A charming family home in Kent with magnificent, wildlife-friendly gardens
The Croft, in Detling, has repeatedly won awards for its striking grounds, which support a variety of wildlife.
On the market for the first time in seventy years, The Croft, in Detling, at the edge of the North Downs, catches the eye for its elegant architecture, but captures the heart for its grounds, which are not only beautiful (they have been open under the National Garden Scheme), but also wildlife-friendly: the property has won the Kent Wildlife Trust’s gold award twice.
For sale through Strutt & Parker at an asking price of £1.95 million, the house originally dates from 1840 and has many charming features, such as cornicing, shutters, fine fireplaces — and verdant views from many windows. It's as elegant a house for sale in Kent as we've seen in some time.
The 5,451sq ft interiors encompass six bedrooms, three reception rooms, a large kitchen and breakfast room, plus games room and bar on the lower ground floor.
There’s also a detached Coach House, currently used as stabling, tack room and carports with a hayloft above, which has plenty of potential, subject to planning consent.
As well as landscaped gardens, the four acres of grounds include a meadow and a woodland walk.
The Croft is for sale at £1.95 million via Strutt & Parker — see more pictures or enquire with the agent for further details.
Detling: What you need to know
- Location:Detling is four miles from Maidstone
- Atmosphere: A delightful village, it has a Grade I-listed church, a Tudor gateway, a pub and a community shop church,
- Things to do: The village is on the Pilgrim’s Way for those who enjoy walking, plus there’s cricket at the Detling Cricket Club. The Kent County Show takes place at the Kent Showground that’s in the village and Maidstone offers an array f shopping and entertaining opportunities within easy reach.
- Schools: Nearby Roseacre Junior School and Thurnham Church of England Infant School are both rated outstanding by OfstedFind more properties in the area.
A 'golden oldie' for sale in Suffolk on the edge of a historic market town
The Old Vicarage is a mid 16th century property that has been remodelled to highlight its unique period features.
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
Carla must be the only Italian that finds the English weather more congenial than her native country’s sunshine. An antique herself, she became Country Life’s Arts & Antiques editor in 2023 having previously covered, as a freelance journalist, heritage, conservation, history and property stories, for which she won a couple of awards. Her musical taste has never evolved past Puccini and she spends most of her time immersed in any century before the 20th.
-
'These days, they have almost nothing to do with Advent and quite a lot to do with bath oil and mini bottles of perfume': A snob’s guide to advent calendarsSophia Money-Coutts questions whether advent calendars have gone too far.
By Sophia Money-Coutts Published
-
‘Pope Paul V remains a popular effigy today, and gets blown up in Lewes most years’: A five minute guide to England’s wackiest Bonfire Night celebrationsThe market town of Lewes in East Sussex has not one, not two, but seven bonfire societies and its celebrations have been labelled the ‘only proper Guy Fawkes night left’.
By Jo Rodgers Published
-
A country house that was the set for one of the best-loved sitcoms of the 1980s is for sale, with 40,000sq ft of space, 39 bedrooms and almost endless potentialLynford Hall, a vast neo-Jacobean house that's been everything from a country hotel to an agricultural college, has come to the market. Toby Keel tells its story.
By Toby Keel Published
-
A sprawling castle set amid ancient woodland has come to the market for the first time in 150 yearsGyrn Castle, set amidst woodland on the outskirts of an ancient village, is now seeking new owners. Penny Churchill reports.
By Penny Churchill Published
-
A Tudor Revival home built by a Victorian adventurer, with beauty, grandeur and its own putting greenFulford Hall is an idyllic country home, yet is situated less than a dozen miles from Birmingham. Penny Churchill tells more.
By Penny Churchill Published
-
Five glorious properties for sale from the 11th to the 21st centuryA tithe barn, a Grade I-listed Norman keep, and a Georgian masterpiece all graced the pages of Country Life this week
By James Fisher Published
-
You can now rent King William IV’s former home in London’s Mayfair — for a princely sumThe London property — with royal lineage — is on the market with the estate agency Wetherell for £25,000 a week.
By Lotte Brundle Published
-
Dream of revolution inside the 18th-century villa once occupied by Napoleon's French troopsAn apartment inside historic Villa Gnecchi Ruscone is on the market and it comes with a grand ballroom rumoured to have been frequented by Napoleon.
By Lotte Brundle Published
-
May the force be with you if you move into this London apartment block that Obi-Wan Kenobi (and Cher) once lived inOliver’s Wharf was once the residence of megastar Cher and the actor Sir Alec Guinness — as well as Mark Knopfler of the Dire Straits.
By Lotte Brundle Published
-
125 glorious acres of Elizabethan elegance for sale in Cheshire that comes with a moatIs this real life? Is it just fantasy? No, it's Holford Hall.
By Annabel Dixon Published
