A fairytale cottage with exposed beams and long country views, in the heart of Jane Austen's Hampshire

(Image credit: Knight Frank)

published 26 January 2022

Set in the east Hampshire village of Upper Froyle — about four miles from Alton and six from Jane Austen’s Chawton – delightful Fern Cottage looks straight out of a fairy tale.

Originally dating from the 17th-century and listed Grade II, it is now on the market with Knight Frank at an asking price of £620,000.

The 987sq ft interiors have plenty of exposed beams throughout and, downstairs, two reception rooms off a galleried kitchen.

On the first floor, three vaulted bedrooms peep out beneath the thatch towards the lovely countryside.

The lovely gardens are mainly laid to lawn and take in magnificent rural views.

Fern Cottage is for sale at £625,000 via Knight Frank — see more pictures or enquire with the agent for further details.

Upper Froyle: What you need to know

Location: The village of Upper Froyle is three miles from Bentley, which has a direct train service to London Waterloo
Atmosphere: The parish of Upper and Lower Froyle has a church and two pubs (one in Upper and one in Lower Froyle respectively), with a shop and post office in nearby Bentley. Other shopping and entertainment opportunities are available in Alton
Things to do: The countryside around Upper Froyle is perfect for walking and riding — don't miss the Pilgrims' Way linking Winchester to Canterbury (or only a part of it). Visit Jane Austen's house in Chawton and take the children to Birdworld or to the Alice Holt Forest (which has a Go Ape). Golf is available at many local clubs, including Alton, Farnham Park and Blacknest. There's sailing at Frensham and racing within easy-ish reach at Sandown, Ascot and Newbury
Schools: Binsted Church of England Primary School is rated good by Ofsted, while Treloar College and Bentley Church of England Primary School are both rated Outstanding. The wider area also has plenty of good schools, such as Alton Convent, Frensham Heights, Lord Wandsworth, Highfield, Edgeborough, Amesbury and St Edmunds.Find more properties in the area.

Annunciata grew up in the wilds of Lancashire and now lives in Hampshire with a husband, two daughters and an awful pug called Parsley. She’s been floating round the Country Life office for more than a decade, her work winning the Property Magazine of the Year Award in 2022 (Property Press Awards). Before that, she had a two-year stint writing ‘all kinds of fiction’ for The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, worked in internal comms for Country Life’s publisher (which has had many names in recent years but was then called IPC Media), and spent another year researching for a historical biographer, whose then primary focus was Graham Greene and John Henry Newman and whose filing system was a collection of wardrobes and chests of drawers filled with torn scraps of paper. During this time, she regularly gave tours of 17th-century Milton Manor, Oxfordshire, which may or may not have been designed by Inigo Jones, and co-founded a literary, art and music festival, at which Johnny Flynn headlined. When not writing and editing for Country Life, Annunciata is also a director of TIN MAN ART, a contemporary art gallery founded in 2021 by her husband, James Elwes.

Country houses for sale

Upper Froyle: What you need to know

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