A Suffolk farmhouse that wears its centuries of history on its sleeve — until you get to the pool and party barn
Shelley Priory in Suffolk blends medieval origins, 18th century expansion and 21st century living all in one. Penny Churchill explains more.
Not every old house lets you feel its age; but those that do are often all the more charming for it. That's certainly the case with the Grade II-listed Shelley Priory, on the market in Suffolk through Jackson-Stops and Savills at £1.4 million.
The house as it stands today is, in essence, a charming 18th-century farmhouse, though it's a property that has much earlier origins.
This classic Suffolk-pink house is built of painted brick under a peg-tile roof with four gault brick chimney-stacks.
The house's distinctive colour is said to date from the 14th century, when natural substances — such as elderberries or pig/ox blood mixed with buttermilk — were added to the more porous traditional limewash to protect walls and window frames during the harsh Suffolk winters.
For the past 28 years, Shelley Priory has been the much-loved family home of the present owners, who are now looking to downsize.
That brings opportunity for a new family who need the amount of space seen here — for this is a big house, with more than 6,200 sq ft of light-filled accommodation on two floors.
There's an entrance hall, a kitchen/breakfast room, four reception rooms, a study and a vaulted family room. It's in these spaces that the home's history really shines through: the ancient beams are a striking feature that being centuries of history to bear.
One of the original buildings is effectively set up as a party barn in a separate but connected wing, with its own kitchen and mezzanine floor, as well as huge windows to light the place up. This space could have any number of uses.
There are also six bedrooms, four of which are en-suite, plus two further bathrooms.
Outside, it's a joy of a home, with fine gardens, a swimming pool and a series of other buildings. There's an outdoor pool, and a pool house with a bar, a big TV and — it must be said — the boldest sofa we've seen all year.
The village of Shelley was described in the National Gazetteer of the UK & Ireland (1868) as being ‘of small extent, situated on the River Brett [another tributary of the Stour] and wholly agricultural’.
Today, despite the enormous changes seen in farming, the village website points out that ‘we still have lovely green fields throughout Shelley, no doubt due to some extent to the streams that flow down and underneath the hillsides’.
‘This idyllic spot within the Dedham Vale is known locally as “Happy Valley” because not only are the houses lovely, but the people are lovely as well,’ says agent Tim Dansie of Jackson-Stops in Ipswich.
Shelley Priory is for sale via Savills — see more details.
