An irresistible 17th century 'chocolate box' cottage nestled in a Norfolk Conservation Area — for sale for £365,000
Timber-framed with a thatched-roof, May Cottage is a delightfully charming period property set in pretty gardens measuring one third of an acre.


A brook of the River Chet burbles along the edge of the ⅓ acre garden at timber-frame, three-bedroom May Cottage.
Currently on the market via Durrants with a guide price of £365,000, the beguiling 'chocolate box' cottage showcases the very essence of quaint countryside living.
The three bedrooms can be found upstairs — the smaller of which is accessed directly via 'bedroom one', and could therefore could be transformed into an ensuite/dressing area — planning permitting.
The home is a charming 17th-century addition to Bergh Apton, with an Aga in its galley kitchen, pew seating and windows in a Gothic style that appears to have been prevalent in the village at one time.
Outside is a lawned garden with mature trees, rose bushes, lavender and box hedging for privacy.
About seven miles south-east of Norwich, Bergh Apton contains a vineyard, as well as two pubs, farm shop and post office.
May Cottage is currently on the market via Durrants with a guide price of £365,000 — see more pictures or enquire with the agent for further details.
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Bergh Apton: What you need to know
Location: South Norfolk, approximately 7 miles from Norwich and about 26 miles west of the Norfolk coast.
Atmosphere: Once two separate villages in Saxon times, Bergh Apton is home to a vineyard, two pubs a farm shop and post office. The sweet village is well-stocked for day-to-day amenities and more.
Things to do: Nearby Norwich is a cultural hub and a delight for food lovers. Visit Norwich Cathedral — the 'most complete' Norman Cathedral in England; the iconic Norwich market which is one of the largest and oldest open-air markets in the UK and Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery.
Schools: Alpington and Bergh Apton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is rated 'outstanding' by Ofsted and Brooke Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School received a 'good' rating.
See more property for sale in the area.
Credit: Strutt and Parker
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Annunciata grew up in the wilds of Lancashire and now lives in Hampshire with a husband, two daughters and an awful pug called Parsley. She’s been floating round the Country Life office for more than a decade, her work winning the Property Magazine of the Year Award in 2022 (Property Press Awards). Before that, she had a two-year stint writing ‘all kinds of fiction’ for The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, worked in internal comms for Country Life’s publisher (which has had many names in recent years but was then called IPC Media), and spent another year researching for a historical biographer, whose then primary focus was Graham Greene and John Henry Newman and whose filing system was a collection of wardrobes and chests of drawers filled with torn scraps of paper. During this time, she regularly gave tours of 17th-century Milton Manor, Oxfordshire, which may or may not have been designed by Inigo Jones, and co-founded a literary, art and music festival, at which Johnny Flynn headlined. When not writing and editing for Country Life, Annunciata is also a director of TIN MAN ART, a contemporary art gallery founded in 2021 by her husband, James Elwes.
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