Only a mile from the show village of Broadway, on the Gloucestershire/ Worcestershire border, picture-postcard Willersey has everything a proper village should have: houses of mellow Cotswold stone, a village green, a duck pond, a parish church, a post office, several pubs, a primary school and a garage. With mainline stations at nearby Evesham and Moreton-in-Marsh, and the M5, M40 and M42 all within easy reach, Willersey is a prime habitat for commuters to Birmingham, Cheltenham and London. In the past two years, a terraced period cottage in Willersey has cost, on average, £239,000, with detached four-bedroom houses averaging between £350,000 and £450,000. One of the best houses in the village?historic, Grade II-listed Pool Farm?is currently for sale through Knight Frank (01789 297735) at a guide price of £1.5m. This exquisite 17th-century house is said to have been given to a former owner by Charles II. It stands in 1.6 acres of gardens overlooking the village green and duck pond, and has four reception rooms, 5/6 bedrooms and two bathrooms.
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'Other people would have given up and turfed half of it over... it is quite extraordinary the way she has kept the garden going': The couple who turned 'the ugliest house with the nicest view' into a Somerset gemWith many viewpoints and changes of level, Grove Ley in Somerton, Somerset — home of Dr and Mrs Michael Horder — was not an easy site on which to make a garden. But key to its success, writes Caroline Donald, has been enlarging the pond and creating long beds full of robust perennials and grasses. Photographs by Britt Willoughby Dyer.
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Opinion: If we want to keep our architectural heritage, why do we tax those who repair it?It beggars belief that the state lists buildings in order to protect them — and then doesn’t contribute to their upkeep, says Country Life columnist Agromenes.
