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The ‘children’s paradise’ surrounded by acres of dreamy lawned gardens

Penny Churchill

Classical Culver is situated on the edge of the historic east Hertfordshire village of Much Hadham.

‘I can’t think of a better house to grow up in,’ says Strutt & Parker’s Mark Rimell of Culver, a Grade II listed Georgian house that’s on the market for £4.675 million.

Surrounded by 52 acres of dreamy lawned gardens, water meadows and woodland on the edge of the historic east Hertfordshire village of Much Hadham, this lovely place is just five miles from Bishop’s Stortford and 30 miles from central London.

The heart of the estate which is the impressive 18th-century house, which, according to its listing, was extended to the north in the early 19th century and completely refaced in white stucco in the late 1800s.

A sylvan oasis of calm within 40 minutes of Liverpool Street station from Bishop’s Stortford, the main house is approached by a long, tree-lined drive that leads through parkland running down to the banks of the River Ash.

Beautifully maintained and decorated by the present owners, whose cherished family home it has clearly been, Culver boasts more than 10,000sq ft of light and spacious living room.

Among the wonders are a grand reception hall, a gracious 34ft drawing room with carved open fireplaces at either end, two further main reception rooms, a large kitchen/breakfast room and 11 bedrooms on two floors – the upper floor being ‘a children’s paradise’, according to Mr Rimell.

The gardens are mostly laid to lawn and include, to the north, a lovely, part-walled garden with well-stocked borders and an all-weather tennis court, with an indoor swimming pool nearby.

There are also two paddocks, some 10 acres in all, provide excellent grazing for horses and ponies.

The quoted price of £4.675m is for the estate as a whole, but the seller is also willing to split into three lots – the main house and surrounding gardens (priced at £3.5m); a four-bedroom lodge within the grounds; and 37 acres of paddocks and woodland.  See more details and pictures.