In search of the perfect country house games room

Vale of Glamorgan — £3.25 million

Games rooms don’t come much more impressive than the one at The Goldings, where the walls are panelled, the dramatic cathedral ceiling makes newcomers exclaim ‘wow’ and there is a central brick fireplace to dispel winter chills. This billiard room measures 39ft by 20ft and, as the name implies, there is ample space for a billiard/snooker table and plenty of other furniture besides. Windows on two sides offer views over the landscaped gardens, which stretch over about 3¼ acres.

The Goldings, sited in the peaceful village of Peterston Super Ely, seven miles from Cardiff, is a late-19th-century stone property with five bedrooms, four reception rooms and a proliferation of period features. ‘In my opinion, [The Goldings is] one of the finest examples of a period home in the area, with the most beautiful ornamental gardens,’ says agent James Thomas.

£3.25 million via Savills

West Sussex — £2.25 million

Minstrels Wood, on Okehurst Lane to the north of Billingshurst, has six bedrooms and four reception rooms, but also much, much more. This 17th-century home, with myriad historic features on display — including characterful exposed timbers, feature fireplaces and original brick and stonework — would suit keen equestrians, as it has a flood-lit manège, 5¼ acres of land, three stables with a flat above and a tack room.

We promised a games room, however, and this is it:

It's in an outbuilding, which plays host to a 43ft by 23ft space that also has a kitchen and cloakroom, an adjacent gym, a sauna, and a viewing window into a garage where you can park your classic car. There are just so many ways to wind down when the hard work is done.

The garden consists of large swathes of lawn, mature trees, a parterre, flowerbeds, an expansive paved terrace and a second terrace with ornamental feature. All of this is only a one hour 12-minute train journey to London Victoria from Billingshurst itself.

For sale at £2.25 million via Strutt & Parker

Essex — £1.875 million

If you're looking at the house above — a Grade II*-listed home dating back to the 16th century — and worrying that having a pool table might be a tad anachronistic, don't fret: billiards actually dates back to the 14th century, and Mary, Queen of Scots was famously a keen player.

Thus, Hatch Farm's 27ft by 17½ft leisure/games room in the converted barn — a vaulted space that lends itself to entertaining or use as an annexe, with its own washroom and dual loos — is entirely safe from tutting by passing historians.

The television which slides up from the end of one of the beds might be another matter, of course.

The main house at Hatch Farm has six bedrooms are arranged over two floors, with five reception rooms that offer plenty of space for family time or formal entertaining — and there is a study perfect for home workers. It's located in the semi-rural village of Kelvedon Hatch, with close proximity to the A128 and A12 and consequently fast journey times to the likes of Brentwood, Chelmsford and London.

For sale via Savills and Fine & Country at £1.875 million.

Devon — £1.25 million

'What more could you need?' says agent Lauren Jones says of Little Venhay as she walks into the party barn: ‘This home really does keep on giving… It’s got a holiday let, a spectacular four-bedroom house, a swimming pool, just under five acres, outbuildings and you can finish your day with a drink in the bar.’ Said bar is within a separate spacious outbuilding that is currently set up with a pool table, making it a games room in our book. There is even a cinema room here, on a mezzanine.

The Grade II-listed house itself, sited close to the village of Witheridge near South Molton and Tiverton, comes with a historic backstory, too, and is rumoured to have once been a hunting lodge belonging to the Earl of Portsmouth. You can certainly still see the past within, not least in the raft of exposed beams, inglenook fireplaces and Gothic windows. The grounds outside extend to about 4¼ acres.

For sale via Fine & Country at offers over £1.25 million.

Somerset — £2 million

And finally, a house where the owners have turned the biggest living space in the property into a place of leisure for relaxed living. The glorious great hall at Rodwell Manor in West Lambrook is a true eye-catcher, with one end a traditional sitting room and the other end a games room with a fine, full-sized snooker table

This beautiful Grade II*-listed thatched manor house, with Hamstone and blue lias stonework, as well as mullioned windows, has medieval origins, with further developments through the centuries, and ancient grandeur really does meet family home comforts.

There are four further reception rooms downstairs, six bedrooms on the first floor and the house stands in 5¼ acres of gardens and land amid unspoilt farmland. Yeovil, with its London rail links, is 12 miles away.

For sale via Jackson-Stops at £2 million.