Good houses in sought-after Cotswold villages are always in vogue, and they don't get much better than this: the pristine, Grade II-listed Cleeve House at Ampney St Peter in Gloucestershire, which has just been launched onto the market at a guide price of £1.85 million by Ben Bentley of The Country House Department.
This pretty, small village of Cotswold-stone cottages and houses is 3½ miles from Cirencester, 19 miles from Cheltenham and just under nine miles from Kemble station.
According to its Historic England listing, Cleeve House dates from the mid 17th century. It originally comprised two cottages and an adjoining small stable /barn and was previously listed as Sundial Cottage, a nod to the sundial by one of the cottages inscribed with the initials ‘B. T. E.’.
Beautifully decorated and impeccably maintained by the present owners, Cleeve House is perfect for buyers trading down from a bigger house, havving five versatile, light-filled reception rooms, four bedrooms and three bath /shower rooms with plenty of space for traditional furniture and even a grandfather clock.
Also sure to appeal, says Mr Bentley, is the enchanting walled garden, with its well-stocked flowerbeds a mass of colour in spring and summer and a raised terrace, that is the perfect space for outdoor dining or entertaining.
'Some 80% of our purchasers are cash buyers, so, with fewer houses on the market and a General Election down the road, we took all the photographs we needed last August and decided to go for an early launch in 2024,’ Mr Bentley explains.
Interestingly, the vendors, having bought Cleeve House in 2015 and carried out a considerable amount of work on both house and garden, now plan to downsize to a smaller townhouse in the area.
Credit: Strutt and Parker
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