8 bedroom detached house for sale

Updated and extended in the late 1830's and early 1840's by Robert Tassell, a notable Freeman of Maidstone, Blacklands House is a classic stucco fronted house built in the late Georgian style (with Victorian additions) and located in a private enclave in East Malling, ideally situated for local amenities, schools and transport links. Whilst in good condition the house provides a wonderful canvas for someone to create their own updated home in a wonderful period property.

The house, originally the centrepiece of a larger estate and built on the site of an earlier property, now sits on a plot of approximately 0.4 of an acre and is surrounded by mature trees, a walled garden and an original mill stream on the southern border of the property. Entered through a pair of iron gates the front of the house provides ample exterior parking, a turning area with the rest a mixture of lawn, mature shrubs and trees.

Covering over 5500ft2 in size the house is centred around the Georgian mainstay of the property, with wonderfully high ceilings and excellent volumes. Floor to ceiling windows in both the drawing room (with feature open stone fireplace) and dining room provide wonderful light and when added to the later Victorian addition (with sash windows at the front of the house and additional doorway out onto the driveway) on the northern end of the house give a trio of wonderful reception rooms (notice the changing cornices in the dining room and the sitting room!) at the front of the house. The entrance hallway is wide and wonderfully lit by a ceiling lantern at the top of the stairwell and leads to the formal drawing room, the dining room and the rear (westerly) wing.

Alongside the sitting room, and lining round to the entrance hallway, sits the kitchen (overlooking the courtyard garden) with storage and serving hatch into the dining room. A guest WC and side entrance link to the garage (a large double space with excellent potential) and storage areas of the house. Returning to the entrance hallway a set of stairs leads down to a large cellar whilst a doorway leads through to the westerly wing; potentially a self-contained annex with sitting room/bedroom/bathroom and kitchen alongside two potential separate entrances (either through the living room or the craft room/study).

Upstairs the house provides wonderfully flexible space with a potential of up to 8 bedrooms. The master sits overlooking the drive alongside its bathroom (with an entrance to the main hallway) whilst a charming dual aspected guest room with en suite sits on the south east corner of the house. A wonderfully large bedroom then is found at the northern end of the house alongside a small bathroom, separate WC and additional bedroom/dressing room. The western wing then holds four additional bedrooms, a shower room and separate WC.

At the northern end of the house sit a number of well-sized storage rooms providing excellent additional space and a northern border to the courtyard garden (with access from both the kitchen end of the house as well as the study/craft room) which faces west and holds numerous plantings and a central raised pond with water feature. A shaded small area of lawn then sits between the house and the stream on the southern side of the property.

Blacklands House is ideally located for local amenities, schools and transport links with East Malling train station approximately 0.7 miles away. West Malling train station is then 1.2 miles away whilst the larger towns of Maidstone and Sevenoaks are 6 miles and 13 miles away respectively whilst Eurostar trains run to the continent from Ashford International. The area also is home to many excellent schools including nearby Sutton Valance, Cranbrook, Maidstone Grammar for boys, Invicta Girls Grammar, Maidstone Girls Grammar School and St. Ronans whilst the schools at Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells are also easily accessible. Access to the country's motorway network is easily provided from the M20 which links to the M25 and gives good access to Heathrow, Gatwick and the West.