A magnificent old vicarage with five bedrooms, 5,000sq ft of space, and in the catchment area for the 'best state school in North Yorkshire'

Tucked away in a small wooded valley accessed by a network of narrow winding lanes off the main A61, some 10 miles north of Harrogate and six miles south of Ripon, is the charming rural village of Burton Leonard. According to James Wort of Strutt & Parker’s Harrogate office, it is much sought after by commuters working in Harrogate, Ripon and further afield, who also covet its location within the catchment area of the highly regarded Ripon Grammar School, founded in 1555 and rated ‘top state school in North Yorkshire’ by the Sunday Times. Once owned by nearby Fountains Abbey, Burton Leonard is surrounded by the wooded hills and farmland of North Yorkshire and is a stone’s throw from the windswept moorlands, steep river valleys and rolling pasture of the Nidderdale National Landscape.

Mr Wort is currently handling the sale — at a guide price of £2.5 million — of handsome, late-19th-century The Old Vicarage.

This superb house stands in well-wooded grounds to the north of St Leonard’s Church on the edge of the Burton Leonard Conservation Area. The church itself was designed in the distinctive Gothic Revival style by the prolific church architect Charles Hodgson Fowler and built in 1878 on the site of the original 13th-century village church, thanks to funding donated by a local landowner, James Brown of Copgrove Hall.

The classic Victorian former vicarage is approached through stone pillars and electrically operated iron gates over a gravelled driveway, which leads past the house to a paved rear courtyard and a heated triple garage with an EV charging point and double inspection pit.

Separate doors lead from the garage to a recording studio on the ground floor and the entrance to the coach house, which has stairs leading to three interconnecting first-floor rooms: these could be converted to a self-contained annexe, subject to the usual consents.

The part-walled garden is laid mainly to lawn with paved terraces surrounding the house, the whole bordered by well-stocked shrub beds and mature trees that complete the scene of seclusion and tranquillity.

The main house provides 5,025sq ft of well-planned living space on two floors, including seven reception rooms, five bedrooms and five bathrooms. The whole has been fully refurbished by the current owners, who bought the property in 2013. They also added a spectacular orangery with a large, vaulted skylight and wrap-around sash windows that flood the room with natural light.

Highlights include the grand entrance hall with a galleried landing above; a dual-aspect drawing room with a pretty fireplace; an impressive dining room; a comfortable, south-facing sitting room; and a country-style kitchen/breakfast room with a range of Shaker-style wall and base units, and a large central island.

The vast principal bedroom suite has fitted cabinetry and an opulent en-suite bathroom with twin sinks, a central free-standing claw bath and a separate walk-in shower.

Three further double bedrooms have en-suite bathrooms or shower rooms; a smaller, fifth bedroom would make an ideal nursery or home office.

For sale via Strutt & Parker at £2.5 million — see more details.

This feature originally appeared in the December 3 issue of Country Life. Click here for more information on how to subscribe.