Turnworth, Blandford Forum, DT11

AN APPEALING VICTORIAN MODEL FARMHOUSE WITH EXTENSIVE OUTBUILDINGS AND A MAGNIFICENT WALLED GARDEN (ABOUT 2 ACRES). Built in the secluded grounds of Turnworth House (demolished 1947) this pretty Victorian model farmhouse also has the benefit of extensive outbuildings and the original walled garden. Over time the current owners have completed a sympathetic refurbishment of the house improving and upgrading the services and incorporating some of the outbuildings to increase the size and flexibility of the accommodation. It now extends to over 3,000 sq/ft and comprises a large entrance hall, a sitting room, dining room and a farmhouse kitchen breakfast room with separate utility/boot rooms and a cloakroom. The additional ground floor accommodation includes two more reception rooms which are currently a study (bedroom 4) and music room (bedroom 5), and a fabulous 20 ft square studio or function room with a second kitchen and a shower room. Upstairs in the main house there are 3 double bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The house is simply but neatly presented and has extensive double glazing (it is not listed), and this flexible layout provides the opportunity for a variety of uses. The current owner holds music and art workshops in the studio, but this area could just as easily be adapted to form a self-contained annexe or incorporated into the main house. Home Farm really does represent a great opportunity to own a home with creative space or space for entertaining, or to create a home for extended family living, all in a lovely rural setting. The magnificent south facing walled garden is what first attracted our clients to Home Farm, and is what makes it something of a gardener's paradise. South facing and extending to about 2 acres in all, it has all the features that make up a traditional Victorian garden. A large central lawn is surrounded by beautifully stocked traditional borders and dotted around are some new features including a knot type garden laid out as a miniature maze, a revolving summerhouse, a wildlife pond and some new seating areas where you can rest and enjoy the view across the garden and into the valley and the woodlands beyond. Next to the house with access from the hall and sitting room there is a sunny terrace, and there is a productive kitchen garden area in front of the original Victorian greenhouse, which still has productive apricot, nectarine, orange and lemon trees. Behind the garden wall are the original gardener's bothy and outbuildings, and a small area of woodland with a beautiful display of snowdrops and spring bulbs. To the east of the main courtyard a second entrance opens into a practical yard with an up-to-date sewerage treatment plant, more useful outbuildings and plenty of space to build more garaging subject to planning permission. Turnworth is a pretty village conveniently located in one of the picturesque valleys to the west of Blandford Forum, a stone's throw from Bulbarrow, Okeford Hill and Milton Abbey. Village life is good and although there are no amenities in Turnworth, a few minutes over the hill in Okeford Fitzpaine there is a village shop, post office and primary school and in the other direction there is a pub and the award winning Steeptonbill Farm Shop in Milton Abbas and another pub and a nursery school in Winterborne Stickland. Nearby Sturminster Newton has a Co-op grocery store and Harts of Stur (a renowned kitchen, hardware and garden store). The historic Georgian town of Blandford Forum is only a 10 minute drive away with its busy market square, M&S Food Hall (Ocado), Tesco, Lidl and Homebase superstores and, 20 minutes in the other direction Gillingham is perfectly located on the West Country mainline; the station has regular fast trains to London, Waterloo (about 2 hrs), and there is a Waitrose as well. Set in the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) the village is surrounded by lovely countryside for walking, cycling and riding with professional livery nearby. In not much more than half an hour you can be on the beach at Studland or Lulworth or walking along the world-famous Jurassic Coast. Easy access onto the A31 makes commuting to Dorchester or Poole and Bournemouth very straightforward, and a quick link on to the M27/M3 or the A303/M3 means London is only about 2 hours away buy car. This part of Dorset has also become popular because of a number of independent schools; Bryanston, Milton Abbey and Knighton House (prep) are on the doorstep. Canford, Clayesmore, Sherborne along with both Hanford and Port Regis (prep) are nearby. Mains electricity and a private water supply are available at the property. Private drainage (treatment plant). Oil fired central heating and hot water. Good Broadband (Wessex Internet).