An elegant family home in East Anglia's commuter sweet spot
Scotland Place near Stoke-by-Nayland is the commuter's dream: five bedrooms and an acre of beautiful gardens, and only an hour from London.


A few miles south-west of Hadleigh, close to the Suffolk/Essex border, the Ipswich office of Jackson-Stops is handling the sale, at a guide price of £2.25m, of Grade II-listed Scotland Place, near Stoke-by-Nayland.
Colchester is eight miles away, which makes it, say agents, ‘much sought after by buyers who find Chelmsford too pricey, whereas for London workers who need to commute more than two or three days a week, Ipswich can be seen to be too far out. Being bang in the middle, Colchester and its environs offer the best of both worlds’.
Described in its listing as ‘a timber-framed and plastered house of 16th/17th-century origin’, Scotland Place was ‘considerably altered in the 18th century’ when a brick cross wing was added to the rear, followed by a later addition to the west.
The house was further renovated in the 20th century. It stands in 1¼ acres of mature gardens and grounds bordered to the west by the River Box, with views towards the neighbouring lake and water meadows.
The everyday entrance to the house is a heavy back door, which leads into a large kitchen/breakfast room, fully fitted with modern appliances, an oil-fired Aga and a central island with granite work surfaces. Off the kitchen are located the dining room with its open fireplace and the double-height drawing room, with a brick fireplace and decorative panelling.
The ground-floor line-up is completed by a study with built-in bookshelves, a staircase and inner halls, a sitting room with a wood-burning stove and a utility room, with a door to the terrace and the playroom beyond.
Upstairs are principal- and guest-bedroom suites, three further bedrooms and a family bathroom, with an open-tread staircase leading to extensive attic space, which could be converted to further accommodation, subject to planning.
Sign up for the Country Life Newsletter
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
Credit: Strutt and Parker
A seven-bedroom home near Wimbledon that will make all your modernist fantasies come true
Designed by Maxwell Fry, Miramonte is a delightful 1930s building situated in one of London's most enviable locations. It also
Credit: Hamptons
A 400-year-old house that’s as romantic a country cottage as you could hope to find
How many kinds of sweet flowers grow in an English country garden? Well, head to these magical gardens in Kent
Credit: Inigo
A 300-year-old Jacobean mansion that comes with woodland, orchard and its own mini-village
Frome is where the heart is, so they say. It's easy to see why you might fall in love with
Credit: Strutt and Parker
Best country houses for sale this week
An irresistible West Country cottage and a magnificent Cumbrian country house make our pick of the finest country houses for
-
A well-connected rural playground with 23 acres on the edge of the South Downs National Park
Old House Farm is an impressive family home with a wealth of amenities that would inspire any rural passion.
By Arabella Youens Published
-
The UK gets its first ‘European stork village’ — and it's in West Sussex
Although the mortality rate among white storks can be up to 90%, the future looks rosy for breeding pairs in southern England.
By Rosie Paterson Published
-
A well-connected rural playground with 23 acres on the edge of the South Downs National Park
Old House Farm is an impressive family home with a wealth of amenities that would inspire any rural passion.
By Arabella Youens Published
-
18 magnificent homes for sale from £550k to £20 million, as seen in Country Life
From a charming thatched cottage to a 300-acre estate with its own vineyard, here's our pick of places to come to the market via Country Life of late.
By Toby Keel Published
-
If heaven is on earth, it might be in this home with a converted chapel that is now a swimming pool
5 Wood Barton Town House is part of an exclusive 80-acre development in Devon that also comes with fishing rights on the River Avon and four bedrooms.
By James Fisher Published
-
The sounds of spring and stained glass in an Arts-and-Crafts masterpiece in Dorset
With 35 acres, more than 10 bedrooms, a swimming pool and tennis court, Winterfield has it all.
By James Fisher Published
-
An eight-bedroom wonder in East Sussex where the outdoors are an adventure
The interiors of Old Middleton are pretty good too.
By Arabella Youens Published
-
A lakeside farmhouse on the market in the beautiful heart of Pembrokeshire
A lake, streams, 15 acres and five bedrooms. Rogershook might have it all.
By James Fisher Published
-
An idyllic countryside home that's light, spacious and comes with a Grade II-listed folly
Hagg House is a gorgeous family home that just happens to have a miniature castle in the gardens. Annabel Dixon explains more.
By Annabel Dixon Published
-
A historic villa for sale on the Via Nomentana worthy of Rome's rich history
Three floors, lots of balconies, and a private garden in one of Rome's loveliest neighbourhoods.
By James Fisher Published