An exceptional Queen Anne-style house in the heart of the Blackmore Vale

Chetnole House at Chetnole has delightful grounds running down to the River Wiggle.

The scenic Blackmore Vale in west Dorset has changed little since Thomas Hardy immortalised it in his Wessex novels more than a century ago.

The same timeless quality is part of the enduring charm of Grade II*-listed Chetnole House in the pleasant village of Chetnole, eight miles south-west of Sherborne, and on the market with Jackson-Stops & Staff for offers over £2.5 million.

It’s a classic Queen Anne-style village house set in some eight acres of delightful gardens and paddocks running down to the River Wriggle, within the village’s heavily protected Conservation Area.

Philip Ribon of Jackson-Stops & Staff in Sherborne is selling the house (also known as The Court), and he has a direct connection to the place: thus was his grandfather’s family home for 50 years before being sold to the current owners, who have cleverly brought it up to modern standards and are now looking to downsize.

Built, according to its listing, in the mid 18th century and extended at either end in the early 1800s, the house boasts 6,520sq ft of living space, including an elegant entrance hall, four reception rooms, a family kitchen/breakfast room, master and guest suites, three further bedrooms and three beautifully converted attic bedrooms.

A purchaser will have the option of converting the exquisite, detached red-brick coach house that incorporates the original stalls, a large open-fronted garage and a two-bedroom cottage.