There’s a lot to be said for symmetry. I am usually of the opinion that the more unusual and exotic a house is, the better it is. This is very much a personal opinion, spent from watching far too many episodes of Grand Designs and from spending too much time shuffling through properties on the internet so that I might write about them for you.
However, when something lines up so neatly, you can’t help but be impressed. The example we will be discussing today is The Wash, in the village of West Coker, which looks as if it has come straight out of a Jane Austen novel. Look at that façade. You could set your watch to it. It’s for sale with Jackson-Stops for £2.2 million.
Three floors, eight bedrooms, five bathrooms. Everything in The Wash is well laid out, well proportioned and well presented. Listed Grade II (justifiably so, say the agents), the property has been the subject of a recent and significant programme of works, which has reconfigured the property back into its original form.
With a southerly orientation, the property also benefits from plenty of light, which is useful as you could get lost staring at and enjoying the delightfully period interiors. All the hits are here: fireplaces, elegant stonework, precise plasterwork, large windows, shutters and so on.
A particular highlight of the spacious interiors is the large family kitchen/breakfast room. Another is the staircase hall, with its glorious stained glass window. There is just lots to love in here. And indeed, outside, with that outstanding entrance portico.
Further outside, the grounds and gardens extend to some 3.75 acres, and include lawned areas, paddocks, stone walls, a ha-ha and plenty of trees, such as a giant sequoia. Five garages and further stone outbuildings provide plenty of storage space.
West Coker itself is a thriving Somerset village, which offers two pubs, a general store, petrol station, doctors’ surgery, post office, butchers, primary school, cricket club and a boutique hotel. All very typical of a real rural idyll.
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