5 bedroom semi-detached house

The main house is deceptively spacious and has interconnected light-filled period rooms with high ceilings providing substantial entertainment space. The property looks inwards to a completely enclosed courtyard and garden with recently rebuilt indoor swimming pool, plus a large driveway lined with outbuildings of a garage and two barns. A hidden gem.

Originally a farmhouse, it has been occupied since early times and rebuilt over the centuries. Dating back to the 1800's in its present form, it became the Dower House for Stratton Audley Hall. It was used as a billet for the WRAF during WW2, and Audley House Prep School during the 1950's, finally moving into private ownership in 1983.

Today, Stratton House, sitting centre stage within the village, is a handsome property with all the proportions that Georgian architectural style is so well known for. The unusual glazing pattern to the windows make a striking statement. The front door opens to a large lobby with views through a glazed rear door to a small courtyard beyond. A generous cloakroom with storage for coats and boots lies just off. This leads on to a reception room sized hall with its own fireplace. Panelled mahogany doors opening to all other rooms on the ground floor, ensure a pleasing flow throughout. A beautiful sweeping low riser staircase winds to the first floor, with its mahogany handrail and barley twist spindles. The gracefully proportioned, dual aspect drawing room still has its original plaster panelling and cornicing, fireplace and hardwood sprung floor. The bespoke, intricately carved mantelpiece and display shelving in the dining room, crafted by Hallidays of Dorchester, adds an impressive dimension to this room. Beautiful Old Versailles parquet flooring, ornate plaster ceiling rose and cornicing further add to the theatre of the room. An interconnecting door leads on to what was the original kitchen, now the family room and snug.

The village is in an ideal location. Junctions 9 & 10 of the M40 are readily accessible. Bicester town has two mainline railway stations: Bicester North which serves London Marylebone (43 minutes) and Birmingham (64 minutes). Bicester Village station serves Oxford (17 minutes) and also London Marylebone (41 minutes), making the village popular with commuters. Both Heathrow (Terminal 5) and Birmingham Airports are approximately 55 miles away.

There is a village CofE primary school at Fringford (2miles away) and a wide variety of highly regarded private schools nearby including Winchester House Prep, Stowe, Tudor Hall, and Bloxham. The picturesque Michelin starred Nut Tree Inn is just ten miles away with Soho Farmhouse and Waddesdon Manor also being within easy reach. Within 15 miles radius is the University City of Oxford, the ancient town of Woodstock with adjacent Blenheim Palace, Stowe School and Silverstone motor racing circuit.

Stratton Audley is a pretty North Oxfordshire village of some 400 people dating back to Saxon times. It is in a Conservation Area with no street lighting and is surrounded by fields and farmland with myriad footpaths and bridleways to explore and enjoy. The area is much appreciated by cyclists. It is the home of The Bicester Hunt with Whaddon Chase with many livery stables nearby and several large working farms. A good golf club and gym are at the Bicester Hotel Golf & Spa Centre 6 miles away.

To the south lies the fast expanding busy market town of Bicester with its multiplex cinema and numerous shops and supermarkets. The internationally renowned outlet centre of Bicester Village is also situated just outside the town, some 4 miles away.

Just over a mile down the road is Bicester Heritage, a site of historic interest and a new exciting destination which has quickly become an international centre of excellence for automobiles, past present and future, plus historic aircraft. Its development helps protect the surrounding area and Stratton Audley from housing developments, with no new housing permitted within the village. Despite being popular with commuters, many people work full or part time from home thanks to good broadband speeds with fibre delivery to the village. It has an active community spirit with regular events organised by local people, a popular pub 'The Red Lion' and a delightful Norman church, a barn café, dental surgery, hairdresser and aesthetics clinic, and a physiotherapy clinic.