Country houses for sale

A 450-year-old thatched cottage that’s had an award-winning restoration, complete with orchard, paddock and kennels

Dating back to around 1580, the poetically-named Bumble Cottage has eye-catching period features and charming grounds to keep the new owner busy.

After a peaceful idyll? Look no further than Bumble Cottage, a ‘most enchanting’ home in the farming village of Ellenhall, Staffordshire.

The thatched, timber-framed property was part of Lord Lichfield’s Ranton estate until the 1930s, when it fell into disrepair.

Luckily, the three-bedroom cottage was given a new lease of life when it was extended and restored in the 1960s. And it won a Council for the Protection of Merit award, says selling agent Knight Frank. Bumble Cottage is now on the market for £795,000.

Dating back to around 1580, Bumble Cottage ‘is formed in the rare reverse cruck construction, which includes vertical oak beams with wooden dowels,’ says Knight Frank.

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No surprise, then, that this home is packed with period features. Ornate wood panelling here, inglenook fireplace there. Yes, some of the décor may be a little on the dated side but it’s certainly not short on character.

The heart of the cottage is the drawing room, where a pair of bay windows allow light to flood in. Bumble Cottage has all the key rooms you’d expect of a country home: kitchen, dining room, boot room, utility room, and study. There is also  a conservatory that ‘could double as a craft room or studio’, suggest the agents.

All three bedrooms are upstairs, with the main bedroom boasting a striking vaulted ceiling with exposed timbers. Sweet dreams…

The property is ideal for green-fingered buyers. The gardens are charming, with more than an acre of manicured lawns, raised beds, herbaceous shrubs, various seating areas and an ornamental pond.

A pathway leads from the driveway to a greenhouse beside a sheltered vegetable patch with brick raised beds and a pond; from there, a gate leads to an orchard, which opens onto a fenced paddock.

There’s numerous outbuildings too, including a workshop, stables and kennels, offering plenty of flexibility.

Bumble Cottage is on the market for £795,000 via Knight Frank — see more details and pictures.