Lydeard Farm

Lydeard Farm, Listed Grade II, provides a very rare opportunity to buy a substantial period farmhouse in an outstanding rural setting with ancillary accommodation, good equestrian facilities and a secluded bush camp with five wooden lodges in its own private valley, IN ALL ABOUT 70 ACRES

Lydeard Farm, Listed Grade II, provides a very rare opportunity to buy a substantial period farmhouse in an outstanding rural setting with ancillary accommodation, good equestrian facilities and a secluded bush camp with five wooden lodges in its own private valley.

Believed to date back to the early 16th Century, 1509 has been suggested, this fine and particularly handsome medieval farmhouse retains many character features expected of a house of its age. Lydeard Farm has been well restored over the years by the present owners, the house offers spacious, yet comfortable rooms with particularly good reception space.

A cross passage hall with flagstones and beams lead to the drawing room, a particularly well-proportioned room with cut stone fireplace with open hearth and r ecessed shelves on either side, ceiling beams and windows to both the front and rear of the house. A rear hall leads to a study, has a door to outside and through to a cloakroom.
The sitting room/snug has a range of bookcases, large brick arched fireplace with wood burning stove and wood panelling. The dining room is of good size with cut stone fireplace with open grate and arched alcove.

There is a fine Jacobean turning staircase with beautifully restored handrail and balustrades. The kitchen/breakfast room has recently been completely re-fitted with Robert Charles bespoke cabinets with granite work surfaces, good quality appliances, a four-oven oil fired AGA set with a mantelpiece surround. There is also a central island with an induction hob. The kitchen has room for a large dining table, has a vaulted ceiling with exposed timbers, French windows to the garden and door through to the boot room /utility with a door to the rear garden and door through to a traditional pantry.

The first floor landing leads to a family bathroom and two good sized double guest bedrooms (one with wash basin, the second having recessed cupboards and glorious views). The inner landing has linen cupboards, door to the second floor stairs and a bedroom with a dressing area over the porch. The principal bedroom has two windows enjoying lovely views, exposed beams and an excellent range of built-in cupboards, providing good hanging and storage space. The en suite bathroom has wash hand basin, wc, panelled bath and a shower. The second floor has a spacious landing with bookcases and a door to a spacious attic storage area. The bathroom with roll top bath, wc, wash hand basin. There are two bedrooms on the second floor, one smaller room with vaulted ceiling and the larger bedroom has a range of built-in cupboards.

Lydeard Barn

A particularly spacious barn conversion that provides self-contained accommodation and has just recently been completely re-modelled and
designed and provides a spacious vaulted sitting room with a recessed well-fitted modern kitchen, a hall with good cupboards and entrance in
from the passing lane, three bedrooms (one en suite) and a family bathroom. There is parking and a garden area for the barn separate to the main house.

Lydeard Farm Bush Camp

A further drive gives access to the Bush Camp, in its own secluded valley, which is currently run as a commercial enterprise. The present owners have, over the past 25 years run a successful business
providing leadership training, outdoor activities for schools and corporate clients, and overseas youth expeditions using the farm as a natural base and training area. Lately the Bush Camp has also been used successfully for AirBnB and Group accommodation lettings. The Bush Camp includes the camp itself with a spacious shelter used as a dining and meeting area, which has a woodburning stove, electricity and good practical kitchen. There is a large communal washing up area next to the shelter. Outside is a large, sheltered BBQ area for meeting and eating under the stars. There are a number of boys and girls eco loos. The five timber Lodges, built in 2019 on stilts to limit impact, are sympathetically placed and designed to minimise light pollution. They include two 2 bedroom Lodges and three 3 bedroom Lodges both with central cloakroom/shower rooms and fitted with new bunk beds. They are well insulated, heated and have
septic tank drainage.

Lydeard Farm occupies an outstanding and highly enviable position on the Quantock Hills, designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty since 1956, is elevated yet sheltered and enjoys extensive views over its own land and countryside beyond. From many of the fields which stretch up to the northwest there are extensive far-reaching views as far as Shaftesbury. Very little has changed to the surrounding
landscape over recent centuries, where a patchwork of farmland, hillsides and woodland typify the area. Fyne Court is a National Trust-owned nature reserve. It was a large English country house belonging to the Crosse family since its construction and much of the woodland around Fyne Court adjoins Lydeard Farm. Being
perfectly peaceful and secluded, Lydeard Farm is conveniently situated approximately five miles from Taunton, the County Town of Somerset, with a good shopping centre and the Somerset County Cricket Ground and is well known for its excellent
independent schools, namely Kings and Queens Colleges, Kings Hall Preparatory School, Taunton School and the state-run Richard Huish Sixth Form College. Communications are excellent, Taunton having a mainline railway station on the
Great Western Service with fast trains due to arrive in London Paddington within an hour and 45 minutes and the M5 motorway (J24 or J25) giving fast and easy access to Exeter, Bristol and London via the M4 motorway. The A303 is also within easy reach also giving fast access to London. The international airports at Bristol and
Exeter provide a number of international flights. The Quantock Hills provide excellent riding and walking countryside, there being endless bridleways and footpaths directly accessible from the property. For the keen golfer there is a well-respected golf course at Enmore and other popular golf courses at Taunton, Burnham and
Berrow and Western Super Mare.

The drive in to Lydeard Farm leads in from the country lane and passing the open fronted barn, which provides excellent garaging and the entrance that leads into the farm offices, meeting r ooms and a ground floor en suite bedroom. The farm pond provides an attractive focal point and is surrounded by well stocked mixed borders and retaining walls. Lawned gardens stretch across the front of the house, which is adorned with mature Wisteria with a central stepped path to the front door. A further gate leads into the stable
yard, which also provides ample parking and includes four loose boxes with doors to a rear passage providing good rug storage and leads into a feed store. Within the stable yard there are two tack rooms, storage room with sink with
room for deep-freeze and fridges and a workshop. The covered yard is offset from the stable yard and has two open stables/storerooms, a covered horse walker and two freight containers with spacious storage area between them, providing support for a first floor meeting room/store. A further area of covered yard is devoted to parking ideal for a horse lorry. A detached stone
barn provides two animal pens and a small stock yard. The manège, measuring 50m x 25m has direct access from the lane and further access out into the adjoining fields.

The gardens lie mainly to the rear of the house, being attractively terraced with flights of steps leading either side of a water feature to a sitting area ideal for alfresco entertaining. A lawned garden stretches across the back of the house and is protected by a high mixed hedge of maple, walnut and a variety of ornamental trees including silver birch, magnolia and an established shrubbery. An established hornbeam hedge divides the garden from a further
garden area, which leads to the solar panels and the fields. Two nine acre fields being well hedged and gated extend to the northern boundary and have access to a stock pen and cattle crush. The land at Lydeard Farm provides excellent pasture and is arranged to provide 9 fields, with several areas of woodland planted over the last 25 years. In all the land and grounds amount to about 69.35 acres (28.08 hectares).

Marketed by: Greenslade Taylor Hunt, Taunton