A country classic
FACT FILE
Address: Manor House, Church End, Frampton, Boston PE20 1AH
Guide price: Offers over £925,000
On the market with: Fairweather Estate Agents, 22 Dolphin Lane, Boston PE21 6EU
Telephone: 01205 336122
Website: www.fairweather-estateagents.co.uk
Featured in:
July 2024
Manor House is a stunning Georgian country house offering an oasis of tranquillity within an attractive rural village location.
Situated down a picturesque country lane lined with beautiful period cottages and houses in Frampton, near Boston, Manor House is a delightful Grade II listed four bedroom property which has been sympathetically upgraded and lovingly maintained by its owners.
Ben and Ellie Curtis moved here from Buckinghamshire with their assortment of pets in 2017 after searching all over the country for “our Shangri-La… and we finally found it at the Manor House!”
Dating back to 1760, this elegant family home retains many of the existing classical architectural features associated with a Georgian property, while also benefitting from a tastefully chosen décor providing timeless style.
“We have been lucky enough to enjoy the house and grounds with four generations of our family and have many indelible memories of our grandchildren playing on the large lawns or exploring in ‘the woods’ and pond. The magic of the Manor works on everyone, old or young.
“The substantial Flemish bond walls and ships’ timbers are typical of the Georgian era and we believe the Manor House was originally built for family members of the Grade I listed Frampton Hall, which adjoins the grounds of the Manor House.
“The Manor House and Frampton Hall form part of a conservation area which will guarantee unspoilt tranquillity for generations to come.
“Opposite stands the magnificent backdrop of the medieval 12th-century church of St Mary’s. It’s easy to picture horse-drawn carriages passing by along a largely unchanged and tree-lined Church End. Indeed, we have a Victorian picture with four ladies in their finery outside the front of the Manor House.”
Under their custodianship, the couple have sympathetically blended modern convenience with the existing Georgian features.
“We have reinstated six missing chimney pots and renewed the Welsh slate roof in 2023, which now has an expected lifetime in excess of 100 years.
“We also commissioned a pair of ornate gates and posts (with hidden electrics) befitting of a Manor House. A large patio now overlooks both the lawns and ‘woods’ with a superb magnolia for dappled shade and a tiered Haddenstone fountain centrepiece – a replica of the original which graces Cloister Court, Eton College, Windsor.
“Almost all lighting, inside and out, is now low energy LED and we have reinstated the original servant bells, which still work, just for fun!”
Stylish interior
The property features four large double bedrooms and three generous reception rooms.
“Much of the decoration is restored to period colours, such as Little Greene ‘Windmill Lane’ in the second lounge, currently used as a music studio. Two modern en suites provide a touch of practical luxury in the master and guest bedrooms, together with a well designed family bathroom.”
The ground floor features three separate reception rooms, together with an attractive spacious farmhouse style dining kitchen with beautiful views over the gardens.
This family-friendly room has been fitted with a bespoke handmade Murdoch Troon kitchen, with quartz work surfaces and an electric AGA with companion cooker sits within a tiled recess with mantel above providing a cosy, welcoming feel – as well as an adjacent pantry and well-equipped laundry room.
Currently used as a music room, the spacious sitting room features sliding sash windows and fireplace with French doors opening through to the brick and timber garden room with double glazed windows.
The attractive garden room has proved the perfect breakfast room from which the family enjoy uninterrupted views over the private, well-established grounds.
Ben and Ellie say they particularly enjoy spending time relaxing in here while appreciating the abundance of nature on their doorstep.
“All manner of birds and animals call in to entertain us over our morning coffee. The view of the garden is panoramic and impossibly calming, often watching the green woodpeckers work their way across the lawn or occasionally a deer hop over the fence from the copse.
“We have friends who tell us that they love staying with us to de-stress in the blissful grounds where time stands still.”
Gardens and outside space
Manor House enjoys private, secluded grounds extending to approximately 1.2 acres (subject to survey).
Within the grounds there is also a detached brick coach house which is currently used as two garages with a handy store room/games room above – a space which could also be ideal for a buyer looking to work from home.
The gardens feature a lawned area to the front of the property with established borders and a well-maintained hedge to the boundary surrounded by beautiful mature trees.
“The Manor House gardens have always been special and we’ve done a great deal to preserve and enhance their beauty. We’ve lost count of the admiring comments as we’ve lost count of the wonderful days we’ve had here.
“Our head gardener (that’s Ellie!) has lovingly designed the garden for maximum impact with minimum maintenance and has transformed some areas to provide variety for all seasons.
“Springtime brings a large drift of bluebells under the stunning pink white blossoms of our ornamental cherry tree, while the sunny wildflower meadow plays host to the diverse native wildlife.
“The ‘shady garden’ is a favourite of ours whilst ‘the woods’ are home to four mature English elms – a rare sight these days – and an old wisteria has been carefully trained over a long archway, along with roses, honeysuckle and four clematis varieties.
“Manor House has been the most beautiful home for us and our faithful dog, mischievous cat and not forgetting our three pet ducks: Fabergé, Ralph and Coco.
“We have become friends with many of our lovely neighbours and enjoyed Christmas parties, get-togethers and a variety of village hall events.
“There is so much that we will miss about living at Manor House; from the lovely bright rooms to our semi-tame resident robin that follows us around the garden. The soft calls of the tawny and barn owls (with young every year), the buzzard who hatched one healthy chick last year and the fascinating daytime-flying Hummingbird Hawkmoth.
“It feels so comfortable here, like this is how balanced life should be and how it has been here at the Manor House for centuries.
“Manor House has been the perfect country home and we hope that the new owners will enjoy their time here as much as we have.”
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