7 bedroom detached house for sale

South Hay House is a fascinating country house, full of character and with well-proportioned rooms, fireplaces and beautiful exposed beams. Many of the rooms have the benefit of a dual aspect with fine views to the garden and beyond. Dating from the Jacobean period and timber framed, the house evolved in the 17th and 18th centuries with further additions in the 1900’s. In the 1930’s, the Author H V Morton, converted the large stone-built barn to a library and linked it to the house to provide a separate wing. This is now a magnificent vaulted room with multiple aspects, extensive shelving, cabinets and a beautiful fireplace, ideal for entertaining and family gatherings. Sympathetically improved over more recent years, the welcoming atmosphere of the house is immediate with a galleried entrance hall with a polished stone staircase and bespoke railings opening into the garden and a truly delightful kitchen/dining room with hammer beam oak trusses, four oven AGA and pantry. The kitchen forms the heart and hub of the house and provides an ideal layout for modern family living. The further extensive and very generous accommodation could be arranged to suit to variety of requirements. There is a lovely drawing room, dining room and ‘snug’/2nd sitting room all adjoining a delightful south-facing vinery with double doors opening out to the terrace and gardens. There are five bedrooms and two bathrooms to the first floor interlinked via two independent staircases. Importantly, the main house is complemented by a self-contained annexe cottage and further annexe areas, providing semi-independent accommodation and/or home office space, as required.

The house is approached via a pair of drives centred by an island planted with mature roses at the front of the house. The stone and brickbuilt stable block, garden workshop, double (with electric vehicle charging point) and single garages are set to one side of the drive. Beneath the upper annexe area, there is a further double garage with access to the lower annexe and further basement areas to the rear. The boiler room, freezer room and cellar are set within the basement of the house together with further areas for oil and water storage.

The wonderful landscaped gardens and grounds are principally to the south and take full advantage of the beautiful valley setting. The inner garden has been landscaped with sweeping areas of lawn set between banks of flowering shrubs, herbaceous borders, specimen trees, acer and a ‘box garden’ together with a central urn. A broad paved terrace provides an ideal area for outdoor entertaining and adjoins the vinery and kitchen/dining room.

Steps lead from the terrace to a higher level with areas of lawn, orchard and extensive kitchen garden together with a gardeners store and greenhouse. A track provides access to a small lane. From the higher level, there are charming views of the east side of the house. The hard tennis court is set beyond the kitchen garden. One branch of the driveway is flanked by light woodland with gate access to a paddock with an adjoining copse. A second larger paddock (with a field shelter) adjoins a small copse. The third paddock, sheltered by a steep wooded bank, is set to the opposite side of the lane. The gardens and grounds are a very special feature of the house and provide a sublime setting.

The property has a sheltered position on a gentle, south-facing slope within the South Downs National Park. South Hay is peaceful and picturesque hamlet set amidst fine rolling countryside about a mile or so distant of the villages of Binsted and Kingsley. The active and strong hilltop village of Binsted (about a mile) has a public house - ‘The Binsted Inn’ - church, hall, primary school and recreation ground with tennis and croquet clubs.

The nearby village of Bentley (about 4 miles) has a primary school, shop and mainline railway station to London Waterloo. Also, there is a pre-school, village hall with a shop and post office, ‘The Cricketers’ public house and a church at Kingsley (about 1.5 miles). The historic market towns of Alton and Farnham have a good range of high street shops, Waitrose and M&S Simply Food, weekly and specialist markets, schooling for all age groups and railway stations to London Waterloo. There is a good range of maintained and independent schools and colleges within the local area. These include: Binsted Primary School, Bentley Primary School, Eggars, Amery Hill, Churcher’s College, Bedales, Ditcham Park School, Brockwood Park, TPS, Bohunt, Edgeborough, Highfield, St Edmund’s, Amesbury and Lord Wandsworth College.