I am happy to announce, via the medium of the property pages of the Country Life website, that spring has sprung. There is more than one way to notice the advent of spring. Traditionally, it is when the sun enters the northern hemisphere. Some people like to wait for the first call of the cuckoo. I like to think it’s when the property photographers get out there and start taking nice pictures.
Here are some nice pictures of a house called Winterfield near Shaftesbury in Dorset. You might look at them and go ‘Oh, that’s a nice large house with a big garden and a pool and a tennis court’. You might also go, ‘Oh, surely that’s a defining example of the Arts-and-Crafts style designed in 1921 by Edward Turner Powell’. You would be right either way. £3.95 million with Winkworth and Jackson Stops.
There is much to appreciate here. The property, which offers seven bedrooms, was constructed using the ‘finest locally quarried sandstone’ for the walls, with Delabole slate for the roofs and oak for the frame.
Approached through a gravel drive, the property’s accommodation is set over three floors, and features the aforementioned seven bedrooms, a reception hall, drawing room, dining room, open-plan kitchen/breakfast room and large family room. The bedrooms occupy the first and second floor, and there is also a library on the second floor.
The details of the interiors are impressive. Lots of space, period features throughout and I am a particular fan of having your own stained-glass windows. I also like the Frank Lloyd-Wright-esque doors.
Outside, things are also lovely. The property comes with about 35 acres of land, bursting with amenities such as an indoor pool complex, a separate gym complex, a garage with further accommodation above and a tennis court. There is also a separate three-bedroom cottage, named Burnbeck, which was built in the early 1980s.
The gardens themselves are a mix of formal and informal areas. A large expanse of lawn can be found at the front of the house, along with an area of wild garden flanked by box hedging and trees. To the west and rear of the house are a walled garden, further lawns and a terrace with views over the lakes. Paddocks fill out the rest of the land, ideal for equestrian use.
Train connections to and from London are serviced by Gillingham and Tisbury, while the market towns of Bath, Salisbury and Shaftesbury are all nearby, offering a wide range of amenities. All in all, enough to put a spring in your step.
Winterfield is for sale for £3.95 million with Jackson-Stops and Winkworth. Click for more pictures and information
-
‘Its loss became a cautionary tale, and a rallying cry for architectural conservation’: The rise and fall and renewed interest in Ireland’s remarkable country housesLesley Bond traces a brief history of Ireland’s country houses and questions whether you can ever separate the house from the history it represents.
-
Alan Titchmarsh: 'I am so weary of seeing Lutyens-style benches and chairs absolutely everywhere'A strategically placed chair doubles as a focal point and a spot to rest — but we need to move on from Lutyens-style ones says our regular garden columnist.
-
A micro estate for sale in west Wales shows that the best things come in small packages. In this case, three of themBrithdir is a remarkable collection of properties centred around a lake and just five miles from the sea.
-
This blissful converted mill has sweeping views, a breathtaking library and gardens by a Chelsea gold medallistPenny Churchill takes a look at Stanbridge Mill, one of the finest properties for sale today in the west country.
-
Portmore has it all: A 3,459-acre Scottish estate for sale, with a signature Baronial sandstone mansion at its heartFor sale for the first time in 40 years, Portmore Estate is everything you could ever want in Scotland.
-
Location, community and charm: the enduring desirability of London's mews housesFrom birds, to horses, to beautiful family homes, the mews of London are some of the nation's most sought-after homes. But why?
-
The distinctive and historic home that might just be 'one of Dorset’s most picturesque'Grade II*-listed Manor House, set in just under eight acres, dates from the 16th century.
-
A 17th century farmhouse in Surrey with one of Britain's oldest squash courtsFords Farm is on the market for the first time in over half a century.
-
The 15 best-value commuter towns for people working in London, according to new research from one of Britain's top estate agentsSavills have released their list of the best-value commuter towns in Britain. But do the sums add up? Toby Keel takes a look.
-
What everyone is talking about this week: Where are the new Cotswolds?The appearance of American Vice President J. D. Vance in the Cotswolds is a sure sign that they're saturated, but where else can you escape to that has the same charm?
