5 bedroom semi-detached house

FINE OLD FARMHOUSE IN HISTORIC, BEDFORDSHIRE RIVERSIDE VILLAGE

For the first time this century, this wonderful, five-bedroom, stone and old clay-tiled, home, with AGA kitchen, pretty garden and gravelled parking for three cars, is ready to welcome another fortunate family. Once owned by Charles Longuet Higgins, to whom Turvey owes so much, this is a house listed as having been built in the mid-19th century, although it’s thought to have been a remodelling of an earlier building.

On, perhaps, Bedfordshire’s most historic and interesting village high streets, the approach to Grove Farm House is along a no-through road from the side where once the farmyard was and where the attached, former dairy has now become another beautiful home. Between the dairy and the farmhouse is a scullery which has scope for turning into a studio, gym or games room, perhaps even linking it to the house. Whilst there are, undoubtedly, ways of putting your stamp on Grove Farm House and, indeed, significantly increasing its value, it’s impossible not to fall in love with it just as it is.

To join the hustle and bustle of the village High Street, you can just slip through an old gate set into the garden’s high stone wall. From there, you can pop across the road to pick up the paper and post from the delightful stores and post office, one of two shops in Turvey, and to the village hall, which hosts all manner of events and societies for the friendly community. You can wander to either of the two historic pubs, one alongside the beautiful river Great Ouse, and to the magnificent Saxon Church of All Saints in one direction and the Catholic, Benedictine Abbey in the other, not to mention the butcher’s for the Sunday joint. The recreation ground and tennis courts are just a few hundred yards away.

Turvey has its own primary school a short stroll from your front door and is within the catchment area for Sharnbrook Academy. Yet it is also just a 15-minute drive or bus journey away from the County town, its world-renowned Harpur Trust private schools, its outstanding Free School and fast trains that reach London in under 40 minutes. Grove Farm House is a beautiful family home in a beautiful village surrounded by beautiful countryside.

ABOUT THE PROPERTY

An arched pergola, clad with sweet-scented Montana, honeysuckle, roses and wisteria, forms a perfect walkway to a wonderfully welcoming house. From the moment you step into the impressive entrance hall, Grove Farm House feels like home. Whilst somewhat grand, with large rooms and high ceilings, it radiates warmth and comfort. This is a house that is as happy hosting large, formal gatherings as having children bounding between its three floors. It’s a versatile house that, just as it has changed for generations of families, is willing to be shaped to suit your lifestyle.

Tucked to the side of the house, the beautiful staircase still demands attention with its unusually-turned spindles and elegant handrail. And at the top, with a constant reminder of the fabulous countryside beyond the historic High Street, a floor equally suited to teenage quarters as to a magnificent, main bedroom suite. The study, along with the existing main and visitor’s bedrooms, which overlook the gardens, are off the lovely, first floor landing where you can sit peacefully and read or study, bathed in natural light.

Some houses just have a great, family feel, and Grove Farm House is one of them, not least in the kitchen, with its AGA, its in-frame, bleached, old pine furniture, and space for everyone to gather around the breakfast table. You would never know that the two curved windows and French doors through which light pours into the room were relatively recently installed.

There are few homes quite like Grove Farm House for entertaining, the gorgeous hall, with its sliding sash windows and original shutters matching the beautiful panelling of the staircase, just perfect for dinner parties. And few homes have such a delightful sitting room, with its cosy woodburning stove and its lovely bay window seat, from where you can enjoy spectacular sunsets over the garden.

Lovingly designed and tended for the best part of three decades, the garden is full of pretty shrubs and flowers. Relax with a glass of wine on the terrace, or under the romantic, rose-covered arbour. Pick your own apples and pears, watched over by the beautiful silver birch. An all-round, wonderful family home.