For Sale5 Bedroom Detached House in Askerswell, Dorchester, Dorset, DT2£1,150,000

A characterful, refurbished and unlisted early 19th century cottage with five bedrooms and two home offices, set beside the River Asker in a small, pretty village within the Dorset National Landscape Originally two cottages built in the 19th century and unlisted, Grey Cottage has a lovely position beside the River Asker, which is little more than a strongly flowing stream at this point so close to its source. The cottage is set back from the junction in the middle of the village, known as The Square, and originally served as the local bakery, supplying bread by pony and cart to the surrounding villages. It is built of flint and stone under a tiled roof and has been extended over the years creating a wonderful family home that has most recently been sympathetically refurbished to a high standard over the past two years. It is full of character and has retained many of its original architectural fittings. These include flagstone and timber floors, several window seats, fireplaces (now fitted with woodburning stoves) and the baker’s oven, which is now cleverly illuminated in what is now the hall at the rear of the cottage. The cottage faces east and west and so catches the best of the natural light throughout the day, with carefully positioned rooflights and internal windows ensuring that light reaches everywhere within the cottage. It has four good sized reception rooms on the ground floor. These include a good-sized sitting room with windows on two sides that overlook the front garden and the river as it flows past and a charming, well-lit garden room that also looks out onto the front garden. The kitchen/breakfast room is centrally positioned between the dining and sitting rooms and therefore forms a natural family-centric hub. It is to die for too with a gorgeous, local Blue Lias stone flagged floor, window seat, electric Lacanche ranger cooker inset within the original range fireplace, a central island and has ample dining space. Upstairs there are a total of five bedrooms. These includes a walk-through, single bedroom (and probably therefore only used occasionally) that connects the first floors of two original cottages. This in effect creates a “family wing” and a “guest wing”. The remaining four bedrooms are all doubles. The principal bedroom has steps down into a superbly equipped ensuite/dual access wet room equipped with a two-person sauna, large shower and a Japanese bath. The two remaining bedrooms in the “family wing” share a bathroom, whilst the two bedrooms in the “guest wing” share of the remaining bathroom and the downstairs shower room. A large attic room in the roof space has great potential as a second home office as it is light and airy and is centrally heated. Grey Cottage has a front and back garden amounting to just under a quarter of an acre. The River Asker forms the property’s northern boundary and the passing village lane the southern boundary. The front garden is enclosed by a mix of close-boarded timber fencing, shrubs and mature trees including a graceful flowering cherry tree. Paving immediately in front of the cottage gives way to a level lawn fringed by richly planted borders. To one side of the lawn are a summer house and garden store and at the far end is a small, screened orchard with a path to a pedestrian gate giving access to The Square. The rear garden is largely paved and is enclosed by a mix of stone walling and fencing. To one side of it is an attached outbuilding that once housed a stable for the pony and has been converted into a gym having formerly served as the premises for a small business. To one side of the rear garden is a raised vegetable garden incorporating four raised beds and a greenhouse. At the end of the rear garden is a parking area for a maximum of four cars adjacent to a double garage with an additional machinery store.