An exceptional Georgian family home
Dunston House is a home with all the hallmarks of an outstanding family residence, offering spacious accommodation to a high specification.
The property is approached by two gated driveways and although Dunston House is in the heart of this attractive Lincolnshire village, its mature grounds within a one-acre walled garden give privacy and seclusion while still benefitting from the convenience of nearby shops and the city of Lincoln.
The property dates from 1805 when it was built as a farmhouse and known as Brook Farm. The front elevation features typical Georgian symmetry and an elegant main entrance porch. Members of the Maltby family, who were farmers and agricultural merchants, lived there for many generations before it was purchased as part of the Smiths Crisps estate. Post-war, the house was split into three dwellings for agricultural workers; later into two dwellings before a private purchaser restored it to a single dwelling in the 1970s.
Dunston House is now a superb six bedroomed, Grade II, stone, detached period family home which has been owned by Mr Martin Lamb since 1982. “I have lived here for thirty-six years,” he explained, “initially with my first wife and our two children. She sadly died so this has been the home of my second wife Ruth, as well as a child from our marriage, for twenty-five years.”
“The house needed a lot of renovation work including a new roof, wiring and plumbing and we restored many of the original architectural features which were either damaged or missing. Period mouldings, cornices, fireplaces and large replacement windows are a feature throughout the house. For the first five years there was a continual series of projects to install a new kitchen and bathrooms as the renovation progressed.”
The family had installed an outdoor pool but this was later upgraded into a structural engineer-designed magnificent pool building with two changing rooms which is an integral part of the property. In the grounds, the gardens were re-landscaped to include a sunken garden and courtyard as well as a tennis court.
Dunston House offers extensive, flexible accommodation in beautifully proportioned rooms which on the ground floor comprises an entrance porch with glazed door, hallway, an office with bookcases and a hand wash basin, a sitting room and a dining room with feature fireplaces, study, inner hallway, family room, cloakroom, WC, library, rear entrance hall, kitchen/breakfast room, rear entrance porch and side entrance porch.
The kitchen features tiled flooring and is fitted with a range of wall and base units, and drawers, with tiled work surfaces. There are two porcelain sinks with mixer tap, and integral appliances including an oven, microwave, dishwasher and fridge freezer. The electric AGA ensures the room is a warm heart of the household throughout the winter months. Solid wood flooring is a feature of many of the rooms and of course the variety of reception rooms makes it ideal for entertaining. Accessed from the first floor landing there is a master bedroom with en-suite bathroom, two further bedrooms, bathroom and access to a lower level landing where there are three further bedrooms and bathroom. The house has been completed and maintained to a high specification and benefits from oil fired central heating throughout.
In the grounds the garden features a large lawn and is stocked with mature plants, shrubs and trees. The property also has a range of outbuildings including two double garages which can accommodate up to five cars and a store. There is also a wine cellar, workshop space as well as two stables and a kennel.
Dunston is a desirable village which has a public house and frequently used village hall. There are excellent schools close by including Dunston Primary School with an outstanding Ofsted Report, the Lincoln Minster private school and the Sleaford Grammar Schools. One-and-a-half miles away is the village of Metheringham which has a wider range of local amenities including a station on the rail line between Lincoln and Sleaford.
While Mr Lamb is retired, Mrs Lamb continues to work as a physiotherapist and Dunston House could be an ideal location for accommodating career and a busy lifestyle as well as a family home. Mr and Mrs Lamb will both be very sorry to leave their home of so many decades.
“This is a large house for two people,” said Mr Lamb. “We would like to relocate slightly further south to be nearer our children. Not necessarily to a much smaller house as we love entertaining and this has been a wonderful home to share with family and friends. Some of our best memories will be of family parties we have held here.
“It will hopefully be a new chapter with the opportunity for Mrs Lamb to still see her patients while we create a new home together.”
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