5 bedroom detached house

Porch | Entrance hall | Drawing room | Dining room | Cinema room | Library | Office | Kitchen/breakfast room | Utility room | Cloakroom/family bathroom | 5 bedrooms | Dressing room | 4 bathrooms | Garden | Double garage | Leisure complex with gym, swimming pool, sauna, changing rooms, shower room and pump room

The property
Hyde Mill Cottage is believed to date from the 17th Century and beautifully presented throughout, Hyde Mill Cottage is a sensitively-modernised period family home offering almost 3,600 sq. ft. of light-filled accommodation arranged over two floors. Retained character features includes a thatched roof with fire barrier, replaced in 2015 and with a life expectancy of some 40-50 years, some exposed wall and ceiling beams.

The ground floor accommodation flows from a welcoming entrance hall and comprises a large triple aspect drawing room with wooden flooring, an exposed vaulted A frame ceiling, a feature fireplace with woodburning stove and full-height glazing incorporating French doors to the garden. There is also a spacious library with bespoke fitted shelving, a well-proportioned office with French doors to the rear garden and a large dual aspect cinema room with a door to the integral garage and French doors to the garden. The ground floor accommodation is completed by a large dining room with quarry-tiled flooring, an exposed brick inglenook fireplace and French doors to the garden opening into an extensive triple aspect kitchen/breakfast room. This room presents a range of wall and base units including a large central island and breakfast bar, granite worktops, a four-oven Aga, 2 Belfast sinks, French doors to the garden and a useful neighbouring fitted utility room with access to the front aspect.

Accessible over two separate staircases from the library and dining room and featuring vaulted or part-vaulted ceilings throughout, the first floor offers a spacious principal bedroom with a neighbouring fitted dressing room and an en suite bathroom with freestanding bath and separate walk-in shower, four further well-proportioned bedrooms, a family bathroom and a separate family shower room, three of the bedrooms are air conditioned.

Mileage
Hitchin and station 1.5 miles ((London Kings Cross 30 minutes, London St. Pancras International 33 minutes), A1(M) (Jct. 8) 4.4 miles, M1 (Jct. 10) 12.2 miles, London Luton Airport 10.6 miles

The property lies at the heart of Ickleford, a picturesque village with a strong community spirit and a range of day-to-day amenities including a church, village hall, village store and several public houses. Nearby Hitchin is a popular historic market town with a thriving High Street and a comprehensive range of shopping facilities including regular markets, restaurants, coffee shops and numerous independent shops. Good sporting and leisure facilities include a swimming pool and football, rugby, cricket, swimming, cycling and running clubs. Communications links from the property are excellent, with the nearby A1(M) and M1 giving access to the motorway network and to central London and nearby Hitchin station offering trains to central London in around half an hour.

The area offers a good range of state schooling including Ickleford Primary School in the village, the highly regarded Hitchin Boys and Hitchin Girls School, and The Priory School together with a wide selection of noted independent schools including St. Francis’ College, Kingshott, St. Christopher, Princess Helena College.

The property is approached over a tarmacadam driveway providing parking for multiple vehicles and giving access to the integral double garage. The garden is adjacent to the River Purwell and laid mainly to level lawn with well-stocked borders and features a recently refurbished garden pond with waterfall and a generous paved terrace off the dining and kitchen/breakfast rooms, ideal for entertaining and al fresco dining, the whole screened by mature shrubs and trees.

The property also benefits from a large timber-clad outbuilding incorporating an air conditioned gym, bi-fold doors to the garden and a neighbouring swimming pool complex with sauna, changing rooms, a shower room, pump room and six sets of bi-fold doors arranged over three aspects leading to a wraparound paved terrace, an ideal family and entertaining area.