Mill Pit Farmhouse

Mill Pit Farmhouse is believed to date between 1580 and 1620, with later additions and extensions, yet benefits from not being a listed property. The property can readily be occupied as a whole or as the main house and annexe. The accommodation extends to about 4,264 square feet.

The current vendors have undertaken considerable updating and improvement to the house, yet the charm and character of the house with original period elements have been retained. The property has been adapted to be ecologically sound, with an air source heat pump, an option of well water for WCs and exterior use and a heat recovery system.

Reception hall with Moleanos limestone, oak floor and door to the garden. Kitchen/breakfast room with an oak floor, painted units, a Rayburn and space for a free-standing oven and fridge/freezer, walk-in closet with sink and plumbing for dishwasher. South and west-facing drawing room with an attractive traditional fireplace and wood burner. Dining room with open fireplace and exposed painted timbers to one wall and the ceiling. Large utility room/back kitchen with a wide Belfast sink, plumbing for washing machine, walk-in store, door to the Annexe and oak floor. Cloakroom with WC and basin. Large traditional brick vaulted cellar with three chambers and a sump pump.

To the first floor off the landing with a walk-in airing cupboard are two double bedrooms, a newly fitted family bathroom with a wide sink on a marble-topped stand, a panel bath, a separate shower, and a WC. The south and west-facing principal bedroom has fine timberwork to one wall.

On the second floor, there is eaves storage on the landing, large bedroom three with a sitting area, a shower room with WC and basin, double bedroom four and bedroom five with built-in wardrobes.

The annexe accommodation is ideal for a relative or to incorporate into the main accommodation. The ground floor comprises a large, vaulted L-shaped kitchen/living/dining room with exposed trusses, an attractive kitchen with veneer door panels and integrated appliances, an island unit with a granite top and two doors to the garden, a wood-burning stove. Off the main room is a study, which has plumbing for conversion to a bathroom if ground-floor living was required, and the dining area would convert to a ground-floor bedroom. The staircase rises to a first-floor landing off of which is a bathroom and attractive double bedroom facing south, dressing room, and a large walk-in store room with additional eaves storage.

Accessed from Hambridge Road, the drive has grass verges lined with young crabapple and whitebeam trees, past the wildflower meadow to a large parking area in front of the triple open fronted oak frame garage with lean-to wood store. Opposite the utility room are a brick-built traditional outbuilding/workshop with a mullion window, a traditional bread oven and an attached lean-to oil tank store.

The gardens surround the house with paved and shale paths and a paved patio off the annexe. The south garden has a wall and yew hedge, yew trees, young cedar, copper beech and box, bulbs, and wisteria. To the east are lawns with two long herbaceous beds with young lime trees, which the vendors had planned to pleach. Vegetable garden with raised beds, greenhouse on a brick plinth and concrete floor. Goose and chicken run in an orchard with a selection of fruit trees.

Timber stableyard with wide eaves overhang and concrete apron with store with double doors and three stables. (Currently forming a DEFRA-compliant covered chick run).

The garden has post and rail fencing with holm oak and yew hedging. Across the drive is the traditional paddock, extending to about 2 acres, with water, ideal for horses or livestock. Beyond is a wonderful young woodland of about 4 acres, where broadleaf native trees have been planted by the vendors, including a high percentage of oak trees.

Mill Pit Farm is situated on the edge of the thriving village of Bishops Itchington off Hambridge Road, a quiet lane, gated beyond the property entrance; Bishops Itchington has a range of shops, public house, primary school, parish church, village playing fields, nature reserve, footpaths and bridleways, fishing at Bishops Bowl lakes and Gareth Hughes dressage centre.

Harbury nearby is well served with amenities, including All Saints Church, primary school, range of shops, public houses, chemist, garage, library and doctor's surgery. There is a cricket, tennis and rugby club, an Amateur Dramatic Society and a Historical and Conservation Society. Leamington Spa has a wide selection of shops and restaurants, and Stratford upon Avon, with its theatres and Shakespearean heritage, is the region's cultural centre. The Fosse Way, a short distance from the village, gives ready access to the Cotswolds to the south. There is a range of state, grammar and private schools in the area to suit most requirements, including Warwick Prep and Public Schools, Kings High School for Girls in Warwick, Arnold Lodge School and Kingsley School for Girls in Leamington Spa. There is racing at Warwick, Stratford upon Avon and Cheltenham and a number of golf courses in the area.

M40 (J12) 2.7 miles, Leamington Spa 9 miles, Banbury 14 miles (Intercity trains to London Marylebone from 53 mins), Warwick 9 miles, Stratford upon Avon 16 miles, Rugby 14 miles (Intercity trains to London Euston from 48 mins). (all distances and times approximate).

Marketed by: Knight Frank, Stratford Upon Avon