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Drove House Gubboles Drove | Surfleet | Lincolnshire | PE11

KEY FEATURES •

A Small Country Estate Offering Lifestyle, Equestrian and Leisure Faculties

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Substantial Double Fronted South Lincolnshire Victorian Former Farmhouse

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Two Large Entrance Hallways, Open Plan Kitchen / Diner, Pantry, Utility Room and WC

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Reception Room, Dining Room, Drawing Room, Family Room and Garden Room

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Principal Bedroom with a Dressing Room and an En Suite Bath and Shower Room

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Four Further Double Bedrooms, One with En Suite and a Family Bathroom

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Attached Annex Accommodation: Kitchen, Living Room,Two Bedrooms and a Bathroom

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13 Acres (STMS) of Gardens, Grounds, Paddocks,Woodland,Vegetable Garden and a Lake

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Stables Block of 3 Loose Boxes and a Tack Room, Hay Barn,Tool Store, Field Shelter and Double Garage

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Outdoor Swimming Pool, Changing Room, Shower & WC Plus an All-Weather Tennis Court

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Floor Area of Main House Extends to 5291 Sq.Ft., Annex is 914 Sq.Ft.,Totalling to 6205 Sq.Ft.

A beautiful period property offering everything you might need for a quintessential English country lifestyle is here at Drove House about a mile from the fenland village of Surfleet and about 4 miles north of Spalding in South Lincolnshire. The main house provides 5 generous reception rooms and a vast, newly extended kitchen dining room with 5 double bedrooms, 2 en suite, and a family bathroom whilst a recently built adjoining annex has 2 bedrooms, a large kitchen, a living room and a bathroom. With over 13 acres of land, there are paddocks, stables, an enclosed outdoor heated swimming pool, a hard tennis court, garden buildings, chicken runs, a vegetable garden as well as numerous trees and a lake supporting wildlife. The original house is Victorian with substantial extensions to the property added over time. A beautifully presented property, it is full of natural light which floods through its wealth of large, Georgian-style, sash, double-glazed windows, many of the rooms dual aspect. The original entrance hall features an enormous mirror and the first of several fine, modern cast iron radiators as you step inside this spacious family home.This wide hall leads on to connect with an even wider second entrance hall under broad arches echoing the semi-circular fanlights above each door. Here, the splendid staircase rises and turns to a light and airy galleried landing with a charming oriel window to the south.

The very elegant drawing room, walls painted in a soft, muted mauve, is of exceptionally fine proportions and enjoys three south facing windows, a classical period fireplace and clever faux panelling to dado height. Double doors open into two linked rooms, one with a lovely herringbone wood-block floor currently used as a gym, the other as a spacious study, each with French doors onto the garden.“We have perfectly functioning Wi-Fi,” attests the owner, “with daily internet calls never a problem.” In the original part of the house to the front, two more reception rooms with fireplaces are used as a games room and a dining room, the latter doubling as a library with floor to ceiling bespoke cupboards and bookshelves. With so many large rooms downstairs there is great flexibility. “We don’t often use the dining room especially since we have extended the kitchen,” remarks the owner. “There’s not a small room in the house but as the majority of the property is not that old it is not expensive to heat. At Christmas the house looks particularly festive and welcoming with the open fires and high ceilings that easily can take a 12 foot tree.” The kitchen is another impressive aspect of the house which has been extended and refitted by the owners. Now a vast, almost square room with tiled floor and plenty of space to cook and dine under the large roof lantern in the extension which benefits underfloor heating. The owners love to cook and entertain. A fine, white Aga stands proudly in the chimney breast yet now disconnected it can only look on at the busy electric Smeg range-style cooker providS for all! However, it could be reconnected should someone so wish. “The kitchen was a 1960s relic – it was quite literally like stepping back in time! We do have visitors and entertain a lot, often 12 to 14 people so we have two dishwashers – I’m not sure how we manged before with just one! We have a big American-style fridge in the kitchen and another in the pantry.”

The adjoining, self-contained annex is another addition by the current owners which was built for an elderly parent to live alongside. With not just one but two bedrooms, a sizeable kitchen with French doors and bi-folding doors onto its own garden, with more from the living room, and a bathroom, it has been a huge success. Although it is blocked up at present, a door into the main house could easily be opened up again. Back in the house, upstairs, the five bedrooms are all generous doubles; the master suite is particularly spacious and contains built-in wardrobes, a walk-in dressing room with further fitted cupboards and a fully-fitted en suite.The second bedroom also has built-in cupboards and an en suite shower room.The family bathroom is shared by the other three and contains a free-standing roll-top bath and a large shower. Drove House is in an area that is quiet and rural with far reaching open field views from the upstairs windows but the grounds are private and secluded with an abundance of trees. From the country road, a sweeping tarmac drive leads through electrically operated entrance gates up to a large circular area in front of the house where it continues on round the side of the property past a splendid, metal, Victorian-style greenhouse to the stables and outbuildings.The quality stable block contains 3 stables and a tack room with lighting and power and access to water close by; the brick-built double garage has automatic up-and-over doors and further along stands a hay barn with adjoining storeroom. Beyond this is a hedged vegetable garden which includes a soft fruit frame.

The expansive garden is neatly divided into different areas, for instance, a circular timber breeze hut with cedar tiled roof is positioned in an excellent spot for entertaining not far from the house. There is an orchard too containing apple, pear and plum trees generally yielding a good harvest and a young apricot tree. From the large, rear lawn the swimming pool area is entered through decorative metal gates within white rendered walls and is heated by a “very effective” air source heat pump. A large pool room stands at one end where there is a changing room, a shower and a separate WC. The hard tennis court, also enclosed but by high chain link fencing, is beyond the lawn and the pool, behind which is a charming row of sculptural topiary. Two large chicken runs are another feature, “entirely fox-proof, everything is done to an impeccable standard with no half measures!” declares the owner. “There’s an outside rabbit run too, also fox-proof.”

The four adjoining paddocks are all fenced in

(for boys) rated Good by Ofsted and the High (for

the very best timber post and rail that will last

girls) rated Outstanding, as well as a prep school,

for decades with five-bar gates into each, one

Ayscoughfee Hall. Another Outstanding grammar

containing a field shelter. Surrounding nature trees

school which is co-educational, is in Bourne about

and hedgerow provide shelter in the winter and

a 20 minute drive. Good road links are provided

shade in the summer. And last but not least, several

by the nearby A16 and the A17, with Peterborough

acres are taken up by further trees, some mature,

about 40 minutes south where fast trains to London

some young, some evergreen but largely deciduous,

Kings Cross take around 45 minutes and where you

hundreds planted by the owners. “We have planted

can pick up the A1. Glorious Stamford is just over

all native species trying to weed out those that are

half an hour away, also on the A1.

not,” says the owner. A lake with two islands is a feature in the centre which is a haven for wildlife.

As the owner concludes, “This home is a living cliché and I don’t mean that in a negative way, I

The location of Drove House is rural but not

mean that is a good thing, that’s why it is a cliché!

isolated with the farm opposite, dwellings across a

It’s wonderful in summer with all the doors open

field, and the village of Surfleet just a mile along the

and the dogs can run around freely, but equally, in

road. The pretty, Georgian market town of Spalding

winter with so much space inside, it is the perfect

is about a 10 minute drive south where there are

family home.”

highly sought after grammar schools – the Grammar

Agents notes: The floor plans are for illustration purposes only. All measurements: walls, doors, window fittings and appliances and their sizes and locations are shown conventionally and are approximate only and cannot be regarded as being a representation either by the seller or his agent. © Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.

LOCATION

Local Authority: South Holland District Council Council Tax Band: H Services: Mains Electricity, Septic Tank and Oil Fired Central Heating Tenure: Freehold

Disclaimer:

These particulars, whilst believed to be accurate, are set out as a general outline only for guidance and do not constitute any part of an offer or contract. Intending purchasers should not rely on them as statements of representation of fact, but must satisfy themselves by inspection or otherwise as to their accuracy. No person in the employment of Fine & Country or Rutland Country Properties has the authority to make or give any representation or warranty in respect of the property. We would also point out that we have not tested any of the appliances and purchasers should make their own enquiries to the relevant authorities regarding the connection of any services.

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