British School House Chapel Lane | Blockley
British School House Chapel Lane | Blockley | Gloucestershire | GL56 9BE
British School House Blockley’s beautiful architectural heritage, typified by picturesque rows of terraced cottages cheek-by-jowl with fine Georgian houses along its high street, owes a great deal to a serendipitous geographical position. Nestled within the steep slopes of surrounding hills, the fast shallow stream that flows through the centre of the village has been harnessed from early medieval times to power water mills. By the 1800s up to 10 large mills were engaged in a flourishing silk industry, employing hundreds of workers at its height, during which time this erstwhile rural community enjoyed a brief but intense period of extreme wealth. The British School in Chapel Lane is a unique product of this time, built in 1852 by a collective of merchants who were required under the new Provisions of Factory Act to cater for the needs of young children working in the mills. Attached to the chapel and quickly expanding to include an infant class and lecturing facility, in fact it was only twenty years before poor trade and high taxation forced a swift exit of workers during the latter half of the nineteenth century. The school gradually fell into decline and in the twentieth century this simple building, perched on a narrow pretty lane leading off the high street, was eventually converted into a private home. Built of mellow stone with the narrowest edge to the kerbside and sheltered privately under a gently sloping roofline, it offers an unassuming and beguiling exterior that reveals little of the sheer size and scope within. As such it was to prove the perfect second home for the current owners when they found the property up for sale in 2001. “After many years visiting the Cotswolds to walk and ride we had a number of important criteria on our wish list but just stepping through the front door was enough to persuade us. I said ‘this will do nicely’ and that was that!” Mr Pritchard recalls. “Our practical considerations were forgotten but thankfully we discovered everything we needed was also provided, a joy when we were able to live here permanently a few years later without having to move again.” Embraced within one vast, flowing multi-levelled interior this tranquil and immaculate, eminently grown-up home offers three large principal living spaces – a formal living space, a cosy snug area and a sociable dining space served by a separate kitchen, the whole delineated in the main by a simple arrangement of furniture. The middle floor is more traditionally supplied with a master bedroom suite in addition to the utility and storerooms, whilst the garden floor provides generously proportioned guest accommodation. It is precisely the lack of physical division in this soaring principal single space that allows a constant movement of light to be cast through the gothic arched windows, set on all sides to catch the best of the sun throughout the day. Jewelled colours play onto long clean bare walls from circular stained glass windows set high in each apex, prisms glancing from the bevelled glass of an oak balustrade staircase, dusk creating thin shadows in mirrored alcoves, as structure and light somehow become art. Everything within is strategically placed – ceramics, a gravelled contemplative garden of treasured objects, lofty bookcases, modern pieces with antiques, all finding their own favoured position within an eclectic gallery. “We really don’t need paintings,” observes Mr Pritchard. “The building speaks for itself.” The vendors’ innate understanding of the inherent beauty of this space is carried into each carefully executed fine detail throughout their home. Discreet, understated comfort and indulgence is evident in every element, from the uncluttered cleverness of strategic mood lighting placed almost invisibly amongst the rafters to the pleasurable luxury of an enormous principal bedroom, complete with an en-suite bathroom beautifully tiled by a local master craftsman, and the prerequisite deep long baths ready for an evening’s soak after a long walk in the surrounding countryside. If Danish hygge has a Cotswold cousin, this is its archetype – a uniquely individual period property that defies a traditional interpretation and exalts in the nature of home as a place of comfort and a retreat, to enjoy alone or with favoured friends. Certainly guests may come and stay if they wish, unobtrusively on their own lower ground floor with their own bathroom - and be invited to join their hosts for breakfast on the abundantly planted terraced garden to look out together quietly onto a glorious view - but this is principally a wonderful place of solitude, calm and restoration. “It was at first a truly blissful retreat from the pressures of city life in every sense, yes, but once we became fully centred in Blockley we found it just as brilliantly suited to a great social life, in fact. We have hosted local clubs and societies here, invited friends and neighbours over for drinks and had big family get-togethers – one thing’s for certain, there’s plenty of room to mingle! Not only that but our relatives with young children have loved bringing them here, spending holidays here at any time of year.The house offers them wide safe spaces for grey days (one great-nephew took his first steps here) and, when the sun shines, Blockley Brook, the local paths, the Cotswold Farm and many other attractions have provided wonderful times and many happy memories for us all.”
British School House Property A unique opportunity to purchase an interesting period school house conversion with well-proportioned and characterful accommodation arranged over three floors. The Cotswold stone property is centrally located within this premier North Cotswold village and benefits from a substantial open plan living area, parking and distant countryside views from the courtyard garden. Accommodation Entrance, open plan living/dining/family area, split level reading/ snug area, kitchen, utility, WC, master bedroom suite with dressing area and en-suite bathroom, two further double bedrooms, bathroom, courtyard garden and off road parking. Location A uniquely attractive Gloucestershire village found three miles northwest of Moreton-in-Marsh, Blockley is an especially lovely Cotswold village. With its Georgian stone cottages, silk mill architecture, Norman church, and splendid surrounding countryside Blockley is a highly desirable place to live. Local amenities include a village store/coffee shop, village hall, the church, public houses and hotel, bowling green, sports club and nursery (Blockley also has its own primary school). The train station at nearby Moreton in Marsh offers direct lines to London Paddington Station via Oxford on the GWR hourly train service and the village makes an excellent centre for walking excursions, as surrounding villages such as Chipping Campden and Paxford can be reached by foot. Directions Upon entering Blockley from the A44, proceed through the village and take the second left. At the ‘T’ junction, turn right and take the next left. Turn left into Greenway Road and follow this road into Chapel Lane. The property will be found on the left hand side, identified by our For Sale board.
Agents notes: All measurements are approximate 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. Copyright © 2017 Fine & Country Ltd.Registered in England and Wales. Company Reg. No. 3889306. Registered Office: Harrison & Hardie Limited, High Street, Bourton on the Water, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL54 2AN. Printed 23.06.2017
Fine & Country Tel: +44 (0)1608 651000 [email protected] 17 High Street, Moreton in Marsh, Gloucestershire GL56 0AF
British School House Blockley’s beautiful architectural heritage, typified by picturesque rows of terraced cottages cheek-by-jowl with fine Georgian houses along its high street, owes a great deal to a serendipitous geographical position. Nestled within the steep slopes of surrounding hills, the fast shallow stream that flows through the centre of the village has been harnessed from early medieval times to power water mills. By the 1800s up to 10 large mills were engaged in a flourishing silk industry, employing hundreds of workers at its height, during which time this erstwhile rural community enjoyed a brief but intense period of extreme wealth. The British School in Chapel Lane is a unique product of this time, built in 1852 by a collective of merchants who were required under the new Provisions of Factory Act to cater for the needs of young children working in the mills. Attached to the chapel and quickly expanding to include an infant class and lecturing facility, in fact it was only twenty years before poor trade and high taxation forced a swift exit of workers during the latter half of the nineteenth century. The school gradually fell into decline and in the twentieth century this simple building, perched on a narrow pretty lane leading off the high street, was eventually converted into a private home. Built of mellow stone with the narrowest edge to the kerbside and sheltered privately under a gently sloping roofline, it offers an unassuming and beguiling exterior that reveals little of the sheer size and scope within. As such it was to prove the perfect second home for the current owners when they found the property up for sale in 2001. “After many years visiting the Cotswolds to walk and ride we had a number of important criteria on our wish list but just stepping through the front door was enough to persuade us. I said ‘this will do nicely’ and that was that!” Mr Pritchard recalls. “Our practical considerations were forgotten but thankfully we discovered everything we needed was also provided, a joy when we were able to live here permanently a few years later without having to move again.” Embraced within one vast, flowing multi-levelled interior this tranquil and immaculate, eminently grown-up home offers three large principal living spaces – a formal living space, a cosy snug area and a sociable dining space served by a separate kitchen, the whole delineated in the main by a simple arrangement of furniture. The middle floor is more traditionally supplied with a master bedroom suite in addition to the utility and storerooms, whilst the garden floor provides generously proportioned guest accommodation. It is precisely the lack of physical division in this soaring principal single space that allows a constant movement of light to be cast through the gothic arched windows, set on all sides to catch the best of the sun throughout the day. Jewelled colours play onto long clean bare walls from circular stained glass windows set high in each apex, prisms glancing from the bevelled glass of an oak balustrade staircase, dusk creating thin shadows in mirrored alcoves, as structure and light somehow become art. Everything within is strategically placed – ceramics, a gravelled contemplative garden of treasured objects, lofty bookcases, modern pieces with antiques, all finding their own favoured position within an eclectic gallery. “We really don’t need paintings,” observes Mr Pritchard. “The building speaks for itself.” The vendors’ innate understanding of the inherent beauty of this space is carried into each carefully executed fine detail throughout their home. Discreet, understated comfort and indulgence is evident in every element, from the uncluttered cleverness of strategic mood lighting placed almost invisibly amongst the rafters to the pleasurable luxury of an enormous principal bedroom, complete with an en-suite bathroom beautifully tiled by a local master craftsman, and the prerequisite deep long baths ready for an evening’s soak after a long walk in the surrounding countryside. If Danish hygge has a Cotswold cousin, this is its archetype – a uniquely individual period property that defies a traditional interpretation and exalts in the nature of home as a place of comfort and a retreat, to enjoy alone or with favoured friends. Certainly guests may come and stay if they wish, unobtrusively on their own lower ground floor with their own bathroom - and be invited to join their hosts for breakfast on the abundantly planted terraced garden to look out together quietly onto a glorious view - but this is principally a wonderful place of solitude, calm and restoration. “It was at first a truly blissful retreat from the pressures of city life in every sense, yes, but once we became fully centred in Blockley we found it just as brilliantly suited to a great social life, in fact. We have hosted local clubs and societies here, invited friends and neighbours over for drinks and had big family get-togethers – one thing’s for certain, there’s plenty of room to mingle! Not only that but our relatives with young children have loved bringing them here, spending holidays here at any time of year.The house offers them wide safe spaces for grey days (one great-nephew took his first steps here) and, when the sun shines, Blockley Brook, the local paths, the Cotswold Farm and many other attractions have provided wonderful times and many happy memories for us all.”
British School House Property A unique opportunity to purchase an interesting period school house conversion with well-proportioned and characterful accommodation arranged over three floors. The Cotswold stone property is centrally located within this premier North Cotswold village and benefits from a substantial open plan living area, parking and distant countryside views from the courtyard garden. Accommodation Entrance, open plan living/dining/family area, split level reading/ snug area, kitchen, utility, WC, master bedroom suite with dressing area and en-suite bathroom, two further double bedrooms, bathroom, courtyard garden and off road parking. Location A uniquely attractive Gloucestershire village found three miles northwest of Moreton-in-Marsh, Blockley is an especially lovely Cotswold village. With its Georgian stone cottages, silk mill architecture, Norman church, and splendid surrounding countryside Blockley is a highly desirable place to live. Local amenities include a village store/coffee shop, village hall, the church, public houses and hotel, bowling green, sports club and nursery (Blockley also has its own primary school). The train station at nearby Moreton in Marsh offers direct lines to London Paddington Station via Oxford on the GWR hourly train service and the village makes an excellent centre for walking excursions, as surrounding villages such as Chipping Campden and Paxford can be reached by foot. Directions Upon entering Blockley from the A44, proceed through the village and take the second left. At the ‘T’ junction, turn right and take the next left. Turn left into Greenway Road and follow this road into Chapel Lane. The property will be found on the left hand side, identified by our For Sale board.
Agents notes: All measurements are approximate 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. Copyright © 2017 Fine & Country Ltd.Registered in England and Wales. Company Reg. No. 3889306. Registered Office: Harrison & Hardie Limited, High Street, Bourton on the Water, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL54 2AN. Printed 23.06.2017
Fine & Country Tel: +44 (0)1608 651000 [email protected] 17 High Street, Moreton in Marsh, Gloucestershire GL56 0AF
