There’s something immensely reassuring about seeing a house that looks like an old house but is, in fact, a new house. I like modern homes, somewhat scandalously considering where I work. I like glass, and modernism, and clean lines, and underfloor heating. I like those kitchens that don’t really look like kitchens where everything is hidden away. I also, however, like new houses that look like old houses.
Take Godwins House, surrounded by paddocks and woodland within Waterditch, a small rural hamlet in Dorset. For sale with Fine and Country for £3 million, it is, as you might have deduced, a charming red brick family home under a thatched roof situated in some pleasant gardens and grounds. It is also brand new!
Yes, this is a new-build house, which, considering what pops into my head when I read or hear the word ‘New Build’ is very exciting. It goes to show that they don’t all have to be featureless brick boxes on the edge of towns. Yes it’s £3 million, but also, it is proof that the sympathetic new-build is possible. Rejoice.
Thankfully, for your £3 million you get not one, but two properties — the aforementioned Godwins House in all its brick-built EPC-rated-A glory, and an attached converted barn. Together, they provide six bedrooms on three acres land. If all that isn’t enough, there are also garaging and stables and planning permission for a large master bedroom and a larger utility room. There is also no chain. Nothing but the hits at this place.
The interiors have been finished to a sublime standard, continuing the theme of the entire property, mixing modern comforts with traditional styles. A particular highlight is the triple aspect kitchen/dining/family room, in which folding doors open the full length of two sides to seamlessly blend the interior and exterior.
And what an exterior it is. As mentioned, the gardens and grounds are 3 acres in total, and are mostly laid to lawn with hard and soft landscaping, surrounded by paddocks and countryside. The rear garden also slopes down to a small stream. A patio area with pergola provides the perfect space for al fresco dining, with an outdoor fire and chimney, as well as a soundsystem.
And that EPC rating of A is not to be sniffed at either. The property benefits from its own sewage treatment plant, air source heat pump, a solar-power system, battery storage and an EV car charger. All the new, in a blanket of the old.
To take a video tour, click here
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
Credit: Knight Frank
For sale for the first time in 50 years, an unlisted Sussex farmhouse surrounded by a 'thriving 117-acre nature reserve'
https://www.knightfrank.com/properties/residential/for-sale/wards-lane-wadhurst-east-sussex-tn5/CHO180010
Credit: Savills
18th century elegance and some 6,500sq ft of space with views over the citadel of Rye
The Victorian elegance of Mountsfield House stands in stark contrast to the town's history of smuggling and piracy.
22 superb homes for sale from £260k to £15 million, as seen in Country Life
From huge estates to delightful cottages, there really is something for anyone thinking of moving to the country.
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ChilstoneChilstone have been makers of fine cast stone garden ornaments and architectural stone since 1953.
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Guild AndersonGuild Anderson’s work in country houses and historic buildings centres around the design and reimagining of domestic working spaces, chiefly kitchens, sculleries, boot rooms and pantries.
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An bucolic dream in Pembrokeshire as a lakeside farmhouse comes up for saleA lake, streams, 15 acres and five bedrooms. Rogershook might have it all.
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An idyllic countryside home that's light, spacious and comes with a Grade II-listed follyHagg House is a gorgeous family home that just happens to have a miniature castle in the gardens. Annabel Dixon explains more.
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A historic villa for sale on the Via Nomentana worthy of Rome's rich historyThree floors, lots of balconies, and a private garden in one of Rome's loveliest neighbourhoods.
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Eight bedrooms of unlisted Edwardian elegance with sweeping views of SomersetAshton House sits near the market town of Chard and comes with a wealth of amenities both inside and out.
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A waterside cottage in Devon with a private quay, idyllic views and the prettiest summerhouse we've seen in yearsRight beside the picturesque Yealm Estuary, No 1 Noss Mayo is an idyllic home that feels like an escape from the world. Annabel Dixon takes a look.
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This elegant Greek villa offers would-be buyers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to live in the shadow of the AcropolisAthenian Legacy consists of two houses in walking —and almost touching — distance of one of the world’s most famous and precious landmarks.
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Six charming homes up for sale, including one dubbed 'one of the most picturesque in Dorset', as seen in Country LifeOur look at the finest houses to come up for sale through Country Life in the past week is full of delights, from a new-Georgian mansion to a perfectly-sized Hertfordshire estate.
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A Buckinghamshire mansion built for the speech therapist who set Churchill on his path to greatnessPenny Churchill takes a look at Rignalls, a classic Arts-and-Crafts home that looks like it's stepped out of the pages of an EM Forster novel.
