A wonderful Victorian country house set in 3.37 acres of grounds amid beautiful, unspoilt Devon countryside offering fantastic views
Positioned on a hillside, Ashley Manor has views out over the Taw river valley below and a lovely, rural setting amidst a swathe of unspoilt Devon countryside. The house has over 6,800 sq ft of living space and is positioned so that its principal reception rooms and bedrooms face either east or south to catch the best of the daylight from early morning until late afternoon.It is Grade II listed and a lovely example of a country house built in the very early years of the Victorian era, with large, well proportioned rooms with tall ceilings and wide, tall sash windows that allow natural light to flood the interior. It has retained many of its original architectural fittings such as extensive joinery including wainscot panelling and the main staircase to the first floor has a wreathed handrail with decorative cast iron balusters.The house has been sympathetically and recently renovated to a high standard including the creation of a charming, period-style main kitchen fitted with bespoke painted timber units, Belfast sink, two oven AGA inset in the original range fireplace and a good-sized, adjacent pantry.The ground floor has five reception rooms, three of which radiate off the centrally positioned reception hall. Of these, the drawing room is particularly noteworthy as it has a full height, wide bow window that provides far reaching views across the garden and out over the surrounding, lush countryside. The house also boasts a newly created breakfast room adjacent to the main kitchen and a fantastic games room. Beneath the ground floor is a suite of five basement rooms, the largest of which now serves as a cinema room.An elegant staircase leads to a large landing area from where the seven bedrooms are accessed, all of superb proportions and have their own en suite bath/shower rooms. The principal bedroom mirrors part of the drawing room below it and has a similar tall, wide bow window with a sweeping view across the Taw Valley.Ashley Manor is approached via an approach road and then a gravelled driveway to a parking area beside the house which has ample space for several cars. The gravel extends around the house providing a broad, fringing promenade, part of which behind the house serves as a perfect outdoor dining area that catches the dying rays of the sun for evening dinner parties in the summer.As the house has been used as a holiday home for some years the garden and grounds are designed to be easily maintained and the garden consists of a wide lawn flanked by mature trees and shrubs with privacy provided by mature hedging and a belt of mature broadleaf woodland that screens a further parking area and a range of outbuildings comprising a garage and stabling with potential. Also within the grounds is a secluded hot tub. Beyond the woodland is a paddock enclosed by post and rail fencing. In all the garden and grounds extend to about 3.37 acres (1.36 hectares).
Ashley Manor is situated off a little-used country lane in a beautiful, elevated setting set amidst hilly, open countryside. The house is just over a mile from the small village of Atherington, which has a parish church and the neighbouring village of High Bickington has a primary school, two pubs, GP's surgery, post office/community shop and the nearby Libbaton Golf Club.The property is roughly equidistant between the market town of SouthMolton and the larger river-port town of Barnstaple. Both have a variety of shops and businesses covering most day to day needs including an excellent butcher in South Molton. Nearby Umberleigh has a railway station on the Tarka Line between Barnstaple and Exeter, with onward, regular connections to Paddington from the latter.There are also several well respected schools nearby including West Buckland near South Molton and Shebbear and Kingsley, near Bideford. Just outside T