6 bedroom house

The property

Purchased by the current owner in 2016 in a
largely dilapidated condition, The Old Post( ... )

Office occupies a central position withint
he popular village of Greetham. The main
house has been the subject of a complete
refurbishment whilst maintaining the period
character. In addition, a two-storey Grade II
Listed barn within the grounds and adjacent
single storey outbuilding have been developed
to create interconnected 2 and 1 bed holiday
accommodation providing a good income.
Whilst having a front door onto Main Street, this
door is little used now and the working entrance
is to at the rear of the house and leads to a large
and bright hall with a spacious utility room to
the right and steps leading to the breakfast
kitchen to the left. The kitchen has a range of
farmhouse style units, a range cooker and a
quarry tiled floor. The large ornate Belfast sink
will be retained by the vendor and replaced with
another unit similar but smaller unit. Adjacent
to the kitchen is a sitting room with oak flooring
and a door leading to the garden. The entire
front of the house, which is 32 feet in length,
is dedicated to the family room with beamed
ceilings, oak flooring and a fireplace and log
burner to one end. Upstairs, the principal
bedroom is both light and spacious and has a
generous en suite shower room. There are two
further large double bedrooms and a family
bathroom.

Halliday’s Folly, which is Grade II Listed, sits
to the right hand side of the entrance gates.
It is a two-storey property and has the most
wonderful ornate and flamboyant façade.
Developed as a holiday cottage, it has proved
popular with guests due to its accessibility and
proximity to Rutland Water. Downstairs there
is a large drawing room with a fireplace, a
breakfast kitchen and, beyond, a shower room.
Upstairs, there are two large double bedrooms,
both of which have en suites.

Halliday’s Cottage is connected, via the kitchen,
to the Folly and consists of a cleverly designed
open plan ‘living’ kitchen area, a bedroom and
shower room.

Outside

The house is accessed by gates to the rear of
the property. These lead to a gravelled driveway
with plenty of parking space. The Old Post
Office has a private walled garden to the west
of the house which has an immaculate summer
house and, to its northern boundary, a brook. To
the west of the house there is a terrace garden
which has been dedicated to guest use. Lastly,
a garage sits to the left of the entrance gates.

Location

The village of Greetham is superby located
both for transport, with the A1 just 2 miles,
away and for the multitude of attractions the
local area offers. The village itself has a thriving
community with a village shop, two pubs;
The Plough and The Wheatsheaf. The latter is
renowned as a gastro pub.
The village is superbly placed for schools with
Oakham, Uppingham and Stamford all within
easy reach. Brooke Priory and Witham Hall
preparatory schools are nearby and Oundle is
easily accessible. Shopping is well catered for in
all of the above market towns.
Rutland Water is just 4 miles distant and offers
a myriad of activities including a sailing club,
cycling, fishing, walking, bird watching at the
reserve, horse riding and climbing, as well as
canoeing and windsurfing. Barnsdale Country
Club, with further leisure facilities, is close by.
There are golf courses at Manton, Luffenham
Heath, Burghley Park, Rutland County and
Greetham. Several notable local eateries are
close and two of the most renowned are
Hambleton Hall on the Hambleton Peninsula and
The Olive Branch in Clipsham.

Directions
From Stamford take the A1 north for about 7
miles until reaching the slip road for the B668
signposted to Greetham, amongst other villages.
At the T junction turn left and follow the B668
for just over a mile until reaching the village of
Greetham. After about 400m take a right into
Great Lane and the gates are immediately on
your left.

History

Halliday’s Folly has an interesting history. It was built by Thomas Charity Halliday who was born at 30 Main street in 1816 and grew up to take over his father’s stonemasonry business. He continued to live in the house after his marriage and went on to be master of his trade specialising in restoring Churches all over the country. He was very successful, having some fifty men and boys working for him mostly at the quarry in Clipsham. The Folly was created as his grand office, hence the church stone masonry adorning the front of the building to advertise his trade. Thomas’ office cupboards still form part of the upstairs room that was his office. In his time the other upstairs room was used as a grain store supporting the corn merchants business he had in Oakham. What has now become a living room for Halliday’s Folly once stabled his horse and carriage.

Opinion about the history of the stone masonry, and particularly the medieval gargoyles differs. Some say that Thomas was in the habit of ‘collecting’ bits here and there from Churches he restored.
Others say that it’s more likely that these are apprentice pieces.
Having restored the building from a virtually derelict state I have seen that the Church stonework does form an integral part of the building and may well have been created by apprentices. The Gargoyles however are definitely medieval and who knows from where they came.

Following Thomas’ death in 1884 the property next became a butchers shop and slaughterhouse serving butchers shops run by relations in and around Nottinghamshire. In the 1900’s it became the home of joiners and wheelwrights. Number 30 became the village Post Office in the late 1990’s until the postmistress retired and the house and outbuildings were purchased and it returned to being a residential dwelling.

By the time the current owner purchased the house and outbuildings in March 2016 the outbuildings had fallen into serious disrepair. Both the house and the outbuildings have been fully restored to a high specification. Work has included complete renovation of all the roofs, and necessary structural work has been completed. The two gardens contained within the plot have been landscaped and the outbuildings converted to provide two luxury holiday cottages and named after Thomas Charity Halliday as Halliday’s Cottage and Halliday’s Folly – a name, according to the internet, was given by local villagers back in 1790.

Marketed by: Strutt & Parker, Market Harborough