An Old Rectory for sale that 'encapsulates the Georgian dream'

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Our property correspondent Penny Churchill comes across a lot of properties, yet she's still clearly entranced by this beautiful family home in Frampton.

If ever a house and garden encapsulated the Georgian rectory dream, it’s Grade II-listed The Old Rectory at Frampton, six miles north of Dorchester, for which Knight Frank quote a guide price of £1.25m.

Built in 1726, in the classic, square-cut Georgian style, the gracious former rectory stands next to the church in a quintessential Dorset village setting.

Unusually, it’s been little altered since it was built – apart from a discreet Victorian extension at its northern end – until a decade ago, when the present owners bought it and had the entire property restored and refurbished throughout.

Inside there is some 3,500sq ft of accommodation, including three reception rooms, five bedrooms and four bathrooms.

The vendors have been careful to retain the charm of the many original features, with tall bay windows, wooden floors and fireplaces in the reception rooms.

The drawing room – pictured at the top of this page – exemplifies many of these charms, with elegant cornicing and sash windows which can be covered by original working shutters.

The setting is idyllic. The house is set in just over an acre of formal and wild gardens on three sides, with a kitchen garden at the rear.

Beyond the main home there is stabling and garaging in the coachhouse that comes as part of the property, and which is Grade II-listed in its own right.