A Notswolds manor house in a hopelessly idyllic country setting
Penny Churchill looks at a home in the southern stretch of Northamptonshire, nestled between the Chilterns and the Cotswolds.
The idyllic part of Northamptonshire dubbed the Notswolds is a place of contradictions. It's a quiet land of pretty villages, rolling hills and huge skies; yet it's also the home of the Silverstone F1 circuit, and several of its top teams. When the cars are in action — is about as peaceful as the deck of aircraft carrier.
As soon as you venture out of earshot, however, the tranquility returns — and villages such as Fotheringhoe, which is safely located four miles from Brackley on the non-F1 side of the town, have all the charm you could wish for. And in the fields a mile or so from the village, Grade II-listed Manor House is up for sale.
Harry Sheppard of Knight Frank quotes a guide price of £2.3 million for this charming house, set in almost eight acres of landscaped gardens, with a paddock and outbuildings.
Built in 1884–85 on the site of an older building by the prolific country-house architect George Devey, the secluded former manor house, now a farmhouse, overlooks the site of the deserted medieval village of Steane, a scheduled ancient monument.
Carefully maintained since 1989 by the current owners, Manor House offers some 4,246sq ft of bright and cheerful accommodation on two floors, including four good reception rooms, a sociable kitchen/breakfast room, a spacious principal bedroom suite, four further double bedrooms and two additional bathrooms.
Outside, the gardens, which have been lovingly maintained and beautifully stocked, are enhanced by colourful herbaceous borders and are framed by picturesque views over the adjacent paddock and beyond.
An impressive range of outbuildings includes a home office, stores, a workshop, garage and stabling.
Farthinghoe village itself, a mile to the west, is a small village, though big enough to have a primary school and a pub , and is on the main road up to Banbury — and from there, to Oxford, the Cotswolds, Stratford-upon-Avon and more. And if you head in the other direction on the first weekend of July, you'll be able to enjoy all the the thrills of the F1 circus's annual pilgrimage to Silverstone.
For sale via Knight Frank — see more details.
