Hilary Pegrum of York-based Blenkin & Co emphasises the appeal of well-built former vicarages for Yorkshire home owners seeking to downsize from large family homes in the countryside. She quotes a guide price of £1.5m for the pick of her current portfolio: elegant, Georgian The Old Vicarage at Easingwold, which, for her, is North Yorkshire’s loveliest market town.
Rush hour in Easingwold
Set roughly halfway between York and Thirsk, at the foot of the Howardian Hills National Landscape, the area was once surrounded by the vast Forest of Galtres, much favoured by hunting monarchs from King John to Charles I. Easingwold is now widely recognised as a ‘foodie’ destination, offering locally sourced food and drink in its friendly restaurants, pubs and cafés.
One of Easingwold’s landmark houses, the former vicarage, listed Grade II, is accessed from Tanpit Lane in the town’s conservation area, which surrounds the picturesque central Georgian marketplace.
Originally built in 1770, with additional wings added in 1812, the house, set in half an acre of garden — which includes a croquet lawn — has been sympathetically renovated in recent years by the current owners and now offers more than 4,200sq ft of beautifully proportioned living space full of period character.
Features include herringbone wood flooring, panelled doors, restored sash windows, fireplaces with open fires, original coving and panelling and a traditional turning staircase with a handsome banister.
A key transformation involved reconfiguring the former sitting room, dining room and utility into a large, open-plan kitchen/dining room. The garden room has been re-roofed to create a usable year-round space and the elegant 22ft drawing room, with its open fire and French doors leading to the garden, has been sympathetically restored.
Upstairs, the principal bedroom suite, which overlooks the croquet lawn, boasts a crescent-shaped en-suite bathroom with a vaulted ceiling and a glazed cupola.
There are five further bedrooms and three bathrooms on the first floor, with a charming seventh bedroom and bathroom on the top floor.
The Old Rectory in Easingwold is for sale via Blenkin & Co — see more details.
