'One of Somerset's finest houses' has come up for sale
Right in the heart of the Quantocks, Triscombe House is a magnificent country home with nine bedrooms, a winter garden and a wine room.
'Colour never dies in the Quantocks' we wrote in Country Life when Fiona Reynolds and Kate Green walked through this enchanted area, a place which inspired everyone from Samuel Taylor Coleridge to John Dower, the civil servant in post-war Britain who came up with the plan to protect Britain's most spectacular areas. Thus it was the the Quantocks became Britain's first ever designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, back in 1956.
And at the centre of this rolling landscape of hills and heather, woodland and wilderness, you'll find one of the most charming homes in the county: Grade II-listed Triscombe House. Sarah Brown of Strutt & Parker’s country department quotes a guide price of £6 million for what is one of Somerset’s finest country houses.
The house is roughly half-way between Taunton and the wide open beaches of the North Somerset coast. Nearby, the village of Bishops Lydeard is a quaint and charming place, where the steam railway puffs through regularly. And Triscombe itself stands in the midst of all this, within almost 20 acres of paddocks, parkland and woodland.
Originally built between 1902 and 1905 by Pollard & Sons of Bridgwater to the designs of Sir Ernest Newton, Triscombe House remained in the same family until 1956, when the estate was divided following the death of Emily Wimbush. It was put on the market at the turn of the millennium, and a sale had been agreed which would see the house developed.
The changes that came turned out to be rather different than originally envisioned: a devastating fire in 2002 left only the main walls standing. Thankfully, in 2003, the shell was saved from demolition by a developer who embarked on a renovation programme. Triscombe was saved, and beautifully so.
Later years have seen things get even better. The current owners bought the house five years ago, and have made many improvements in that time.
As it stands today, Triscombe is a huge country home, with almost 16,000 sq ft in the main house, and a further 4,000sq ft split up between outbuildings, garaging and a separate three-bedroom lodge.
There are seven reception rooms — including library, drawing room and a snug — plus a huge kitchen-breakfast room, and a 'winter garden', all on the ground floor.
Below this level, the basement has a wine room, cinema room and a 'data room', which is a bit of a rarity in a rural home such as this one.
The nine bedrooms are split across the first and second floors, with the highlight being the huge master suite on the first floor, with its bay window, large private bathroom and a dressing room.
There are all sorts of other lovely things to discover beyond the mere sleeping and washing spots, though: there are separate laundry and linen rooms, and a 'winter dressing room' on the first floor, because nobody should have to keep boots and woolies next to summer dresses and wide-brimmed hats.
The second floor also has more to offer, in the shape of a large, dedicated games room and a studio space.
Should nine bedrooms not be enough, the further accommodation in the aforementioned lodge is there for you.
Then there are the grounds, with wide open areas of lawn as well as formal planting, woodland, a kitchen garden and stabling. Triscombe really is a place with something for everyone.
Triscombe House is for sale through Strutt & Parker — see more details.
