A glorious 17th century home in one of the most exclusive waterside villages in Britain

Progress always has a price. In the early 1970s, the county of Rutland and surrounding areas was in desperate need of a new reservoir to supply the farms, villages and towns nearby — and the cost of creating what is now the largest reservoir in Britain was the destruction of two of the villages which once sat in the middle of the water: Nether Hambleton and Middle Hambleton.

Sad as it is for entire villages to be lost beneath the water, the appalling drought in 1976 — just a year after the project was finished — showed that the planners had been right to think ahead. And while most of the houses in the two aforementioned villages disappeared, a handful of homes in Middle Hambleton survived — including Orchard House, a beautiful place that's come up for sale via Savills in Stamford with a guide price of £3.5m. And as you'd expect, it's a charming place with wonderful views across the water.

The house, built on two storeys of coursed rubble under a stone-tiled roof, dates from the 17th century and, according to Historic England, comprises ‘several cottages laid out in a long range of two different builds, with a wing of a different build and probably of later date’.

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Largely hidden from view behind a tall hedge, Orchard House stands in 7¼ acres of landscaped gardens and grounds that run down to the shore and include an adjoining paddock. All of this enjoys — as you'd expect — spectacular views over Rutland Water, as do many of the houses nearby: what remains of Middle Hampton was merged with Upper Hambleton to become, simply, Hambleton, a village that is set on a long peninsula that comes out in to the middle of the lake, and has become a much sought-after place to live.

A central, stone flagged reception hall leads to formal dining and drawing rooms and a warm and cheerful living room. A large open-plan kitchen/breakfast room forms the heart of the house, with views over the gardens to Rutland Water in the distance.

An oak staircase leads to three first-floor bedrooms and three bath/shower rooms, with a fourth bedroom on the second floor.

And the gardens? I think it's fair to say that they speak for themselves.

As for the reservoir itself? Rutland Water, which is filled by pumping water from the rivers Nene and Welland might originally have been designed to provide water for the East Midlands, but it's become so much more than that. The reservoir is now also a major sporting centre, where visitors can enjoy sailing, fishing, walking and cycling along a 25-mile perimeter track.

Large areas of wetland at its western end form a nature reserve, a haven for a resident population of rare birds, including ospreys, which were introduced in 1996.

Orchard House is for sale via Savills in Stamford with a guide price of £3.5m — see more pictures and details.