4 bedroom detached house for sale

Parking Arrangements: Driveway & Double Garage
Windows: UPVc Double Glazed
Heating: GSH - Combi Boiler
Vendors Position: Buying on
Garden Orientation: South Facing
EPC Rating: E
Council Tax Band: E
Total Living Space: Approx 1960 sqft

Ferndale House is a substantial detached home offering flexible accommodation with a one bedroom self-contained annexe attached, situated in the centre of this well serviced village with an abundance of local amenities. The main house accommodation comprises, entrance porch, dining kitchen, cloakroom WC, utility room, snug/office, living room and rear hallway with stairs rising to four good sized bedrooms and two bathrooms. The annexe has a dining kitchen, shower room and bedroom. There is a driveway providing ample off-road parking leading to a detached double garage and well tended gardens that wrap around the property.

A glazed door into the entrance porch, window to the front, tiled floor and door into the utility room having a Belfast sink, space for white goods and door through to a cloakroom WC. The dining kitchen has windows to the front and side aspects and is fitted with solid wood wall and base units and work surfaces, a Belfast sink, space for a Range cooker with an extractor hood above, an original feature cast iron open fireplace with three bread ovens, a cupboard with space and plumbing for a washing machine, space to dine, door to a large cloaks cupboard and further door into the office/snug. This room has a bay window to the side aspect, exposed brick open fireplace with original stone walling to the side, wooden flooring and door leading through to the spacious living room having a bay window with a window seat overlooking the rear garden, a triangular window to the side, a feature open fireplace, fitted alcove units and door into the rear hallway with stairs rising to the first floor. On the first floor are four double bedrooms and two bathrooms.

The self-contained annexe which has been refurbished throughout is accessed via a door to the side aspect into the dining kitchen with dual aspect windows and patio doors to the rear, a modern range of wall and base units, wooden work surfaces, centre island with seating, one and a half bowl sink and drainer, integrated AEG electric oven, four ring gas hob and extractor hood above, space and plumbing for a washing machine and fridge freezer. Door off to a re-fitted three piece shower room with a wash hand basin set in a vanity unit, low flush WC and a walk-in shower cubicle having a waterfall shower head and riser, heated towel rail and tiled flooring. The spacious bedroom/sitting room has a bay window with a window seat to the rear aspect, feature open fireplace and wood flooring.

There is a driveway providing ample off-road parking leading to the detached double garage with two up and over doors, power and light. The gardens wrap around the house with mature shrubs and bushes, formal lawns, a paved patio seating area. A lovely feature to the garden is the original well at the rear of the garden.

HISTORY OF FERNDALE HOUSE

A well connected and prosperous local business family, headed by Thomas Cowman, built this Edwardian House at some point between 1901 and 1910. Ferndale House, as it has always been known, was originally set within extensive grounds that once encompassed the area now forming Dwyers Close and extended down to the River Wreake. It was built over what remains of a 17th Century farm cottage, where you can still see some of the traditional iron stone walls in the snug/office and around the main front door.

The Cowman family business, based in Nottingham, was, amongst other interests, responsible for extracting the gravel from what is now known as 'Frisby Lakes'. Thomas Cowman became friends with the famous T.E. Lawrence, better known as 'Lawrence of Arabia', who was a British archaeologist, soldier, writer and diplomat, and a friend of Winston Churchill, Thomas Hardy and George Bernard Shaw. Lawrence helped shape Middle Eastern politics after WW1. Lawrence of Arabia has stayed overnight at Ferndale House, when visiting Nottingham and shared meals with the Cowman family around the original kitchen table seen in the sales photos.

Thomas Cowman and T.E. Lawrence built their friendship through a shared love of motorcycles and fast cars. T.E. Lawrence travelled to Nottingham regularly to visit the Brough Motorcycle Company. Over his lifetime, he owned seven 'Brough Superior Motorcycles', all custom built for him by George Brough. They were extremely expensive in their day, often referred to as the 'Rolls Royce of Motorcycles'. One of Thomas Cowman's grandsons, Roger, continued the family passion for speed and raced motor cars successfully as an adult. Thomas's son, Kenneth Houghton Cowman and his wife Nora, continued to live in the property and run their successful family business. Generations of the Cowman family have remained living in Ferndale House until it was sold to the present owners in late 2015.