Lydford

A hugely impressive, 5,000sq.ft Victorian gentleman's residence needing refurbishment, sitting within 22.5 acres of breath-taking lawn and woodland gardens, pasture, fields, waterways, ponds and a recreation lake. Victorian Country House of Incredible Stature, 6/7-bedroom Accommodation of Over, 5,000sq.ft, Spectacular Wooded Setting by Lydford Gorge, Incredible, Varied Grounds of 22.5 Acres, Lush Woodland and Lawn Gardens, Pasture
Fields, Equestrian Potential with Moorland Nearby, Substantial Recreation Lake and Boathouse, Outbuildings, Coach House with Potential (STP), Council Tax Band: G, Freehold, EPC Band: D.

SITUATION
This superb period residence is located in a wonderfully picturesque, peaceful and private location close to the unspoilt Dartmoor village of Lydford, on the wooded banks of the famous National Tust-owned Lydford Gorge. The beautiful scenery of Lydford Forest, the Lyd Valley, open moorland and the Granite Trail cycleway are all nearby.

Lydford itself is a very desirable village centered around a medieval castle, and is located only 7.5 miles from the popular market town of Tavistock with its excellent range of facilities and amenities, including the sought-after private school, Mount Kelly. The cathedral city of Exeter is 35 miles to the east, connecting the southwest to London and the rest of the UK via its mainline railway links, the M5 motorway and an international airport.

DESCRIPTION
This imposing late-Victorian gentleman's residence was built, we understand, circa 1880 and later extended, and is now offered to the market, chain-free, for the first time in forty years. The considerable accommodation totals over 5,000sq.ft, arranged over four floors, and includes up to seven bedrooms and four receptions, all exceptionally well-proportioned but needing modernisation and improvement throughout.

Of particular note are the property's remarkable grounds, amounting to around 22.5 acres, comprising verdant woodland and lawn gardens interspersed with waterways and ponds, plus several pasture fields offering excellent smallholding or equestrian potential, with moorland outriding available nearby. The grounds also feature a sizeable recreation lake and boathouse, plus various outbuildings and a detached coach house which may have potential for conversion (STP).

THE HOUSE AND GARDENS
Throughout the house, there is a tremendous amount of character and personality reflective of the house's age, including decorative masonry work and joinery, high skirting, detailed architraves, and picture and dado rails, as well as decorative ceiling mouldings, original floor tiling and panelled timber doors. The main entrance leads through a porch and lobby into a very impressive reception hallway where there is a substantial and ornate staircase to the first-floor gallery landing and doors to the principal ground-floor rooms. The versatile accommodation includes, on this level, a sitting room, formal dining room, garden room, kitchen and separate scullery, plus a shower room and a further room most recently used as a bedroom, but which could serve many purposes including as a home office. Of particular note is the breathtaking drawing room, reminiscent of a stately home, which boasts incredible, high moulded ceilings and full-height sash windows. The room is centred around a hugely impressive fireplace framed by an ornately carved timber surround and mantel, currently housing a log-burning stove. From the reception hall, internal steps lead down to a pair of cellar-level workshops, and at first-floor level are five very large double bedrooms (including one en-suite), all enjoying a beautiful outlook over the property's gardens, plus two stand-alone bathrooms. Stairs rise again to a final second-floor double bedroom.

Externally, the house is approached by a long, sweeping drive into a large parking area where there is also an attached carport. The house is surrounded on all sides by its own wonderful, mature gardens and grounds, providing an incredible level of shelter and seclusion and undoubtedly attracting all manner of wildlife. The principal lawn, which was no doubt once a tennis court or croquet lawn, sits to the front of the house and faces west, thereby enjoying excellent sun throughout the day. The formal gardens extend away to the south and west, becoming a beautiful light woodland forming the edge of Lydford Gorge, interspersed with several wildlife ponds and watercourses, with various pathways and walkways providing unlimited interest and enjoyment for those with an affinity for the natural environment.

Around the gardens are a detached, brick-built former coach house and groom's flat, which could be utilised as a garage or workshop space and may have some potential for conversion (STP), plus a small orchard and a row of brickwork outbuildings. To the rear of the house is a further woodland area, including a very pretty section of the long-disused Lydford railway line. Several other log stores and general-purpose buildings can be found amongst the woodland.

THE LAND
To the north of the house is a series of enclosed fields of varying sizes. Immediately adjacent to the house is a small paddock running down to the western woodland, which is served by an open-fronted, American-style general-purpose barn which could be adapted into stabling, subject to the necessary consents. The smaller paddock runs northwards into one of the two larger fields, which most notably includes the substantial conservational lake complete with its own timber boathouse. The northernmost field is generally level with a gentle westerly slope and can be accessed separately through a five-bar gate on its eastern side, leading out onto the main road. There is also a further, somewhat overgrown oval paddock to the west of the northernmost field which amounts to approximately an acre and slopes gently westward. The final paddock is found to the southeast of the house, flanking the drive and containing an array of photovoltaic panels. In all, the site amounts to approximately 22.5 acres (please see our accompanying Location Plan.)

SERVICES
Mains electricity (PV panel array with feed-in tariff), private spring-fed water, private drainage via cesspit, oil-fired central heating. Please note that the agents have neither inspected nor tested these services.

VIEWINGS AND DIRECTIONS
Viewings are strictly by appointment with the sellers' sole agents, Stags' Tavistock office.

From Tavistock, proceed north on the Brentor Road (Butcher Park Hill) and follow the road without turning for approximately six miles, passing the first entrance to Lydford Gorge on your left. Proceed over a former railway bridge and continue for approximately another half a mile, where the discreet entrance to the house can be found on your left, between a beech hedge and granite gate pillars.

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