7 bedroom house

A beautifully presented listed house, Essex barn and annexe surrounded by 25 acres.


Description

The entrance hall allows a glimpse through the house to the lovely views beyond and gives access on to the principal rooms that include a sitting room, a home cinema, a drawing room and the kitchen. The sitting room features beautiful exposed timbers, fitted book shelves and a red-brick fireplace, the home cinema has concealed cupboards along one wall and a fixed screen for use with an overhead projector , while the elegant drawing room has a beautiful stone fireplace with wood burner and deep windows and double doors that flood the room with light and provide access onto a covered veranda overlooking the grounds.

The kitchen/family room showcases a custom-built kitchen by Simon’s Kitchens of Colchester, designed to complement the house with Shaker-style colour-washed units and white quartz work surfaces. The integrated appliances include two fan ovens, a Neff hob and extractor hood, a microwave, a coffee maker and a Norcool two-zone wine fridge and a substantial island is fitted with a butler sink unit and Quooker hot tap, two integrated dishwashers, two glazed plate cupboards and a wine rack. The open plan family area has a roof lantern, four sets of double doors opening onto the terrace and the view over the meadows beyond and access to a secondary staircase leading up to a first floor cloakroom, utility room and dining/children’s playroom. This room is in the oldest part of the property and has exposed wall and ceiling timbers and a fireplace with wood burner.

The beautiful main staircase in the hall leads up to the galleried landing with its glazed top cupola. The principal bedroom is dual aspect, with double doors to the rear opening onto a 30 ft wide balcony overlooking the moat and meadows beyond. The en suite dressing room is fitted with bespoke units and a dressing table and the large en suite shower room beyond includes an oversized shower cubicle, tiled walls and heated tiled floor, an oval bath, twin wash basins and a heated screen TV. Another double bedroom also has an ensuite shower room and the three other double bedrooms have the use of a high specification family bathroom.

A second staircase leading up from the landing features some magnificent exposed timbers including a crown post and gives on to a double bedroom with vaulted ceiling and exposed timbers, a study and a shower room; creating an ideal space for an annexe or independent living area.

The gardens immediately surrounding the main house have been professionally landscaped to provide year-round colour and interest. The long approach drive (shared with two other houses) with automated oak entrance gates opens into a substantial courtyard in front of the Essex barn and garaging, while a second gate gives on to a gravelled pathway leading to the house and edged by irrigated beds stocked with roses and lavender backed by lawn and specimen trees. A stone pathway in front of the house leads to the house and the lawns to the south, which are overlooked by a veranda and provide direct access into the adjoining meadows. A rear terrace includes a large area behind the kitchen/family area, which enjoys the afternoon sun and is ideal for al fresco dining. An area of woodland to the north of the house includes two notable outbuildings and a large field fronting onto Heath Road, while an enclosed swimming pool to the south provides a lovely entertainment area secured by gated picket fencing. A listed moat surrounding the house has a water flow controlled pump and a bridge over to the meadows belonging to the property.

A detached timber framed Essex barn immediately opposite the house has with black weatherboard elevations under a new clay-tiled roof and includes storage areas and additional garaging. The barn space has been designed for social events, with one large room extending to 51’ by x 31’ and a two-storey vaulted area rising into the eaves, a mezzanine at one end approached via a staircase from within the barn and an adjoining kitchenette, cloakroom and preparation area.

A detached single-storey annexe to the east of the barn offers versatile accommodation including a kitchen/living area fitted with a range of Shaker-style units with integrated oven, hob, hood and dishwasher, a main bedroom with vaulted ceiling and double double doors overlooking the paddocks, two further bedrooms, a bathroom and beyond another room for use as a gym/possible third bedroom with en suite shower room.

The land forms a single block of pasture fields, separated by mature hedgerows and a scattering of oak trees. Part of the land is currently used for grazing for a neighbour’s horses under an informal arrangement that may be continued subject to separate discussions.

Location

Ramsden Heath village: 0.25 miles; Stock village: 3 miles; Billericay: 3.3 miles (rail service to Liverpool Street); A12: 4.3 miles (all mileages are approximate).

Chithams, is situated midway between Ramsden Heath and Billericay in south Essex. It occupies an idyllic setting approached over an 110m shared drive and an electric gated entrance. The house, which is listed Grade II and dates from 1395 with 17th and 21st century additions, sits in its own grounds, which are partly moated and extend to about 25 acres surrounded by attractive countryside. It was purchased by the current owners in 2009 and has since been restored and extended to a high specification using the very best materials.

Ramsden Heath provides a village centre with a shop, coffee shop, two pubs, village tennis courts and a C of E primary school.

To the north, in Stock, there is a more comprehensive range of village facilities including pubs/eateries, a restaurant, a library, village schools and a C of E primary school. Also within Stock village is the renowned health and spa country club at Greenwoods.

Chelmsford city, which lies 8.5 miles away, offers a more comprehensive and cosmopolitan centre with a good
choice of restaurants and shops which includes the new Bond Street development with John Lewis at its heart.

The house lies within the catchment for King Edward Grammar School and Chelmsford County High School for Girls and there is a good selection of both state and private schools within close proximity at Downham, Chelmsford, Billericay and Brentwood.

Rail services can be found at Billericay, Wickford, Chelmsford and Shenfield, with Crossrail due at Shenfield between 2020 and 2021.

Square Footage: 7,039 sq ft




Acreage: 25.4 Acres

Directions

Directions: From the A12 at Galleywood, proceed south on the B1007 towards Stock. Continue up the hill passing The Ship pub on your left-hand side, taking the next turning on the left into Downham Road. Continue along Downham Road for paproximately 2 miles until you reach the T-junction. Turn right signposted to Ramsden Heath and continue to the centre of the village. At the T-junction turn right and the entrance will be found on the left-hand side, a drive to the right of No 85 Heath Road.

Postcode: CM11 1HS


Additional Info

Services: Mains water and electricity. Gas-fired central heating. Private drainage.

Note: Please note that the field fronting Heath Road is subject to an overage clause in favour of the vendors so that if planning permission is granted to build residential property, an uplift payment will be made to the current owners or their successors. Details available from the vendor’s agents.

Marketed by: Savills, Chelmsford