009, they saw an advert for the run-down and ramshackle Pound Farm.
Following advice from English Heritage, the SPAB and architectural historian Richard Morriss, they bought the property, which dates from about 1530, with its tumble-down buildings and historic carp-lake that was once farmed by the monks of nearby Flaxley Abbey. They then embarked on a painstaking restoration and renovation of the property.
Owned by the influential Cam family for more than 200 years, Pound Farm was once a copyhold estate of Dymock Manor.
Today, the farmhouse, set in 58 acres of formal gardens, pasture and paddocks, offers 7,966 sq ft of comfortable living space on three floors, including three fine reception rooms and a beautiful country kitchen with a cream Aga, stone floor and exposed beams.
There are four bedrooms, all generously-sized — particularly the opulent master suite, with a four-poster bed, an en-suite that has a free-standing bath and a chaise longue, and a dressing room with a fantastic purple and gold colour scheme which for some reason reminded us of the classic Disney animation Beauty and the Beast.
The landscaped gardens, by Chelsea Gold-medal winner Jacquie Gordon, include a sheltered courtyard and circular belvedere with views over the lake.
Ancillary accommodation includes a two-bedroom barn and a separate carriage house.
Palatial equestrian facilities include four large stables that were rebuilt, brick by brick, from the ruins of an ancient barn and a 60m by 30m outdoor arena.
Pound Farm is for sale through Savills — see more details.
