Exquisite windows, graceful design, period features and delightful grounds make Keyford House in Somerset a real find. Penny Churchill takes a look.
Keyford House in the hamlet of Little Keyford, on the edge of the popular Somerset market town of Frome, is truly idyllic. Surrounded by rolling countryside and the Mendip Hills AONB, it has distant views towards the Longleat, Bradley and Stourhead estates. It’s on sale, with Andrew Cronan of Strutt & Parker in Bath quoting a guide price of £2.65m for this handsome, Grade II-listed home.
According to its Historic England listing, Keyford House and conservatory were built in the 1830s in the Greek Revival style of Bath stone around an earlier 18th-century house.
The present house offers more than 7,500sq ft of elegant accommodation, including a large reception hall, three principal reception rooms, an orangery, kitchen, 10 bedrooms and three bathrooms.
Traditional features include high ceilings to all levels, wood flooring, original fireplaces and triple-sash windows.
During their 20-year tenure, the present owners, who plan to downsize to a smaller house in the county, have greatly improved the main house, which previously housed a nursery on the first floor accessed by an outside staircase.
Mr Cronan, who handled the sale at that time, recalls being deeply unpopular with the local ‘yummy mummies’ who found themselves faced with the problem of finding alternative nursery accommodation.
Approached along a gravel driveway, Keyford House stands in 2¾ acres of beautifully landscaped gardens and grounds, with plenty of parking and turning space.
Charming ornamental gardens include immaculate lawns, a parterre garden with box hedging and a central pergola, a walled vegetable garden and an array of mature specimen trees, established shrubs and hedgerows. Outbuildings include a double garage with lapsed planning consent for conversion to a one-bedroom cottage.
Frome itself is a quirky and charming place, full of unusual shops, places to eat and entertainment. It also offers a choice of schools, including two good secondary schools, the independent Springmead prep school and the Beckington Church of England School, rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted. Yet it’s also easily accessible via road and rail, with Bath about half an hour away to the north.
Keyford House is for sale at £2.6m via Strutt & Parker — see more pictures and details.
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