Situation and Schooling
Oakley has several local amenities; a village hall with playing fields, a church, a post office/store, and The Bedford Arms pub and restaurant. Oakley Lower and Lincroft Academy feed into Sharnbrook Academy and Bedford, 4 miles away also has The Harpur Trust private schools. There is also a frequent bus service nearby to Bedford town centre.
About the House cont'd
The approximately 13 acres plot includes extensive gated parking areas, a formal garden, a tennis court, a 60 x 40 m olympic sized manege with paddocks running down to the river frontage on the Great Ouse. The property is in a peaceful rural location but is within walking distance of local amenities in the village and is only 10 minutes’ drive from a wider range of amenities in Bedford.
Ground Floor
A solid timber door opens to a porch with a flagstone floor and a multi paned glazed door to an entrance hall which has exposed oak flooring that continues into the study and the open plan dining area. The hall has a shallow rise full turn staircase to the first floor with a feature arched window on the half landing giving views down Westfield Road.
The hall gives access to the study, the drawing room, and the open plan kitchen/breakfast/dining room which has access to the garden room leading to the remaining ground floor accommodation.
The split level inner hall has a cloakroom with a butler sink and a WC, and access to a potential self contained guest suite with a double bedroom with exposed beams and a skylight window, a four piece shower room, and a sitting/dining room with a kitchenette. Beyond the guest suite, a rear hall gives access to two home offices and an open plan family room and art studio.
Reception Rooms
The drawing room has triple aspect windows and a feature mullioned fireplace with an open grate. The garden room provides a versatile additional seating area and is accessed via glazed doors from the kitchen area. It has floor to ceiling iron posts for the exposed timbers, and glazed double doors with wing windows to the formal gardens.
The sitting/dining room, in the guest suite, has a log burning stove set on a raised hearth, with two sets of glazed doors to the entertaining area in the garden. The kitchenette has a range of storage units, a sink and a ceramic hob, and space for other appliances if required.
Reception Rooms cont'd
Beyond the guest suite there are two interlinked offices, and a particular feature of the property, an open plan versatile family room/art studio. It has a vaulted ceiling and steps up and upright supports separate the areas. There is a range of custom built display shelving spanning one wall. Two sets of glazed double doors open to the formal garden and additional light is provided by two windows overlooking the garden and three Velux skylight windows.
Study and Home Offices
The study is accessed via the entrance hall and has a built-in storage cupboard and an oak work station positioned under a window with views down Westfield Road.
The two home offices are interlinked and are accessed via double doors from the rear hall. The first office has a range of built-in cupboards and shelving spanning one wall, and an opening to the second office which has a borrowed light window to the hall.
Kitchen/Breakfast/Dining Room
A major feature of the property is the open plan kitchen/breakfast/dining room which measures over 36 ft. by 13 ft. and has two windows overlooking the formal gardens. The dining area has exposed wood flooring and space for a table to seat at least ten.
The kitchen has a slate tiled floor and is fitted in a custom built range of pine units, including glazed display cabinets and wine racks, with a combination of hardwood and complementary worksurfaces incorporating a ceramic one and a half bowl sink and drainer. A beamed recess houses a four oven gas Aga which has a gas hob and well as the two hotplates. There is space and plumbing for a dishwasher.
Utility Room and Boiler Room
The boiler room is accessed from the garden room and houses the gas fired boiler and the pressurised hot water cylinder. An opening from the boiler room leads to the utility room which has shelved storage, wall units, and work surfaces incorporating a sink. There is space and plumbing beneath the work surfaces for several appliances.
First Floor
A galleried landing has the same views down Westfield Road as the entrance hall and stairs. The landing has a shelved linen cupboard, access to the roof space, and access to the five bedrooms and two family bathrooms.
Principal Bedroom Suite
The principal bedroom is accessed via a dressing room which has a comprehensive range of built-in wardrobes. An opening leads to the bedroom which has a further range of built-in wardrobes spanning one wall and three windows with views over the formal garden. The en suite bathroom has dual aspect windows and includes a bath with a shower attachment and a separate shower cubicle.
Other Bedrooms and Bathrooms
The other four bedrooms all have windows with views over the formal gardens, and all of them have built-in or fitted wardrobes. The guest bedroom is adjacent to one of the bathrooms which has a four piece suite including a bath with a shower over. The other three bedrooms share a family bathroom which has a screened shower bath, a washbasin, a WC, and a window to the front overlooking the drive.
Gardens and Grounds
The property is bordered by a stone wall at the front with a wooden gate to an extensive gravel parking area by the house and continuing to the outbuilding which has the stables and garaging.
A further wooden gate leads to the formal garden at the rear which has several paved and decked areas with space for tables and chairs for al fresco dining and entertaining. These overlook the rest of the garden which is laid to lawn with established shrub and flower beds and borders, and is enclosed by low stone walls with numerous mature trees providing screening. There is a brick well in one corner which has a metal grille for safety.
Gaps in the wall lead to a further grassed area behind the outbuilding which has shaped shrubs, mature trees and spring bulbs.
Grounds cont'd
The rest of the plot is mainly paddock land which runs down to the River Great Ouse at the bottom where there is a landing stage. Post and rail fencing divides the land into several separate fields one of which houses a summer house and a hard surface tennis court which is surrounded by chain link fencing. There is also an arena/manège.
