Can our Chelmsford team help you?

Get in touch

Got a question for NAME?

Get in touch

Graunt Courts, Nr Felsted, Rayne, CM77

Offers in excess of £1,400,000

Sold

5 Beds

REF: CHD210050

PROPERTY FEATURES

  • 3,482 sq ft of Living space (including garage)
  • Five double bedrooms (four ground floor)
  • 3 ensuite shower/bathrooms
  • Family shower room
  • Sitting room
  • Mezzanine study
  • Ground floor Bedroom 3 / playroom
  • Vaulted Kitchen and family room (21’2 x 30’9)
  • Idyllic, gated, private setting at the end of a private lane
  • Surrouded by far reaching countryside and woodland

THE PROPERTY

**DRONE FOOTAGE** A stunning and sympathetic grand design of a former cow barn and adjoining helicopter hangar, which now offers nearly 3,500 sq ft of modern living space over two floors. The accommodation is predominantly ground floor and incorporates five double bedrooms (3 ensuite) with two reception rooms, including a substantial kitchen / family room (21'2 x 30'9 ). Formal grounds (0.75 acres stls), integral garage and extensive parking. A truly unique setting, Syon Lodge is set within the curtilage of Graunt Courts, a fine Elizabethan Grade II listed manor house, located at the end of a long private lane, surrounded by open countryside. Felsted village and school is nearby (3 miles). DESCRIPTION A stunning and sympathetic grand design of a former cow barn and adjoining helicopter hangar which now achieves nearly 3,500 sq ft of modern living space over two floors. The accommodation is predominantly ground floor with a well-considered flow due to a sensible configuration. The accommodation to the NE wing of the barn benefits from the original timber frame which features beautifully within the impressive vaulted sitting room, with solid oak flooring and double doors opening to the rear terrace. It is located within the heart of the barn offering access to the SW wing and inner hallway to bedrooms four and five, which share a family shower room and indeed bedroom two with a dual aspect, its own ensuite and double doors to the side. The master suite is also located within this wing, with a ground floor bathroom and private stairwell to the vaulted master bedroom above. Double doors open to a walk in wardrobe, with a secret doorway to the adjoining mezzanine study. The study can also be accessed via a turning solid oak and glass staircase from the sitting room below. A timber framed porch with external lighting opens to the entrance hall which gives access to both sections of the barn and also encompasses the ground floor cloakroom. This SW wing is contemporary in design offering a deliberate contrast to the NE wing. Bedroom three is a good size double looking onto the front, also providing an ensuite shower room. This could also be utilised as a playroom or gym if required. The substantial fully fitted kitchen and family room is vaulted with 4 skylight windows and two sets of double doors opening to the terrace and the historic helicopter pad. A generous island provides ambient lighting and a wine fridge. This wonderful family living space is served by a pantry and adjoining utility room with side access to additional parking. It also opens to the integral garage with boarded loft space above and an electric roller shutter door. Externally the barn sits on a plot of circa 0.75 acres (stls) which is predominantly laid to lawn with laurel and mixed hedging to its boundaries, with secure post and rail and further willow fencing. There is an extensive paved terrace and the remains of the helicopter pad and rails which enabled the helicopter to return to its hangar which has now become an important historic feature to the landscaping. The formal grounds are extremely private with far reaching countryside and woodland protecting this wonderful barn and plot, within the curtilage of Graunt Courts. This truly is a unique opportunity to acquire a remarkable, important barn within an historic and little known setting, just 3 miles from Felsted village and School. Services Metered water, oil, private drainage HISTORY OF SYON LODGE The name Graunt Courts appears to have come from one of two villages in Normandy at the time of the Norman conquest in 1066. Research shows that there has been more than 50 spellings of Graunt Courts over the centuries, ranging from Grantcurt to Grancottes. Colloquially, the name became ''Gronkers'. Records typically show the Manor of Graunt Courts and Felsted as one and the earliest references to it as a separate Manor is in the printed Calendar of Close Rolls (Edward III); In July 1373, William Walsham gave the Manor called Grant Cortes and all his lands, rents and services etc., in the towns of Felstede, Great Salyngg, Great Reyne and Little Reyne to Roger Keterich and his wife Agnes, their heirs and assigns, for the term of their lives or 14 years. Based in Isleworth (certainly in the current Parish of Twickenham), the first stone of Syon Abbey was laid by King Henry V himself on 22nd February 1415, in the presence of Richard Clifford, Bishop of London. Nine days later, on 3 March 1415, the King's founding Charter was signed at Westminster. This scheme was originally part of Henry IV's vow to build three monasteries as penance for his involvement in the murder of Richard II and that of Richard Le Scrope, Archbishop of York in 1400. He died before fulfilling this vow, but his son Henry V incorporated this project within a multi campus building scheme known as "The Kings Great Works". In 1424, King Henry VI confirmed and ratified the grant in the will of his father Henry V of various Manors, lands and rents to the "Abbess and Convent of the Holy Saviour and of Saints Mary the Virgin and Bridget of Syon of the Augustinian order". This parcel of assets included the Manor of Grantcortes. Syon Abbey was the wealthiest religious house in England at the time of the dissolution and in 1538 the Manor of "Felsted alia Felstedbury and Graunt Courts", together with other lands in Essex came into the possession of (the perhaps infamous) Richard Rich, having been transferred to him by the last Abbess of Syon Convent, under license from Henry VIII. At that time, the already combined Manor consisted of about 2340 acres. Lord Rich was Chancellor of the Court of Augmentations, the body responsible for seeing that Henry VIII's income was suitably augmented by the sale of monastic lands as a consequence of the dissolution. A descendant of Rich married Frances, daughter of Oliver Cromwell. Oliver's wife had the maiden name Elizabeth Bourchier. Her father, Sir James Bourchier leased or owned Graunt Courts as a country seat and it is believed that two of Oliver and Elizabeth's sons used to walk from Graunt Courts across the fields to Felsted School. One of the sons is buried in the Church of the Holy Cross, Felsted. Felsted School was founded by Richard Rich in 1564. It is entirely appropriate to name this newly created residential property Syon Lodge, which has been built within the curtilage of Graunt Courts. This is a suitable recognition of the historic context of the site. Syon Lodge has been created from a former cow barn and also incorporates a former helicopter hangar. Evidence remains of the helicopter pad and the rails used to return the helicopter to its hangar. Sadly, the former owner of Graunt Courts, Commander Macdonald-Hall died in August 1990 as a consequence of a tragic helicopter crash near Felsted.