Seller Insight

Occupying an enviable location on a quiet road in the much sought-after village of Hornton is Norland House, a beautiful four-bedroom period home, which boasts an extremely attractive garden as well as a self-contained annexe. “I’d say my husband and I spent almost two years looking for the perfect property, and that was simply because we had such an extensive wish list,” says Cath. “We wanted an old stone house, one that had real character and charm, and we wanted it to be within a village community in a rural location. But we also wanted good room sizes and lots of light. I was commuting into both London and Birmingham on a regular basis at the time, so we needed easy access to the motorway and mainline rail network without seeing or hearing either! And finally, we wanted a home that made it easy to accommodate and entertain friends and host visits from our large family. When we came across Norland House we felt like we hit the jackpot as the property and location offered absolutely everything we’d been searching for.”

“The house itself is built in locally quarried, warm ironstone with a stone annexe that has served many purposes over the years, including accommodating long stay guests and giving me a quiet space to work from home. The original building is around 450 years old with mullion windows and an inglenook fireplace in the living room. If you look closely you can see the marks where swords were sharpened, probably during the English Civil war.

During our time here we’ve repointed and replastered the house, added a two-storey rear extension, which includes a new master bedroom with a vaulted A-frame oak roof, ensuite shower room with exposed beams and a Juliette balcony that overlooks the garden. Downstairs the breakfast room has been replaced and enlarged, with a utility, boot room and cloakroom added. The kitchen was replaced with a handmade one. We also now have three bathrooms upstairs, including the ensuite, so there are never any queues in the morning!

We’ve done a huge amount of work to make the house into a bigger and better functioning home, but we have maintained the character and charm that drew us to it in the first place. All the work has been done extremely sympathetically so it’s very hard to tell old from new.”

“The garden is another gorgeous feature, very peaceful and not overlooked. Because Hornton is in a valley, all the village gardens are gently sloped but ours is terraced. We have created a number of different areas where we can sit out, relax and entertain… There’s a big patio, two rose gardens, dining terrace, a large area of lawn, and at the top is a beautiful shrubbery with a magnificent walnut tree. From the top you can see right across the village and countryside beyond.” Favourite room: “I like all the rooms and visitors often say coming to the house feels like getting a big hug because it’s so warm and welcoming. I have to say, snoozing in front of the log burner after Sunday lunch is rather nice, but I think my favourite place is on the dining terrace, on a warm summer’s evening, listening to the birds and enjoying a cold glass of wine. It feels very good to be alive”.

“Hornton is a hidden gem. It’s not overpopulated; it has a superb sense of community; but we’ve always felt nicely removed from the everyday hustle and bustle of life. It’s surrounded by beautiful rolling countryside so you get the feeling of being somewhere like rural Devon, but we have the convenience of Banbury only fifteen minutes up the road and access to really good transport links. So overall, it’s somewhere we’ve been able to enjoy the best of both worlds.”

“Beyond the top terrace of the garden we have a gate that leads to the village allotments. I grow veg there and it’s where I keep my chickens. It’s actually fuelled our passion for outdoor living which is why we’ve decided to move to a property with more land.”

“We absolutely love this house and if we could pick it up and take it with us, we’d do it in a heartbeat,” says the owner. “I’ll miss everything about it and the lifestyle it has given us here, but most of all I’ll miss the village community we have been part of and the wonderful friends we’ve made during our time here.”*

* 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.

First Floor

The split-level landing provides two wide loft hatches, high Velux window, downlights, smoke alarms, a bespoke shoe cupboard, book shelving and exposed stone work. Steps lead up to the rear extension and the main bedroom with a vaulted ceiling, exposed oak A-Frame and purlins. This warm and private room has fabulous hand-made oak wardrobes and drawer sets blending in perfectly. There are two Velux windows, double doors and a wrought-iron Juliet balcony affording great views over the garden and a perfect location to enjoy sunsets directly to the west. The en-suite has a fully tiled shower enclosure with an electric power shower and curved doors. There is also a wash-hand basin with cupboard beneath, low-level WC, ladder radiator, quality floor tiling, wall light, extractor fan, vaulted ceiling with Velux and exposed beams.

The main family bathroom has a wide walk-in shower enclosure with a curved shower screen and rain shower, washstand with a circular white hand basin, column mixer tap and glass shelving beneath. White oval shaped bath on a wooden stand, low-level WC. Large ladder radiator, quality floor tiles, shaver point, rear window with garden views.

The second bedroom is a really bright ‘king size’ room with display ledges, TV point and a shuttered side window giving fine views over the village and open countryside beyond. The equally large third bedroom has a front dormer window. The fourth double bedroom has an airing cupboard, loft access and a tiny rear window peaking up the garden with a charming little shutter. With its tiny window this room will be contested by younger visitors or resident children!

A separate shower room is fully tiled and houses a shower enclosure with rain shower, low-level WC, wash-hand basin with storage below, ladder radiator, fitted mirror, shaver point, wall light point, down lighters and a Velux window.

Outside

Frontage & Parking Facilities

Norland House sits alongside the village lane with a narrow verge across the wide frontage. There is a raised flower bed on the side with stone retaining walls and one of two David Austin rose gardens on the south side of the house. Steps and a curved handrail lead to a stone wall and gated archway leading to the private side terrace. There is a PIR security light on the annexe illuminating the paved driveway that can accommodate three vehicles (or two larger ones).

Rear Garden

Surrounding the rear extension is a large patio offering privacy with stone retaining walls and two flights of steps taking you up to the larger rose garden in front of a large dining and seating area with stone chippings and lattice fencing giving a screen from the house. The rear garden has been carefully terraced by many hands over time to ensure it is user friendly, manageable and all sections are easily reached with meandering paths and wooden sleeper steps to its many ‘nooks and crannies’. The level lawn area is surrounded by established hedging and shrubbery, a maple tree and two garden sheds. There are three separate power and two cold water points in the garden. There is a level south-facing area beside the annex, which hosts the current owner’s shepherds hut but could host an outdoor kitchen or site a further sun terrace. The garden rises to the rear boundary gently where there is a magnificent walnut tree, with a couple of smaller ones nearby. The garden has plenty of ground cover and is a haven for birds and wildlife, compost area, ferns, variegated holly bushes and at least one buddleia. The garden is enclosed on all boundaries by mature trees, shrubs, bushes and wooden fencing. There is fencing on the rear boundary and a five bar gate leading to the village allotments behind (you can apply for a plot when one becomes available). The garden is directly west-facing and measures around 132ft by 80ft with a total plot of around 1/3 acre.

Detached Stone Annexe

To the north of the house is a substantial ironstone detached outbuilding with a high pitched and tiled roof. It was constructed over 40 years ago to a good standard as a snooker room. Since divided into two large rooms with a smart shower room, it could naturally meet a whole range of requirements with some further work and investment. With necessary consents, these could include a superb gymnasium, offices, passive income through ‘Airbnb’ or full time accommodation for a family member. It shares the main house central heating system, has a cold-water supply, windows and an independent consumer unit.