Farmhouse for sale in Pilsdon, Bridport, Dorset DT6

An excellent 30.97 acre (12.53 ha) residential farm set in an elevated position in the Marshwood Vale close to Bridport and the coast.

Situation

Gerrards Farm occupies a superb, elevated setting in the heart of the popular Marshwood Vale just to the northeast of the hamlet of Shave Cross with its ancient inn. The property is surrounded by the rolling West Dorset countryside, designated a National Landscape (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). The nearby Georgian market town of Bridport offers a wide range of amenities including restaurants, good independent shops, a twice weekly market and a Waitrose. This vibrant town offers a range of cultural activities including the Electric Palace Theatre, Arts Centre and Leisure Centre. The coast at West Bay with its picturesque harbour and access to the World Heritage Site Jurassic Coast, provides excellent opportunities for walking, fishing and swimming. The county town of Dorchester is easily accessible with a wider range of facilities and cultural activities. The A35 provides a route to the A31 and London. Mainline railway stations are available at Crewkerne and Dorchester.

The Property

Gerrards Farm was formerly part of the Pilsdon Manor Estate and has not been offered on the open market for nearly sixty years. The property offers prospective purchasers the rare opportunity to acquire a versatile country property with land and the potential to develop a barn conversion, well separated from the farmhouse, within this sought after area of West Dorset.

Lot One - Farmhouse, Stable Yard And About 18.71 A

The handsome south facing farmhouse is constructed of part-rendered stone elevations under a tiled roof. The accommodation epitomizes the style of the era with generous sized rooms, high ceilings and character features such as original joinery, Victorian floor tiles in the hallway and period fireplaces. Many of the rooms are dual aspect creating a light filled house with panoramic views in all directions, to the sea at Charmouth, as well as the Iron Age hill forts of Pilsdon Pen and Lewesdon Hill. The kitchen is very much the heart of the home, with a handmade kitchen and an Aga, providing space for dining or relaxing by the wood burner. The generous, triple aspect 29 foot drawing room is perfect for entertaining and modern living. Upstairs the master bedroom has en-suite bathroom, there are a further four bedrooms, two with an ensuite shower and a family bathroom

Outside

The farmstead is approached over a long driveway, flanked by fields, which leads up to the farmhouse. The low maintenance gardens are largely laid to lawn with a range of mature shrubs. The rear drive continues down, past the access to the farmyard to rejoin the public highway. To the rear of the farmhouse are:
1. Garden/Domestic Stores brick built with Lean-to Garage/Workshop at rear (12.94m x 5.56m)
2. L shaped Stable Block (10.9m x 4.8m & 7.6m x 3.6m) housing three looseboxes, foaling box and a feed store with a concrete yard.
The gently sloping west and south facing pastureland is offered in good heart and well fenced for livestock or equestrian purposes, providing utility and protection.

Lot Two - Barn With Planning Permission For Conver

North of the farmstead, well shielded from the farmhouse, with separate access from the rear farm drive, is a lower yard. There are a range of farm buildings set around extensive concrete yards. The attractive, traditional Hamstone Barn (12.03m x 6.04m) with tiled roof has planning permission to convert into a double storey 3-bedroom dwelling. There are additional buildings including:
1. Steel framed and block former Milking Parlour with Leanto Dairy (22.5m x 13.9m)
2. Farm Building (21.40m x 6.38m) steel framed, 4 bay, housing 5 loose boxes
3. General Purpose Farm Building (21.4m x 18.9m) concrete portal and block (former cubicle house)
4. Dilapidated Former Milking Parlour (8.6m x 10.3m maximum) steel framed
To the north of the yard with access from the rear farm drive is 12.26 acres of level or gently sloping pastureland, with a pretty stream running through.

Services

Lot One: Main electricity. Main water. Private drainage. Fibre broadband.
Lot Two: Main electricity. A right to connect to main water, (if sold separately) will be granted over Lot One.

Tenure

Freehold with vacant possession upon completion, with the exception of three fields (os 0165,8685 & 9394) which are let under a Farm Business Tenancy (fbt) to a local farmer until 28th September 2027.

Planning

Planning permission has been granted for conversion of barn to a 3-bedroom dwelling, which will require two agricultural barns to be demolished and a detached bat feeding roost building
to be erected. (West Dorset District Council Planning Ref: P/ful/2022/06940 Decision date 7 February 2023).

Fencing Obligation

If sold in lots the purchasers of Lots 1 and 2 will equally share the cost of erecting and maintaining thereafter a new stock proof fence between the two Lots. The boundary will be pegged for identification purposes.

Sporting

All rights are understood to be owned and included in the sale. Hunting with The Seavington Foxhounds. Racing at Taunton or Wincanton. Golf at Bridport. Sailing on the coast at West Bay or Portland.

Rights Of Way

Two public footpaths cross the farm.

Education

Primary schooling at Marshwood. Good State secondary schools at The Woodroffe School and the excellent Colyton Grammar School. Independent Schools in the area include Perrott Hill, Sherborne, Millfield and Milton Abbey.

Local Authority

West Dorset District Council. Tel: Council Tax Band: G

Agricultural Schemes

The tenanted land is in a Sustainable Farming Incentive (sfi) scheme.

Designations

Gerrards Farm is located in the Dorset National Landscape (aonb). The farm is not located in a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (nvz) and has no Sites of Special Scientific Interest (sssi).