4 bed detached house for sale

Thornbury, Holsworthy EX22

Property number 53748. Enquire through Zoopla's messaging system and we'll respond within 5 minutes, 24/7

A bright, elegant, detached, private country house with 6.8 acres of mature and wilding gardens, grounds, meadow, orchard and woodland. Former holiday cottages, former garage and a magnificent greenhouse. Potential to form annexes, studio spaces or holiday lets. An additional rewilding field and trees are available.

A unique combination of the formal and the wild, with diverse habitats, flora and fauna. Close to the open sandy beaches and rugged cliffs and coves of North Devon and Cornwall, and to the wild expanses of Dartmoor. Easily accessible to several vibrant North Devon towns and minutes from the market town of Holsworthy (Waitrose).

An additional adjoining 8-acre wilding field and shaw are available separately, with potential for conversion to equestrian or other uses.

The house was first established on the site as Keeper’s Cottage in 1850 and grew progressively, changing significantly in the Victorian and Edwardian eras to become the Manor House under the Lord of the Manor Joseph Graham, measuring approximately 3,900sft. The interiors retain the lime-washed stone walls, slate flagstones and winding cottage stairs of the original cottage, which now form the west end of the main house, with its main stair and principal rooms. Large, bright, well-proportioned, traditional rooms and wide circulation spaces open onto established wild gardens through six fine south-facing bay windows and three sets of floor-to-ceiling French doors. The large free-flowing spaces and simple layout combine great connectivity between the rooms with the flexibility for more traditional independent living patterns. The four large bedrooms are filled with light and have private southerly views across the grounds.

Externally, the house has been thoroughly restored and conserved using traditional materials, including a new roof. Modern materials such as plastic gutters and windows have been replaced with metal and timber. Internally, it has been carefully restored with a light touch to retain the layers and patina of 150 years of family life, including the reinstatement of the sociable traditional Devon kitchen and separated back-kitchen area.

The house is not listed, so it offers almost limitless options for change, multi-generational living and adaptation for sustainable technologies, etc.

A modern wood-fired Esse range stove provides cooking, hot water and heating for parts of the house, and there are enough trees to be self-sufficient for fuel. Other modern ‘ecoburn’ woodburning stoves heat the house, and background heat is provided by an oil-fired central heating system. Mains water and a fibre broadband cable are connected. A private wastewater treatment plant serves the house and has capacity for the holiday cottages to be brought back into use. A well provides backup to rainwater collection for watering garden pots.

The gardens, grounds and woodland surround the house, have been established for over 150 years and extend over 6.8 acres. Set high at the end of a ridge, they are protected by planted shaws of mature trees, including beech, oak and lime, which provide shelter and moderate the effects of wind, rain, heat and frost. Specimen trees include copper beech, American red oak and walnut. The shelter, together with the moderate North Devon climate and marine influences, creates a space where plants flourish. Planted with dozens of camellias, rhododendrons, azaleas and many other shrubs, the garden gives them space to find their natural form. In recent years, wilding has been encouraged, and the mix of native and non-native species provides an environment where wildlife, and birdlife in particular, thrive. There are winding paths and hidden corners. Roses grow near the house, and granite troughs serve as planters and as places for birds to drink and bathe. The lawns have been cut progressively higher over the years and are now filled with low-growing wildflowers and, for the first time this year, two species of orchid. The garden is divided into several distinct spaces, with three separate lawns and a slate-flagged terrace, providing sun and shade and a variety of places to sit and dine. The large Harley Botanic Victorian-style Glasshouse sits in an area planted with fruiting pear, medlar, quince, mulberry and japonica. Running down the western boundary, a row of significant veteran sweet chestnut trees predates the house, possibly planted when the area was established as a deer hunting park in the seventeenth century.

At their margins, the gardens blend into wilder areas, including trees and meadow, as the grounds fall away to the south-east, eventually meeting the orchard and then the main woods. An old carriage drive snakes gently down the slope through the woods, eventually opening onto a lane, providing useful separate access to the woods, grounds and garden. An area of established, undisturbed hazel on the eastern boundary provides an ideal habitat for dormice. The orchard has been planted over many years and includes a variety of apples, plus pear and plum, and is home to an established and extremely rare Wollemi pine. Islands of bramble and raspberry provide fruit and shelter for birds. Barn Owls are seen hunting across the meadow, formerly a pony paddock and now full of wild flowers and long grasses, lizards, toads and stoats.

The adjacent 8.4-acre field and Shaw are held on a separate title and are available as an additional purchase. It is partly level and partly sloping to the south-east. It has been naturally wilding for several years, and there is an increasing number and diversity of wildflowers, including orchids and self-seeded trees, particularly oak. Paths are cut through the grasses, and there are various spots to sit or camp. The field boundaries have been allowed to grow out, and there are a variety of trees, some planted, including walnut. The field provides a variety of habitats and supports toads, lizards, slow worms, foxes, deer, and a huge variety of insects, particularly moths, butterflies, and dragonflies; this, in turn, supports a wide variety of birds, including owls and hawks. There is direct access from a lane, and there are distant views to the south, but it is a very private space. The wilding could be reversed for agricultural or equestrian use.

There are no rights-of-way or footpaths across the land or adjoining field.