A converted pilchard cellar for sale at £1.295 million (but don't worry, it's much nicer than that makes it sound)
You couldn't ask for a finer location in Cornwall than that of The Cellars.
Some properties sound amazing when you pop a few details down in writing. Just the other week, for example, we looked at Kirtlington Park in Oxfordshire, one of Britain's greatest privately-owned mansions, with 36ft ceilings, 17 bedrooms, 37,000sq ft and gardens landscaped by Capability Brown. That little lot alone took care of the headline.
Today, we have something: 'two-bedroom pilchard cellar for sale' doesn't really sell the place as the stuff of dreams — particularly when you hear that this pilchard cellar has an asking price of £1.295 million, and less than 1,500sq ft of space.
Thankfully, the picture above, of The Cellars and its stunning location, does the heavy lifting, painting its thousand words and then some. Those views, and the access to the deep blue seas off the Lizard Peninsula, make this house a rare catch.
There's more good news: The Cellars might have started life as a 19th century pilchard cellar, but it's long since been converted into a quite wonderful seaside home on the Lizard Peninsula, just along the coast from the southernmost tip of mainland Britain.
The fishy history of this picture-perfect coastal home is goes back to the 19th century, in the days before surfing tourism and Rick Stein restaurants, when fishing was a vital part of life and the economy in Cornwall. Then as now, it seems the annual visitors had seasonal habits: large shoals would gather around this spot in the summer months, allowing the fishermen to catch them and take them to buildings such as this for processing, where they were spread on the floor and salted.
The fishermen who did this are, of course, now long gone and The Cellars is a very different place, having undergone a restoration that has retained its original form and materials, but introduced glazing and a sheltered courtyard spine that imbue the place with a contemporary aesthetic.
The sitting room, at 23½ft by 11ft, offers plenty of space for entertaining or family time. Across the courtyard, the kitchen and dining room are of similar proportions.
The principal bedroom — one of two where new owners and their guests can rest and relax — occupies the entire first floor.
The position of The Cellars, within Church Cove on the Lizard Peninsula, offers sea views from the house and raised gardens, plus easy access to the South West Coast Path — perfect for keen walkers or birdwatchers.
For sale via Rohrs & Rowe and Finest at £1.295 million.
