4 bedroom house

Bought by the current owners approximately 20 years ago, Lower Leigh Cottage is a handsome, stone and rendered farmhouse under a tiled roof, which has been imaginatively extended by the current owners. Situated down a no-through lane with a lovely outlook over surrounding countryside, the rear facade is worthy of particular mention with attractive scallops and frieze both thought to have originated from Fonthill Abbey. The recent extension has enhanced the existing living space with a nicely proportioned kitchen/dining room with an oil-fired AGA with step up to a sitting room. The accommodation is sensibly configured with a lovely drawing room with wooden parquet flooring and Inglenook fireplace, and four bedrooms at first floor level and three bathrooms. Other attributes include oak flooring in the hall and kitchen/dining room, light and bright accommodation, and a range of extensive outbuildings which, subject to planning, could be suitable for a variety of purposes including ancillary accommodation or offices amongst other uses.

The property is approached off the lane into a partly walled and gravelled courtyard adjoining which are the outbuildings providing garaging, a hay barn, and useful storage. There are some further timber outbuildings to the north. The gardens lie principally to the south and west of the property and provide a delightful setting for the property. To the rear the gardens are principally to lawn with mature trees and a variety of well stocked flower and shrub borders with penstemons, rudbeckia, canna, roses and hydrangeas amongst many others. The rear elevation is clad with wisteria with some interesting friezes and inset scallops. There is an attractive stone terrace partially flanked by green sandstone walling to the south west of the property, together with a further terrace to the west both accessed from the kitchen and sitting rooms. The garden to the side is laid to lawn with hornbeam hedging. There are soft fruit trees and a large vegetable garden, with raised vegetable and cut flower beds separated by picket fencing. Two timber garden sheds.
A popular and pretty village which is also the birthplace of Sir Christopher Wren, East Knoyle has a highly regarded village post office and store while Shaftesbury has an excellent range of facilities including a supermarket, cafes, restaurants, niche retailers, a boutique hotel, banks, a small hospital, a library, a health centre and an arts centre. In nearby Gillingham and Tisbury there are mainline railway stations (London Waterloo), while the former also has a Waitrose; there are a wider range of facilities in Sherborne, Bath and Salisbury, all of which are within easy motoring distance. The A303 lies approximately a mile and a half to the north giving access to the south west and London, via the M3. Bruton, a fashionable and popular town in the heart of the Somerset countryside, is also within easy striking distance with several well-known restaurants, pubs and bars including At the Chapel, The Roth Bar and Grill at the world-renowned Hauser & Wirth Gallery and the newly opened Newt Hotel and Gardens.



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