Riverside Cottages

Riverside Cottages 2 Water Lane | North Witham | Lincolnshire | NG33

KEY FEATURES

• A Linked, Stone Built, Period Former Farmhouse

• Entrance Porch, Kitchen / Diner and Utility Room

• Reception Room, Snug, Conservatory and Study

• Four Bedrooms, an En Suite and a Family Bathroom

• Double Garage With Two Adjoining Garden Stores

• Tarmac Drive and Ample Off Road Parking for Several Cars

• Spacious Front Cottage Garden and Large Lawn Rear Garden

• Total Accommodation Extends to Approximately 2104 Sq. Ft.

A rare opportunity to purchase a charming stone property dating to the late 1700s, surrounded by undulating countryside in a small South Lincolnshire village conveniently close to the A1 without being aware of it. Offering 4 sizeable bedrooms upstairs and potential to create another downstairs, it has a good number of spacious reception rooms, a large garden to the front and back, a separate double garage and adjoining storerooms, and has been a happy family home for the last 40 years.

is 30 miles (45 mins) northwest and Leicester is 30 miles (50 mins) southwest. Also, there is a wide choice of exceptional state and private schools in the area.

2 Riverside Cottages is a delightful house full of character and charm and was once part of a row of three farmworkers’ cottages with the River Witham running past the property on the other side of the lane.

North Witham is about 10 miles between both Stamford to the south and Grantham to the north, and about 25 miles (30 mins) northwest of Peterborough. Here, fast trains to London take around 45 minutes and, combined with the close proximity of the A1, the property is in an extremely convenient position for travelling to towns and cities. For instance, Nottingham

“We are attached to our neighbours who own number 3 and we own the other two adjoining cottages. This is now one, quite large house particularly since we added the extension in the 1990s which has given us the utility room and study downstairs and the two bedrooms and en suite upstairs,” informs one of the owners. This extension was created in a totally sympathetic way, and with the weathering of time, it is virtually impossible to distinguish between the old and the new.

“My husband bought the property before we were married and it needed a lot of work; there was a ladder from the snug up to the first floor – no staircase at all – and he embarked upon a laborious project of chipping off the plasterwork to expose the lovely stone inside and renovating the place in its entirety. We also put on the conservatory about 20 years ago which is especially useful when we have family or friends visiting; it captures the evening sun and opens out onto a large, sheltered terrace.”

sitting room have lovely parquet floors. “Upstairs the floorboards are all reclaimed from a church,” divulges the owner, “and the kitchen units are reclaimed oak. They are handmade and bespoke and incorporate a double butler sink. The utility room is like a second kitchen and has an extraordinary amount of fitted cupboards – there’s never a problem with storage here.”

Internal walls reveal the original timbers and there is a wealth of beautiful old timber beams overhead. Flooring is in keeping with the house with terracotta pamments in the kitchen, the adjoining utility room and the conservatory, whilst the snug and the

At the back, off the utility room and accessed from outside too, a very spacious study is dual aspect. This room could make a lovely downstairs bedroom, perhaps for elderly parents to live alongside. The utility is easily large enough to accommodate a bathroom or shower room and has plumbing already in situ.

The farmhouse style kitchen flows seamlessly into the snug and on into the sitting room, whilst the conservatory is reached through sliding, glazed doors. The almost 20 foot long sitting room, despite its size, is extremely cosy with a fireplace, with an impressively thick beam above, housing a log fire. From the far corner of the room an open tread, carpeted staircase rises to the four bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs, all with partially vaulted ceilings adding to the character. The principal bedroom is another exceptionally large room fitted with wardrobes, an en suite shower room is at one end

and French doors onto a west facing balcony at the other end – the perfect place for a sundowner with views over the garden and open field landscape beyond! A series of wide stone steps descend to the garden below.

The house is thankfully not listed and is fitted with double-glazed uPvc windows which, combined with its very thick walls, keep the house warm in winter and cool in summer.

Outside, the sunny garden is a wonderful size for a family with a spacious, tarmacked drive and lawn behind a stone wall and hedge to the front and an even larger lawned area sheltered by evergreen hedging at the back. A magnificent beech tree is a feature beside the outbuildings: a double garage with adjoining sizeable storerooms. Next to this is hardstanding for a shed or something similar, if required. “The front garden is surrounded by colourful planting such as bulbs and perennials,” says the owner, “whereas the back has been ideal for children to run around and kick a football!”

Excellent schools, both in the state system and in the private sector are in the area. Primary schools are in neighbouring villages such as Colsterworth with its C of E Primary School rated Good, and for state secondary education, Grantham (10 miles) offers superb state grammar schools with the King’s School (for boys) and Kesteven & Grantham Girls’ School both rated Outstanding by Ofsted whilst the co-educational Bourne Grammar School (about 15 miles) is also rated Outstanding. The prep school Witham Hall is about 10 miles away, whilst further excellent schools in the private sector such as Oakham (12 miles), the Stamford Schools (10 miles) and Uppingham (18 miles), are also within a reasonable distance.

The location is also very good for outings and activities with Rutland Water only about 12 miles away, glorious Georgian Stamford a similar distance and, less than 2 miles north,Woolsthorpe Manor is the birthplace of Sir Isaac Newton, a delightful place to visit owned by the National Trust.

“Though small, North Witham is quite an active community with a play park and a village hall where events are organised by an enthusiastic core of residents, and the church is still open for worship, but not all the time. We also have a post box!” enthuses the owner. “However, Colsterworth is only 2 miles down the road and has schools, a doctors’, shops, pubs and so on and larger towns are not far for everything you might need. We will, of course, be very sad to leave – we never thought we would – but alas the time has come for someone else to enjoy the place, I hope, as much as we have.”

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.

LOCAL AUTHORITY: South Kesteven District Council

SERVICES: Mains Electricity, Water and Drainage, Air Source Heat Pump for Heating and Hot Water

Council Tax Band: E

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.

Rutland Country Properties. Registered in England and Wales No. 11897195