4 bedroom semi-detached house

Will you be the one to revitalise this beautifully proportioned 4-bedroom semi-detached Victorian cottage, stamping your personality on what will become an elegant family home?   

To say this has good bones is an understatement. This charming double-fronted cottage retains more original features than most properties of its age, making it a rare find. It’s also good to note that it’s free from the restrictions of Grade listing, a real bonus. 

Situation

Bath Cottage lies just off the Bath Road in Speen, to the north-west of Newbury town centre, with easy access to the A34 and from there the M4. It’s where Newbury meets the countryside. 

There are footpaths almost on the doorstep to historic Bagnor, the Watermill Theatre and Donnington Castle or past ancient Ladywell and Saxon church to Speen Moors. The Hare & Hounds Hotel and bar is barely a stone’s throw away, just a little further and you are in a vast, green children's play park/sports field.

Waitrose is just about close enough to be your corner shop.

Property

This family home oozes kerb appeal, without actually having a kerb nearby – it’s nicely tucked away behind a generous front garden. 

Cast iron railings and a hedge separate the parking area, which has space for two cars, from the Bath Road, while another mature hedge adds further privacy and soundproofing between the parking and front garden. 

The clay tiled roof, wide bay-window-encompassing porch with its lovely decorative encaustic tiles, period window design and leaded glass front door tick all the boxes for a perfect example of a house of this period – 1850s at its core, with a later facelift & extension. 

Now in need of modernisation, it’s easy to see the beautiful home this could once again become. Consider it an authentic original blank canvas ready for a new owner with vision. 

Inside

The sizeable porch, with its lovely decorative encaustic tiles, provides ample shelter and space for a handy wood store and outdoor boot rack. Through the cheery yellow leaded glass front door and you’re into the generous hallway, with open storage beneath the stairs.  

Sitting room

A classic sitting room overlooking the front garden and with a fire surround you may recognise if you’ve seen Noel Laura Bush’s 1918 painting, “Self portrait, sewing in an interior at Bath Cottage, Speen, Berks”. The back panel now features art deco tiles around the working open fireplace.

The picture rail accentuates the height of the room, which still retains charming details such as the original rim locks on the doors and chamfered corners into the deep bay with its tall south-easterly facing window. 

Dining room

Across the hall, the dining room is a mirror of the sitting room, with a green tiled open fireplace balanced by recesses currently fitted with glazed cupboards. 

Lit by  the south-easterly facing window, this has space to accommodate a home office desk in the deep bay.

Family room

Step up into the rear half of the house and the family room invites you in with its wood burning stove, windows on two sides and lovely big open space.

How will you use this room? As a family room with big refectory table? Maybe you could line the walls with books and create a crafting/reading/snug? Or perhaps a giant TV for movie nights to remember? 

Kitchen

This kitchen is of a good size and shape, with ample space for a dresser or kitchen table. With the right improvements, it’s easy to see how this could become the heart of this family home. 

The glazed stable door takes you out to the back courtyard.

From the kitchen you step into a utility space that could comfortably accommodate several white goods and off this you have a larger than average downstairs loo, something many modern houses lack, with an even less commonly seen traditional painted ceramic toilet bowl.  

Upstairs

The hallway is illuminated by the front-facing central window. Notice the carved finial-topped newel posts of the stairs and balustrade, a lovely original feature. From the top of the stairs you have three large doubles and a large single/small double bedroom. You also have access to the attics. 

Master bedroom

A lovely large double bedroom with some interesting features – namely an original fireplace and more modern shower cubicle. 

With the plumbing already in place, this could be transformed into a lovely bedroom with a compact en-suite shower. Facing to the front of the house, this room captures the morning sun. 

Second bedroom  

Another good-sized double with views over the front garden. There may even be a fireplace hidden behind the wallpaper. 

Third bedroom

To the rear of the house, this double bedroom has a fabulous period fireplace and a wall of wardrobes that, should you choose to remove them, will add a considerable sense of space to this already well-proportioned room. It has a view over the rear terrace and east.

Fourth bedroom

A large single, small double or generous home office, this room can be put to all sorts of uses. With a fireplace, built-in wardrobe and views to the rear of the garden. 

Should you choose, the dividing wall could perhaps be moved to reduce the size of the bathroom and increase this to become a larger double.  

Bathroom

You could do a lot with a bathroom of this size. It could be reconfigured to give you a free-standing bath, separate shower, twin basins and more. Or you could retain the now quite rare dark pink Royal Doulton four-piece suite and have a talking piece as well as a spacious family bathroom.

This room has one more winning feature, a glorious view over to the 14th century Donnington Castle gatehouse.

Outside 

From the kitchen’s back door, or from the pathway around the side of the house, you have a sheltered, part walled, fully-enclosed rear garden with terrace, borders and plenty of space for some loungey garden furniture, a barbecue, pizza oven and outdoor kitchen. However you like to use your outdoor space. 

At the front is a good size garden, mainly laid to lawn and with gravelled paths to the rear terrace and forward to the parking area and street. On the boundaries are a close boarded panel fence on one side, brick wall with cast-iron topper the other.

Leisure

In the local area, you’re less than a mile from the renowned Michelin-starred Woodspeen restaurant, the unique Watermill Theatre, two golf courses each set in beautiful grounds, and the Kennet and Avon Canal. Go just a little further and you have many more leisure options, including The Living Rainforest, Snelsmore Common, Newbury Racecourse and a selection of golf courses, gyms, canoeing and athletics facilities.  

Newbury and surrounds also have a fantastic selection of pubs and restaurants, a cinema, theatre, arts venues, shops and businesses. 

Transport links 

Connections by road include the M4, A4 and A34, making it easily commutable from London, while rail links take you into London, towards Swindon, Bristol and Cardiff in the west, and via nearby Reading, with its newly opened Elizabeth line, to most of the country including the Heathrow and Gatwick airports.  

Schooling

According to the West Berkshire Council website, the catchment areas are:

Primary. Robert Sandilands, Stockcross C.E. and St Joseph’s Catholic schools.

Secondary. Trinity School 

Services

Mains electricity, water, drainage and gas. 

Broadband – According to Openreach, Superfast Fibre (FTTC) is available at up to 36Mbps. According to Vodafone, their 5G signal is “Good indoors and outdoors” and permits speeds of “up to 1Gbps”.

Council 

The local authority is West Berkshire Council.

The house is Council Tax band F.

Tenure

Freehold