Bryanston, Blandford Forum, DT11

AN IMPRESSIVE AND CAREFULLY REFURBISHED GEORGIAN VILLAGE HOUSE IN THE VICINITY OF ONE OF THE SOUTH OF ENGLAND'S TOP INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS A splendid late Georgian house, Home Farm House was built as a home and office for the agent on Viscount Portman's extensive estates at Bryanston, now the location for one of the country's top public schools. The house has remained largely unaltered in design and layout since it was built in the late 1780s. The estate past into the hands of The Crown in lieu of death duties shortly after the second world war, and having been in more or less the same ownership for over 200 years Home Farm House was then sold by The Crown to our clients in 2012. Since then, the original design and layout remain preserved, but the house has been subject to a thoughtful and well executed refurbishment. Like many estate houses built for a dual role, Home Farm House has two good fronts, the private entrance on the north side has all the elegance and symmetry usually associated with the Georgian era, tall rendered elevations, large sash windows and a shallow slate roof with wide eaves. On the south side, the working entrance is no less attractive, with an enclosed courtyard and a path up to a substantial porch and a separate door into the agent's office and adjoining cottage. Inside, the house retains the same grace and elegance, and typically for the period the accommodation is well organised and so remains largely unaltered after 200 years. At the front of the house there are four reception rooms including a fine entrance hall with its own fireplace and elegant staircase, a comfortable drawing room, a study and a generous dining room off which there is a subtly modernised kitchen/breakfast room with a separate scullery, pantry and an excellent utility/boot room. Behind the kitchen, the old agent's office remains unmodernised and provides access through to the adjoining self-contained cottage, and the extensive cellars are currently utilised as a gym and playrooms plus wine and other storage areas. Upstairs the accommodation is equally impressive with seven double bedrooms and three bath/shower rooms. There is plenty of scope to create more ensuite rooms, and there are two more bedrooms and shower room on the top floor. The self-contained cottage has two reception rooms and two more bedrooms, and in all, the accommodation extends to over 8,000 sq ft. Home Farm House is an impressive house, befitting its original status as home to one of the most prominent people on the estate. Over the last 10 years it has been comprehensively refurbished, the services have all been upgraded or replaced and wherever possible original fittings have been retained and restored. There are a few projects left to complete and it will then be ready to be a fabulous home for the new owners, in a lovely part of Dorset only a stone's throw from one of the country's top public schools. Laid out in a simple easy to maintain style, Home Farm House gardens are divided into four areas and extend to about 1 ½ acres in all. In front of the house a large lawn and paved terrace are surrounded by shrubs, specimen trees and high hedges for privacy. On the other side of the house the entrance courtyard is surrounded by tall brick walls with steps up to the drive and another well-kept lawn. A striking feature of the courtyard are the mature Jasmine, Wisteria and rambling Rosa banksiae. Behind the kitchen and the side entrance to the cottage is another small courtyard garden with a range of useful outbuildings that could be allocated to the cottage. Across the road there is a gently sloping grass paddock and orchard of about ¾ of an acre, and at the top of the steps out of the entrance courtyard there is a tarmac drive in front of an excellent range of outbuildings including a garage, carports and cleverly converted studio/office. Within the grounds of the estate and with its own pub (The Old Powerhouse), the small village of Bryanston is a very convenient location just across the river from the historic market town of Blandford Forum, famed for its architecture and one of the finest Georgian churches outside London. From this ideal location it is a lovely walk into town where there are amenities for everyone's day-to-day needs including an M&S food hall, Tesco and Lidl superstores. Much of the surrounding countryside is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and there are lots of good opportunities for sport and recreation, with wonderful water sports, sailing and walking around Poole Harbour and along Dorset''s renowned Jurassic Coastline, which is not much more than ½ an hour away. Communication links around Blandford are excellent and the commute to Dorchester, Poole, Bournemouth and Ferndown is straightforward. Easy access onto the A31 provides a quick link to the M27 for Southampton and Portsmouth, and the M3 up to London. The A303/M3 via Salisbury provides another option for driving to London, and Salisbury and Poole stations have regular trains to London Waterloo (around 2 hours). The area is also well served with good schools at all levels. As well as a nearby primary and state secondary school, the wide choice of independent schools includes Bryanston and Knighton House on the doorstep, Milton Abbey, Canford and Clayesmore, and prep schools at Sandroyd, Castle Court and Dumpton. Mains water, electricity and gas are available. Bryanston Estate private drainage system (Estate rates apply). Gas fired central heating with separate systems for the house and cottage.