Watling House Watling Street | Claybrooke Parva | Leicestershire

Watling House
Watling Street | Claybrooke Parva | Leicestershire | LE17 5BE
WATLING HOUSE
Watling House is a beautiful property that lies in a picturesque location in the heart of the
Leicestershire countryside. The house was built in 1704 and appears on the Ordinance Survey
map. In more recent years it has been sympathetically enlarged and renovated to create the
very spacious and immaculately presented family home it is today.
A period detached home, built in Queen Anne times (1704) with a
variety of useful outbuildings and approximately 3.63 acres of formal
gardens, paddocks and tennis court.
Watling House is situated in south Leicestershire bordering the A5 and
neighbouring village of Wibtoft and was constructed in 1704 and has
a host of pre Georgian features. The accommodation is spread over
three storey’s and has five bedrooms; three of which are en-suite, a
family bathroom, sitting room, drawing room, large conservatory, office,
utility room, cloakroom and a recently remodeled kitchen/breakfast
room. The exterior of the property provides some attractive features
for equestrian enthusiasts, with a variety of stables, garaging and an
outbuilding that has been converted to a games room together with
3.63 acres of gardens, paddocks and tennis court.
Accommodation Summary
Ground Floor
The house has a canopied and glazed entrance porch with an original
timber door and further glazed doors leading to the entrance hall which
has an original oak floor with oak staircase rising to the first floor. There
is a door providing access to the cellar whilst further doors provide
access to the inner lobby which has doors to the office and cloakroom.
The cloakroom has a Travertine floor, enclosed WC and pedestal
wash hand basin. The hallway has doors leading to the two principal
reception rooms, the sitting room and drawing room. The sitting room
has a double glazed UPVC bay window and a double glazed window to
the side aspect. There is a large exposed ceiling beam and an attractive
rebuilt open inglenook fireplace with exposed brick built surround,
timber lintel and a raised hearth. An archway and a door lead to the
office. The drawing room has a double glazed bay window, attractive
ceiling cornicing and an open fire with exposed brick built surround and
raised hearth. There is a door leading to the kitchen and double glazed
doors that lead to an impressive, large conservatory which provides
attractive views of the rear terrace, gardens and neighbouring paddocks
and countryside. The conservatory is used prominently as a dining room
and can seat at least ten people for any formal dinner parties. There are
double glazed French doors leading to the rear. The office has double
glazed windows to both sides to the rear aspect and a large inglenook
fireplace with rebuilt exposed, brick surround and a cast iron log burner.
The door from here leads to the sitting room and a rear servant’s
staircase that leads to the upper floors. The impressive refitted kitchen/
breakfast room has delightful views of the rear gardens and terrace and
was recently created in 2010 as part of a modernisation programme
to increase the ground floor accommodation. It has underfloor heating
and Travertine tiles throughout and a variety of attractive exposed
ceiling beams. The kitchen has built in base and wall mounted units,
a built in Bosch double oven and dishwasher as well as space for an
American style fridge freezer. There is also a large island unit with
induction hob and Italian designed hanging extractor. From here a door
leads to the courtyard and parking area and double glazed doors and
windows overlook the rear terrace. A further glazed door leads to
the utility room which houses the hot water cylinder, oil fired central
heating boiler, plumbing for washing machine and tumble dryer and a
stainless steel sink and drainer unit with cupboard under.
Seller Insight
“We purchased Watling House thirty years ago,” says Neil,
“and it was not only the beauty of the house and location that
attracted us, but also the fact that the outbuildings offered the potential
to run part of my business from home.”
“The house itself was lovely when we first happened upon it, but over the
years we’ve added to it quite considerably and enhanced it by creating
rooms that take in the glorious views of the countryside that surrounds
us,” continues Neil. “We added a huge conservatory, which is probably
the biggest room in the house, and we also incorporated some of the
outbuildings to create a stunning kitchen, dining and living space, which
opens out onto a pretty patio beyond. It’s now an incredibly spacious and
very comfortable home.”
This lovely home boasts just under four acres of beautiful grounds. “The
house sits in the corner of one of the paddocks, and we have landscaped
a quite considerable area to create a really attractive formal garden,”
says Neil. “The tennis court is situated in another corner and the second
paddock and the rest of the land is used for grazing. We actually have
a gentlemanly arrangement with the neighbouring farmer, which means
the grass is kept low and the fences and hedges are maintained, and it’s
wonderful to see the spring lambs leaping around in the sunshine.”
“The fact that we have been able to enjoy such magnificent views
has been a real joy,” says Neil. “The land that surrounds us changes
throughout the seasons, so it’s always different but always beautiful.
We’ve also loved the walks across the fields; we can work up an appetite,
go for an indulgent pub lunch in the neighboring village and then work it
off on the stroll home.”
“The conservatory is a really beautiful part of the house,” says Neil. “It
has heating, so we use it all year round mainly as an entertaining and
dining room, and the spectacular panoramic views provide the perfect
backdrop.”*
The beautiful kitchen, dining and living area is the real
heart of the home. It’s where everything happens. There
are some lovely old beams in what was one of the outbuildings,
and we have mirrored them in the newer section so the whole
space has lots of character and the style of a real country kitchen.
For the millennium my wife created a wonderful piece of calligraphy, which ends with the words, ‘may
whosoever lives here in the years to come, enjoy the fruits of our labours and find the joy and happiness
which rests upon this family,’ and I think that beautifully sums up how we feel about this wonderful home.
Sadly now it is too large as the three children brought up here have all left home. We’ll
miss the log fires and old beams and the views of the ever-changing landscape, but
hopefully we’ll find a smaller Watling House.
First Floor
The oak staircase parts into two directions from the ground floor; one
feeding the two double rooms on the Eastern wing of the house whilst
the second staircase rises to the large guest suite which has double
glazed windows to both rear and side aspects. A door provides access
to the rear servant’s staircase and further door that leads to the en
suite shower room, which has an electric Triton shower and shower
enclosure, wash basin and low level WC. The other landing provides
access to bedroom two which has double glazed windows to side and
front aspects and another door that leads to the en suite shower room
which houses a wash hand basin, low level WC and enclosed shower
cubicle and electric shower. The master bedroom is across from here
and has far reaching views to the rear and a double glazed window to
the side, an exposed central ceiling beam and door and step leading to
the en suite bathroom. This has a panelled bath with telephone style
shower attachment, electric Triton shower and shower screen, bidet,
low level WC and pedestal wash hand basin. Obscure double glazed
window to the rear aspect. The oak staircase continues to the upper
floor where you arrive at the family bathroom which has a fitted four
piece bathroom suite with corner shower cubicle with rainforest style
shower and further attachment, low level WC, pedestal wash hand
basin and panelled bath.
Second Floor
The landing has exposed ceiling beams and doors leading to bedroom
four which has double glazed windows providing far reaching views of
the Leicestershire countryside and built in wardrobes. A further door
leads to the study which has exposed ceiling beams and a Velux roof
window whilst the door continues to a secondary landing which has
access to the rear stairs, that lead down to the guest bedroom and
office and another door that leads to bedroom five. A good sized
double room with exposed ceiling beam, double glazed window
overlooking the courtyard.
Outside
Tennis Court, Paddocks, Outbuildings and Gardens
There is a large shingle parking area from the immediate entrance from
Watling Street which provides ample parking for a number of vehicles.
The first immediate gate to the left is a five bar gate leading into the
small paddock and a further gate that leads to the gardens behind the
stables. Shielding the tennis court from the road is a variety of high
conifers that also surround the tennis court. There are two fruit trees
and a further variety of trees surrounding the lawned area.
Paddocks
There are two clearly defined paddocks; one measuring approximately
0.54 of an acre and the other measuring 1.65 acres which follows the
road behind the tennis court providing a significant portion of land with
the main house.
Rear Garden
Behind the house there is a large rear garden laid mainly to lawn and
a variety of trees dotted around the boundary and lawn. The centre
piece of the rear garden is a circular conifer hedge surrounding a stone
water feature. A shingle pathway from here, leads back to the rear of
the house with steps leading up to the conservatory, a gate leading to
the front and further steps leading up to the rear terrace and raised
brick built retaining wall.
Frontage, Parking and Outbuildings
As previously described the property has a large shingle driveway
bordering Watling Street, the area provides a significant hard standing
area for several vehicles. It continues past the games room, two stables
and garaging until the drive reaches the front of Watling House. There
are some trees shielding you from the road and a variety of well stocked
shrubs and borders and further parking.
Garage
There is an open double garage with stairs rising to the first floor loft
area whilst adjacent to this single garage with timber double doors.
There are two large stables accessed via two stable doors both with
windows overlooking the parking area; one of them has double doors
that lead to the garden. We understand that the current owners
have previously investigated the options of converting this area into a
potential granny flat or annexe and they have injected a chemical damp
proof course and the stable block has been re-roofed. Adjacent to the
stables are two further stores whilst just across from this is the games
room with attractive clock tower, which again is treated with a damp
proof course and has a UPVC double glazed window overlooking the
gardens and paddock, exposed ceiling A frame and electric storage
heating.
LOCATION
Strictly the postcode dictates a position within the parish of Claybrook Parva, but
Watling House is situated opposite Wibtoft, which is a small village and civil parish
in the Rugby borough of Warwickshire. The village was originally within the civil
parish of Claybrooke Magna in Leicestershire and according to the 2001 census
had a population of just 50. The village is next to the A5 road (Watling Street),
which denotes the border between Warwickshire and Leicestershire. Wibtoft
is about 10 miles north of Rugby. The house is set some distance from the A5
which gives excellent road links to Lutterworth, Magna Park and Milton Keynes to
the south and Hinckley and Nuneaton to the north. The historic market town of
Rugby lies to the south with the main line rail link to London Euston in less than 50
minutes. Leicester city centre lies to the north with its excellent range of shopping
facilities and main line rail link to London St. Pancras.The M1 motorway at Junction
20 is just a short drive away as is the M6 motorway. Public schools such as Rugby,
Oundle, Uppingham and Oakham are within easy reach as are Rugby Grammar
School and Lutterworth Community College. Due to its small size Wibtoft has
no shops but it does have a small attractive chapel and a unique micro brewery/
pub within a 1.5 mile walk. However the adjacent market towns of Lutterworth,
Hinckley and Market Harborough provide ready access to supermarkets, banks
and a diverse range of amenities.
At the southern most tip of Leicestershire, Lutterworth is an attractive market
town which has twice made its mark on world history. In the Fourteenth Century
John Wycliffe made his pioneering translation of the Bible whilst serving as Rector
of Lutterworth and, more than five hundred years later, Sir Frank Whittle developed
the jet engine at the Ladywood Works off Leicester Road.
Although situated in the very centre of Roman England, within walking distance
of the intersection of the Fosse Way and Watling Street at High Cross, it seems
likely that Lutterworth was first settled by the Anglo-Saxons. The name “Lutter’s
Vordig” means Luther’s Farm and the original settlement was probably on or near
the site of Lutterworth lies on the A426 Leicester–Rugby road, adjacent to the M1
motorway at junction 20. It is also located within a few miles of the M6 motorway
and A5 trunk road. The town once had a station on the Great Central Railway;
however, since its closure the nearest railway station is now at Rugby. A southern
bypass, the A4303, was opened in 1999, providing a route for traffic from the M1
to the A5 to avoid Lutterworth town centre.
Services
Oil fired central heating, mains drainage, mains electricity and broadband
are connected (it must be noted that the present owners have a private
arrangement with the neighbours to receive fibre optic broadband
from their provider which we understand will be continued).
Local Authority
Harborough District Council
Telephone 01858 828282
Council Tax Band G
Viewing Arrangements
Strictly by the vendors sole agents on (01788) 820062.
Website Address
For more information visit the property’s unique website address www.
fineandcountry.com
Opening Hours
Monday to Friday
Saturday
9.00 am - 5.30 pm
9.00 am - 4.30 pm
Directions
From our Rugby office leave town on the B4514 going directly toward
the village of Clifton upon Dunsmore. Turn right just before the church
and continue until you reach a T-junction. Turn left onto the A5 toward
Hinckley & Nuneaton going directly over the next three roundabouts
for just over 8 miles. The A5 goes directly through Wibtoft and Watling
House is just opposite the turning for the village.
Agents Notes
All measurements are approximate and quoted in metric with imperial
equivalents and for general guidance only and whilst every attempt
has been made to ensure accuracy, they must not be relied on. The
fixtures, fittings and appliances referred to have not been tested and
therefore no guarantee can be given that they are in working order.
Internal photographs are reproduced for general information and it
must not be inferred that any item shown is included with the property.
For a free valuation, contact the numbers listed on the brochure.
Registered in England and Wales. Company Reg No. 4018410
Registered Office: Newmans Property Services Limited, 1 Regent Street, Rugby, Warwickshire, CV21 2PE
copyright © 2015 Fine & Country Ltd
Agents notes: All measurements are approximate and quoted in metric with imperial equivalents and for general guidance only and whilst every attempt
has been made to ensure accuracy, they must not be relied on. The fixtures, fittings and appliances referred to have not been tested and therefore no
guarantee can be given that they are in working order. Internal photographs are reproduced for general information and it must not be inferred that any
item shown is included with the property. For a free valuation, contact the numbers listed on the brochure. * These comments are the personal views of
the current owner and are included as an insight into life at the property. They have not been independently verified, should not be relied on without
verification and do not necessarily reflect the views of the agent. Printed
FINE & COUNTRY
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Fine & Country
Tel: +44 (0)1788 820062
[email protected]
5 Regent Street Rugby Warwickshire CV21 2PE