Fordhay House

Built for the local Portman Estate and dating from 1690, Fordhay House is Grade II listed and originally served as a staging inn, providing a resting point for people and coach horses, including changing a tired team for a fresh one if required. It is built of local Ham stone under a Welsh slate roof and its front wall supports a beautiful and very old wisteria, whose main trunk is thick enough to partially support the lead canopied porch. The interior too has plentiful period character including tiled, timber and flagstone floors, carved beams, a moulded plaster ceiling in the sitting room, stone mullion windows, window seats and elm board panelling in the main stairwell. Regrettably further features were removed when the house was renovated in the 1970s but the current owners have endeavoured to restore sympathetically where possible. The study, sitting, dining and day rooms all face south and look out across the front part of the garden and both the sitting and day rooms have fireplaces, the former fitted with a wood-burning stove. Stretching along the rear of the house are the galley kitchen and breakfast room. Both rooms look out onto the high-walled, rear garden, with a paved terrace immediately adjacent to the breakfast room, which serves as a sheltered spot for outside dining. A further passage from the kitchen leads to the laundry, cloakroom and back door positioned under a learn-to fuel store. On the first floor are a wide, galleried landing above the main staircase, which leads directly to the good-sized principal bedroom, the bathroom and a further double bedroom. A secondary staircase from the day room rises to a small landing, off which are another double bedroom and a single bedroom with en suite bathroom and shower. If desired the two bedrooms above the day room could serve as the principal bedroom suite with walk-through dressing room. Alternatively, the day room and bedrooms above could form an integral, self-contained annexe.

The house is approached off the road to a gravelled parking area with space for several cars and beside it is the front garden, thought to be designed by the English gardener, Margery Fish (1892 – 1969) in the informal cottage garden style. The garden is partwalled and comprises a level lawn with flower borders, a well in one corner and is screened by a variety of mature trees and shrubs. Originally it would have been a coach yard in front of the house and still retains two charming, corner shelters for waiting passengers. There is a further lawn on one side with a paved terrace and adjacent, lean-to garden store. This leads to a large, two-storey barn with a hallway and stairs up to a well-insulated, self-contained annexe with a fantastic, vaulted ceiling above an open plan living room and kitchen, double bedroom and shower room. Beneath it are two interconnected rooms with flagged floors offering scope for further development, subject to obtaining the necessary consent. Behind the house is a walled garden, which is lawned with a lovely weeping willow at its centre and a vegetable garden and greenhouse along the rear, south-facing wall. In all about 0.87 acre (0.35 hectare).

West Coker 1.6 miles, Yeovil Junction station (Waterloo 2 hours 19 minutes) 4.2 miles, Crewkerne 4.7 miles, Yeovil town centre 5 miles, Taunton/M5 (J25) 22 miles, Exeter Airport 38 miles. (Distances and time approximate).

Fordhay House is situated off the road running through the small village of East Chinnock which for its size has good amenities with a pre-school, church and village hall/post office. The neighbouring village of West Coker has a primary school, butcher/village shop, two pubs, doctor's surgery, two petrol stations, both with convenience stores and a hotel (see and For wider requirements the towns of Crewkerne and Yeovil are both close by. Yeovil Junction station has direct services to Waterloo (approximately 2 hours 19 minutes). The local area also

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