The Coach House

About the House cont'd

The property is set well back from the road in 4.64 acres of wraparound gardens and has riparian rights, including fishing rights, along the mill stream which borders the plot on one side. It is a tranquil, rural location and yet is only 5 minutes’ drive from amenities in Stony Stratford and, for the commuter, it is only 15 minutes’ drive from Milton Keynes which has commuter services to London Euston in 32 minutes.

The Coach House

Ground Floor

The front door opens into an entrance hall which was originally a tack room. It has marble effect painted walls, a window to the front, ceiling coving, and exposed oak flooring which continues into the drawing and dining rooms. There is a two piece cloakroom, coat hanging space, and a built-in double cupboard which houses a megaflo water tank and the electric fuse boxes. A half turn staircase with individual balustrades leads to the first floor landing where the balustrade is hinged to facilitate the movement of furniture.

Reception Rooms

The drawing room has exposed oak flooring, a beamed ceiling, and a handcrafted fireplace in Ancaster stone housing a log burning stove. There is a window to the side and floor to ceiling windows and doors overlooking the front garden and a courtyard garden to the rear. The sitting room also has a handcrafted Ancaster stone fireplace with bolection moulding and a Bell fire. There are bespoke cupboards and book shelves in the chimney recesses either side, ornate ceiling coving and picture lights. Glazed double doors from the sitting room open to the bespoke Orangery which has a tiled floor with electric underfloor heating, and walls painted to look like stone with hand painted murals. There are LED spotlights, a lantern skylight with sensor controls, and glazed double doors with wing windows to the courtyard garden.

Reception Rooms Cont'd

The dining room was originally stables and has a high vaulted ceiling with exposed A frames, exposed oak flooring, two windows to the rear, and double doors with an arched fanlight window to the front. The fireplace is cast iron but has been painted to look like marble.

Kitchen/Breakfast Room

The kitchen has feature brick walls and stone flooring. It is fitted with a mixture of German modular units and bespoke hand crafted, hand painted units which include pan drawers, wine storage, display shelving, a bin cupboard, and a magic corner carousel cupboard. Marble work surfaces incorporate a double Belfast sink under a window overlooking the courtyard garden. The central island has additional storage and a shaped marble work surface creating a breakfast bar to seat four. An additional dresser type unit with glazed display cupboards was installed by Olney Kitchens. Appliances include an integrated fridge in the island, an integrated Miele dishwasher, Neff double ovens with hide and slide doors, and a Neff induction hob with an extractor over.

Utility/Boot Room

The adjoining utility/boot room is fitted with a range of the same units as the kitchen with work surfaces incorporating a stainless steel sink and drainer. One of the full height cupboards houses two Strom electric boilers which were installed in the last year. There is space for coat and shoe storage and space and plumbing for a washing machine and a tumble dryer.

Ground Floor Bedrooms and Bathrooms

Double doors from the dining room lead to a side hall with a window to the rear, two built-in cupboards, and access to two ground floor bedrooms. Bedroom three has a high ceiling, an arched window to the rear with wooden shutters, and an arched door to the en suite shower room which has a feature arched window with shutters, a shower cubicle, a WC, a bidet and a washbasin. A low built-in cupboard in the bedroom houses the electric fuse boxes. The other ground floor bedroom is currently being used as a study. It has double doors with an arched fanlight window to the front, two built-in cupboards, and a three piece en suite shower room.

First Floor Principal Bedrooms

The stairs from the hall lead to the first floor landing which has an arch to a versatile dual aspect space over the hall. It has built-in cupboards spanning one wall and is currently used as an ironing room but would work well as a study area, a dressing room, or as a reading or hobby room.The principal bedroom measures 22 ft. by 16ft. 5 and has dual aspect double glazed windows overlooking the front garden and rear courtyard, and a range of bespoke handmade cupboards spanning one wall. Bedroom two is equally spacious and has the same dual aspect windows to the front and rear.The fully tiled bathroom adjoining the principal bedroom was refitted after lockdown and has a heritage bath with storage under, a separate shower cubicle, a WC, and a vanity washbasin with a shelved storage cupboard over. There is also a towel radiator. The bathroom for bedroom two has a similar four piece suite except that there is a heritage pedestal washbasin and a different style of towel radiator.

Tennis Court

The tennis court is surrounded by hedges. It has not been used for some years and will need resurfacing.

Outbuildings

Self Contained Cottage

The Coach House cottage is accessed via an arch in the wall off the driveway. It has its own area of cottage and courtyard garden with established herbaceous borders and feature architectural stone pillars which were designed and added by Edwin Lutyens when he was at the property in 1935 working on a commission to redesign the nursery floor in the Manor House. A gravel area leads to the entrance door which leads into a kitchen with tiled flooring, and two windows overlooking the garden and tennis court. The kitchen is fitted with a comprehensive range of full height, wall and base units including wine storage, a plate rack and display shelving. There is a double sink and drainer and integrated appliances by Neff include a dishwasher, a double oven, and an induction hob with an extractor over. There is space and plumbing in one of the full height cupboards for a washing machine and tumble dryer.

Cottage cont'd

One of the full height doors leads to a three piece shower room which was refitted a few years ago. Another door from the kitchen leads to an inner hall with a spiral staircase to the first floor and an opening to a sitting room which has space for a dining table and chairs as well as seating, and a fireplace with an electric log effect stove. Glazed double doors with wing windows open to a sheltered courtyard garden which has paved seating areas, an ornamental pond with water lillies, established hedges and borders, and views over the tennis court.There are two double bedrooms on the first floor, both of which have vaulted ceilings with LED spotlights, and built-in cupboards and storage in the eaves. Attached to the cottage is the cottage’s boiler room which has a gardener’s WC and a Megaflo tank.

Home Office/Study

External steps lead up to the home office and study which are in a first floor link between the Tithe Barn and the other barn owned by the Manor. The stairs have automatic lights and lead to a landing area with a built-in store cupboard and a door to the study which has a window overlooking the drive leading to the Coach House. It has a feature exposed stone wall, wall panelling, exposed beams, and a built-in cupboard. A door leads to a home office which has previously been used as a board room and has two windows to the front.

Tithe Barn

The barn is one of two barns which were given Grade I listed status in December 1951. The second barn is owned by the adjoining Manor House. The grade listing report describes the Tithe Barn as “one of two built for Sir Robert Bananstre in the early 17th century”, although it is believed that the larger barn owned by the Coach House has parts dating back to medieval times. It is over 84 ft. long by 21 ft. 6 wide with central double opposed doors with bar stop chamfered wood lintels, and a high vaulted arch braced collar truss roof. There are triple aspect openings and windows with three ventilation slits in the gable end wall and ventilation slits on the long side walls all with bar stop-chamfered wood lintels to inner splays. During the Civil War, Cromwell’s troops are said to have been billeted in the Tithe Barn.

Barn cont'd

The detached double garage was added by the vendors with the stonework carefully designed to blend with the older building. It has two sets of electric doors.

Gardens and Grounds

Double timber gates from the road lead to a walled area, part of which is shared with the Manor House, with space to park several cars. The drive continues past the Tithe Barn and under the offices, and leads to a further parking area just outside electric five bar gates which open to extensive gravel parking leading to the house and detached double garage.The gardens are a particular feature of the property and include landscaped formal areas at the front which has manicured lawns with mature trees interspersed including a tulip tree, a hazelnut and apple, quince, damson, pear and plum trees. The lawn is intersected by gravel paths, and there is a rose arbour as a focal point and feature statues. A landscaped courtyard garden at the rear of The Coach House has paved seating and dining areas, partly covered by a pergola with a water feature. The rest of the courtyard has shaped box hedge beds intersected by gravel paths and there is an ornamental pond and a Scott summerhouse.

Side Garden

Clipped hedges separate the front garden from the side garden which has mown paths in the grass with other areas which have been allowed to grow wild as a habitat for wildlife. The side garden fronts onto the mill stream and the property has riparian rights on both banks of the stream through the property. A wooden deck with a Julian Christian summerhouse overlooks the mill stream. The summerhouse has electricity, seating for twelve and blinds which can be pulled down for shelter.The side garden also has a natural pond which is suitable for wild swimming if desired. It has a feature fountain, a duck house, and is overlooked by a decked platform with a swing seat. Beyond the pond there is an arboretum which has an interesting mix of trees

Gardens cont'd

The total plot is approximately 4.64 acres and can also be accessed via a second set of double gates, the nursery gates, which lead to part of the plot which was at one time let as a commercial nursery. The area currently has a fenced off chicken run, and several raised potager beds growing a selection of flowers and vegetables. There is an older greenhouse and a newly constructed Griffin greenhouse with a matching cold frame by the door. This new greenhouse has an internal water feature and is used as a combination of greenhouse and garden room. There is also a potting shed and attached store.

Planning Permission

The planning permission to erect the new greenhouse also included permission to demolish the current potting shed and store and build a self contained single storey dwelling on the plot with an open plan kitchen/dining/sitting room, a separate snug, a utility room and three en suite bedrooms. The plan also includes a double garage with workshop and WC attached. The new dwelling could be separated off from The Coach House and given its own entrance via the nursery gates.

Passenham

Passenham is a rural hamlet on the borders of Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, with a parish church, St. Guthlac's which is featured in Simon Jenkin’s book England’s Thousand Best Churches which notes its “superb pulpit” and that the “decoration is of the highest quality, especially the woodwork.” The market town of Stony Stratford is only 1.4 miles or 5 minutes’ drive away for amenities including shops, restaurants, a health centre, a library, public houses and the Ancell Trust Sports Ground. Russell Street School and St. Mary and St. Giles C of E School offer primary education. The Radcliffe School and Watling Academy offer secondary education and the Royal Latin and Akeley Wood Schools are within 20 minutes’ drive.

Locality cont'd

The property is within 15 minutes’ drive of the vast array of amenities available in the city of Milton Keynes which has one of the largest covered shopping centres in Europe, and numerous sports and leisure facilities including a theatre, a 16 screen Cineworld cinema and a dry ski slope. For the commuter Milton Keynes has trains to London in as little as 32 minutes.