3 bedroom house

Built in 1845 by the Hoare family, owners of the nearby Grade I listed 18th-century Palladian mansion, Stourhead House and its surrounding 2,650 acre estate, Keepers Lodge is a charming and characterful cottage with rendered and whitepainted walls under a Welsh slate roof that is adorned by attractive dormer windows looking out over the surrounding countryside. The unlisted property was sold off in 1946 at the same time as Stourhead House and gardens were given to the National Trust by Sir Henry Hoare, 6th Baronet. It has a simple, U-shaped design with one of the property's two principal rooms positioned either side of the central, L-shaped reception hall, with two small wings extending out at the rear, partly enclosing a rear-facing terrace. The ground floor windows either side of the porch are surmounted by carved stone drip mouldings and the windows
themselves have Gothic-style glazing bars. The cottage has a good-sized sitting room with an open fireplace and tall windows on three sides incorporating three window seats and at the rear is a cosy snug with a fitted bookcase. Off the other side of the hall is the kitchen/dining room which has ample dining space and is fitted with bespoke timber units under timber/tiled work surfaces, a timber floor and a double Belfast sink. Extending out behind the kitchen is a walk-through shower room leading to a double bedroom overlooking the terrace. The original staircase rises to the landing which is well-lit by natural light and leads to all the first floor accommodation.

The principal bedroom is light and airy with windows on two sides, a window seat and large walk-in wardrobe. The second, first floor bedroom also has windows on two sides incorporating a window seat, a built-in wardrobe and two under-eaves storage cupboards. Also on the first floor is the family bathroom which is shared by both first floor bedrooms.

Keepers Lodge is approached along a country lane leading up to Alfred's Tower and sits well back out of sight of the lane behind a strip of woodland. Access to the cottage is via a no-through farm access road measuring just under half 0.5 mile. There is tandem parking for up to three cars along the property's driveway leading to a single garage. The property's level garden amounts to about 0.58 acre (0.23 hectare) and is bound by mature hedging dotted with mature broadleaf trees on its open side and by park railing on its wooded side. Immediately behind the property is a good-sized paved terrace that is sheltered by the two protruding wings of the cottage. A lawn extends out on three sides fringed with richly planted borders filled with flowering shrubs and herbaceous perennials and a small mixed apple orchard with a tall, curved yew hedge at the far end of the lawn with a seating area at its base that looks back towards the cottage. Behind the yew hedge is a further lawn with a well-screened compost/bonfire site. To one side of the cottage and adjacent to the wood line is a brick-built fuel store.

Kilmington 0.5 mile, Stourton 2.7 miles, Mere 5.7 miles, Gillingham 8.6 miles (Waterloo 2 hours), Castle Cary station 10.5 miles Paddington 90 minutes), Bristol Airport 35 miles.(Distances and times approximate)

Keepers Lodge has an enviable and private setting between extensive woodland and unspoilt, open countryside belonging to the Stourhead Estate. Nearby is the small village of Kilmington (0.5 mile), which has a church and primary school with The Red Lion pub nearby on the B3092. The neighbouring village of Stourton (2.7 miles) also has a pub and a farm shop and the nearby towns of Mere (5.7 miles) and Gillingham (8.6 miles) are able to meet most day-to-day needs including medical, dental and veterinary surgeries. For wider requirements Salisbury, Bath and Yeovil are all easily accessible. The local area also offers a broad choice of schools from both the state and independent sectors. The Bruton schools, Warminster, All Hallows and Port Regis are all within a 10-mile

Marketed by: Knight Frank, Sherborne