An Aga so special it inspired the salvation of a magnificent 300-year-old home

Would you buy a house just because you fell in love with its Aga?

It sounds far-fetched, but then again Aga devotees are numerous, and include the likes of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Jamie Oliver and, of course, Dame Mary Berry, who told Country Life a few years ago that her Aga is 'the heart of the kitchen. I love the warmth and the wonderful welcome. If I had to live without one, I’d loathe it.'

Another superfan is former event rider Lou Swallow, owner of The Moat House, who first set eyes on her dream Aga — a biscuit-cream model — back in 1998.

It was a model that had seen better days and needed some tender loving care, but that was only the start of issues. The Aga sat in a kitchen that periodically flooded when it rained, and was surrounded by a house that was in a semi-derelict state.

Fast forward almost three decades and both the kitchen and the Aga are now immaculate, and for sale at £3 million — but it's taken a lot of work to get to that point. ‘Slowly and gradually Lou renovated the house, but immediately lavished love on the four-oven, coal-fed Aga that is believed to have been in the house since 1940,’ says Lisa Proffitt of the agents Michael Graham.

The Aga has since been converted to gas, thankfully, and despite almost 30 years of living with it, Swallow admits that she has no idea of the temperature and has ‘learned to roll with it... the Aga is very much in charge’.

Just as well, then, that the rest of the house is just as beautiful as its characterful cooker.

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Grade II-listed and built on an L-shaped plan, this 18th-century home in Sharnbrook, eight miles from Bedford, has six reception rooms, seven double bedrooms.

There are also glorious gardens, tennis court, three stables and a paddock, as well as various other outbuildings and spaces amid the four acres of land.

The Moat House is for sale through Michael Graham — see more details.