Old rectories are the second most sought-after homes in Britain, and this idyllic £2.45 million home is a perfect example of why

'The Old Rectory' is the second-most expensive house name in Britain, according to research that Savills published last year. Sitting behind only 'The Manor House', the 355 Old Rectories that had sold in the preceding years had fetched an average price of £1.3 million.

It's not hard to see why. Many rectories are products of the Georgian and early Victorian age of architecture, with large, beautiful rooms, extensive gardens and charmingly graceful lines. The rectors themselves might be long gone — the church's wealth today being a fraction of what it was in an era when pretty much anyone and everyone attended a weekly service — but the houses they left behind are enormously popular, whether they keep their name or not. When you see a place like Oakley House — on sale with a guide price of £2.45 million — it's not hard to understand why.

Situated in Hampshire, a couple of miles north of Jane Austen's home village of Steventon, Oakley House is the old rectory in the village of that name that's just six miles from Basingstoke, and thus eminently commutable to London. Basingstoke itself might not be the prettiest of towns, but many of the villages around it have plenty of charm and Oakley is just such a place, with a number of imposing period houses in the conservation area at its core.

Oakley House is a classic Georgian rectory, set in just under one and a half acres of delightful gardens and grounds. While it's in the heart of the village, those gardens surround the house, and are ringed by tightly clipped yew hedges that provide privacy and seclusion.

Inside it's exactly as you might imagine. Of particular note are the full-height sash windows in the drawing room and snug, which underline the house’s Georgian credentials.

The house offers 4,487sq ft of free-flowing living space on two main floors, including four good reception rooms, six bedrooms and four bathrooms.

A stable block with pleasing period detail has planning consent to convert to ancillary accommodation to the main house.

There is also a traditional brick built garage for which planning consent was granted for its replacement by a green oak framed garage block, although that permission has now lapsed.

Oakley House is for sale via Strutt & Parker — see more details.