10 bedroom house

Stunning Georgian Country house, 10-14 bedroom set in 12 acres of gardens and parklands, out buildings, walled garden, original greenhouse requiring renovation and two cottages and office.

Location

The Grange occupies a prime, private position on the fringe of the pretty market town of Ellesmere. The area is known as the 'Shropshire Lake District' with the local landscape having a series of nine meres which were formed by the retreat of glaciers during the last ice age. They are unique in Britain as they do not have a flow of water into them to maintain the water level. The largest mere sits beside Ellesmere's town, and has a Green Flag award for being one of the best green spaces in the country. It is surrounded by woodland walks,
gardens and historic parkland. Ellesmere offers a welcoming mix of independent shops including a traditional butcher, baker, weekly market and a supermarket together with a variety of cafes, pubs and restaurants. It also hosts a number of festivals throughout the year which include local artists and artisans.

The medieval county town of Shrewsbury, famed for being the birth-place of Charles Darwin, provides more extensive shopping and leisure facilities including Theatre Severn and Quarry Park which hosts the famous flower show in August. The city of Chester offers a wide selection of bars and restaurants.

There are many leisure opportunities in the area including sailing, boating on the Shropshire Union Canal, racing at Bangor-on-Dee and Chester racecourses, and golf. The area is also
very popular with those who wish to take advantage of the numerous scenic walks and footpaths this area provides. There are a number of well-regarded schools within the area in both the state and independent sector, including Ellesmere College, Lakelands Academy, Packwood Haugh, Oswestry School, Moreton Hall, as well as renowned schools in Shrewsbury and Chester.

The Grange is located within easy access of the A5 and M54 which provide access to the Midlands and national motorway network. Crewe station offers a direct rail service to London Euston.

Regional airports within easy reach are Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham.

Description

The Grange is an enchanting Grade II listed house, standing in a private position overlooking its own open parkland. The elegant reception rooms enjoy a wealth of original, period features including window shutters, beautiful plasterwork and fireplaces; all of good proportion providing an excellent entertaining space as well as wonderful family living space. The property has the potential to be remodelled for use as a large family home. Set within beautiful gardens and grounds with a number of outbuildings, workshops and cottages, the property offers a variety of opportunities for its next custodian.

The property is built of brick with stone dressings. There is an attractive, first floor bay window, with small balcony, and iron verandas run along the southeast facing façade. To the west side of the property is an iron portico and main door into the house. The accommodation flows well from an
arched, central hallway. The drawing room boasts magnificent ceiling plasterwork, decorative cornicing, fireplace with stone surround and tall sash windows enjoying an open aspect over the grounds. The sitting room has beautiful cornicing and a wood burning stove with an impressive, Adam-style carved wooden surround. This leads into the dining room, with panelled walls, oak flooring and double doors opening into the conservatory. On the first floor, accessed by two main staircases, are ten bedrooms, including a double aspect master bedroom, and its bathroom with original Art Deco fittings, six further bedrooms with en suites, and a family bathroom. Three of the bedrooms have fireplaces made from an unusual Derbyshire fossil limestone.

Also on the first floor, leading from a mezzanine level bathed in natural light from an impressive cupola, is the main library - a wonderful room with decorative plasterwork and a bay window opening onto a balcony. There are three further spacious bedrooms on the second floor, all en suite.

The property has a spacious kitchen and adjoining pantries, all of which overlook an enclosed courtyard housing the old well. Also bordering this courtyard is an informal sitting room with kitchen. The property has extensive beer and wine cellars.

COTTAGES AND OUTBUILDINGS

The old stable block and coach house are situated in the courtyard and have been converted and restored into office space and residential accommodation. Stable Cottage, currently being utilised as a holiday let, has been fully refurbished, comprising an open plan living kitchen area and two first floor, en suite bedrooms. There is a further cottage, Groom's Cottage, which has the potential to be refurbished into a second holiday let. The remainder is currently utilised as a spacious office.

There are a range of traditional brick built outbuildings in the gardens, currently used as studio and workshop space with heating, water and threephase power connected. These lend themselves well to a multitude of uses.

GARDENS AND GROUNDS
The property is entered via a private driveway which sweeps around a turning circle to a parking area with ample space.

The formal gardens are principally laid to lawn with a brick ha-ha separating the front garden and croquet lawn from the parkland which has been left to grow as an organic wild-flower meadow.

The beautiful walled, kitchen garden is truly very special, with a curved iron decorative fence along its southern boundary. It has been farmed organically and has a herb garden, vegetable beds, fruit trees, soft-fruit bushes and vines. The Victorian greenhouses are undergoing repair and provide shelter for three apricot trees and one ancient vine.

A tarmac drive, bordered with ornate iron railings leads to the old tennis court and pavilion. Stone steps lead down into the old rose garden, where there is a central Mulberry tree. Beyond here, is the enchanting sunken garden which was once the swimming pool with its old brick pool house and honeysuckle draped stone pillars. Across the drive are the workshop outbuildings, currently used as a bindery and print workshop.

The grounds also feature areas of woodland with many interesting trees, including a majestic Cedar of Lebanon, oaks, larch, Scots pines, maples, hawthorns, chestnuts, beech, cherries, walnuts and limes, all providing good habitat for buzzards, jays, owls and many other breeding birds.

Square Footage: 11140 sq ft

Acreage: 12.47 Acres

Directions

Follow the A495 into Ellesmere. At the roundabout, take the exit signed towards Wrexham and follow the A528. After approximately 500 yards, the entrance to the property is on the right hand side.

Marketed by: Savills, Telford