An ivy-clad manor house in one of Oxfordshire's 'most sought-after' postcodes

Top story

Manor Farm House, near the hamlet of Cleveley, offers everything you could ever want from a classic Cotswold home, and is in a prime location too.

Here is a sentence. Manor Farm House sits in the Oxfordshire hamlet of Cleveley, in the ‘picturesque’ Glyme Valley, within what agents say ‘could be argued as Oxfordshire’s most sought-after postcode’.

Sometimes I think it’s important to be careful with language, which may come as a surprise to anyone who has ever read anything I have ever written. But the idea of there being an argument about the sought-after-ness of a postcode tickles me quite considerably.

Imagine the scene — a wet Friday night down the local pub in a nondescript Oxfordshire village or town and, on the table next to you, a group of people just shouting until they are blue in the face about which postcode is better. The landlord comes over to you and apologises: ‘They get like this after a few drinks. Jim won’t hear a bad word about OX7, but Alan is adamant that OX6 is the superior code’. Glasses fly, and it’s taken outside.

The ‘family room’ part of the kitchen/breakfast/family room.

I shall leave behind the hypothetical postcode punch-up and simply say this. Manor House Farm — for sale with Strutt & Parker for £2.25 million — is a very pleasant five-bedroom home in some very pleasant countryside. Set over three floors, the property is a very traditional Grade II-listed former farmhouse that boasts an array of period details, such as open fireplaces, exposed timbers, flagstone floors, sash windows, shutters, wooden panelling and a stone entrance.

The breakfast/kitchen part of the same room.

The current owners have also done some renovations, fitting in modern conveniences such as a ‘well-appointed kitchen’, oak floors, bespoke shelves and bathroom suites. The heart of the home is the spacious kitchen/breakfast/family room, while another interesting feature is the attached barn/drawing room, which offers plenty of space for gatherings, or can be used as a games room or cinema room.

The attached double-height barn, which can be used for many things (parties).

In total, the property stands in about an acre of gardens, with a front lawned area bordered by beech hedgers, wisteria and a fig tree. The rear is also mostly laid to lawn, but also includes raised vegetable beds, and an orchard, as well as a shingle entertaining area. The jury is still out (to me, at least) if OX7 is the most desirable Oxfordshire post-code. However, Manor Farm House is definitely pulling its weight.