5 bedroom house

Built in 1858, Stourpaine Manor is a lovely example of a country house of the period and is not listed. Set in the centre of private and mature grounds, the house is built of rendered brick with deep eaves and a Welsh slate roof decorated with shaped barge boards. Extending out behind the house is a charming, small stable yard incorporating a coach house with combined stable block. It has been the much-loved family home of the present owners for the past 22 years and has retained most of its original architectural features. These include flagstone floors throughout the hall, dining room, kitchen, boot room/cloakroom and laundry room, fireplaces in the reception rooms and bedrooms, mullioned windows and extensive joinery including working shutters and an elegant main staircase rising to a galleried landing. As might be expected the house has excellent ceiling heights throughout and its interior is well-lit by natural light. The front of the house faces south with views out across the valley which could be improved with some selective pruning of trees within the grounds.

The ground floor has four well-proportioned reception rooms, with two arranged off each side of the central reception hall and a door at the far end of the hall leading out to the stable yard. Immediately adjacent to the dining room is the large kitchen/breakfast room which has a 4 oven oil-fired AGA inset in the original range fireplace and is fitted with units under granite work surface with windows overlooking the stable yard and garden. Beneath the ground floor is a useful cellar, which also serves as a gym. On the first floor are five double bedrooms. The principal bedroom is positioned above the kitchen with steps up to an en suite bathroom/dressing room and a lovely view over the garden to open countryside beyond. The four remaining bedrooms have use of the family bathroom and family shower room.

Stourpaine Manor is approached up a 150 yard-long drive to a parking area at the front of the house before sweeping round to the rear where there is further parking beside the stable yard and a further length of driveway to a gate providing secondary access. The walled stable yard is cobbled with flint and incorporates a brick-built coach house comprising a gig house, two loose boxes, tack room and hay loft. Beside it is a fuel store that also houses the boiler. The garden is comprised of three level lawns extending out from the south east side of the house, one of which is a former grass tennis court protected on three sides by a windbreak of mature Monterrey cypress trees. Below the house is a sloping apple orchard bound by mature hedging and trees. Extending out on the south east side of the stable yard is a heated swimming pool with timber pool house, behind which is an area of mature woodland. Behind the woodland is a paddock, which has its own road access and does not form part of this sale but may be available by separate negotiation. In all the
garden and grounds extend about 3 acres (1.21 hectares).

Stourpaine village centre 0.2 mile, Blandford Forum 3.1 miles, Shillingstone 3.2 miles, Gillingham 16 miles (Waterloo 2 hours), Bournemouth Airport 20.3 miles, Dorchester 21 miles, Bournemouth 21.9 miles. (Distances and times approximate).

Stourpaine Manor is situated in a private setting above the village of Stourpaine that straddles the Dorset and Cranborne Chase Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Positioned on the side of the valley of the River Stour, the village has a population of just over 600 and is a thriving community with a church, village hall and The White Horse Inn & shop. The local market town of Blandford Forum (3.1 miles) meets most day-to-day requirements including medical, dental and veterinary surgeries, whilst a wider range of facilities can be
found in Dorchester (21 miles) and Bournemouth (21.9 miles). The locality also has good travel links with a direct rail service from Gillingham (16 miles) to Waterloo taking about two ho

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