Jane Austen's uncle's house comes to the market, tucked away in its own conservation area

Andrew Harwood of Strutt & Parker is handling the sale, at a guide price of £3.5 million, of historic Brittains Farm in Brittains Lane, Sevenoaks, which was probably first established in the 12th century as one of a ring of farms around the original Sevenoaks settlement. The sale is being conducted on behalf of the executors of its late owners, who lived there for more than 40 years.

Once part of the Kippington estate acquired in 1630 by the schoolmaster and classical scholar Thomas Farnaby, who made his fortune teaching the sons of the gentry and nobility in London, all that remains of the original farmstead is the Grade II-listed farm-house built by his grandson, Sir Thomas Farnaby. The range of traditional barns and outbuildings are cocooned within almost 3½ acres of private gardens and grounds, yet are less than half a mile from Sevenoaks station.

Today, this rare and heavily protected place is the subject of its own conservation area, originally designated in 1974 and reviewed and re-designated in 2007; it contains five listed buildings surrounded by mature trees, most of which are covered by tree preservation orders.

A stream flows through the site before disappearing underground below Brittains Lane and north to the Sevenoaks wildlife reserve and the River Darent.

Of the buildings that survive, the large barn to the south of the farmhouse is said to date from the 15th century; the grouping includes a hay barn/garage, a coach house, stables and a detached storehouse. The farmhouse and oast house were built in 1752 and 1751 respectively. The Kippington estate, including Brittains Farm, was sold in 1796 to Francis Motley Austen, uncle of Jane Austen.

Built of mellowed stone, partially relieved by tile-hanging under a pitched and hipped tiled roof, the charming main farmhouse now needs updating and modernising. It offers some 4,770sq ft of light and well-proportioned accommodation on three floors, with good ceiling heights and a raft of period features, including inglenooks, exposed timbers and an elegant staircase.

The kitchen/breakfast room has a flagstone floor, an inglenook fireplace, a bread oven and work surfaces with cupboards and drawers below. The four principal reception rooms are well proportioned and ideal for entertaining.

There are two en-suite bedrooms on the first floor, with a smaller third bedroom, currently used as a study, and three further bedrooms and a bathroom on the second floor.

For sale via Strutt & Parker — see more pictures and details.