Hay Lane, Horsley, GL6

Properties like The Orchard come to the market very rarely — not just because they are hard to find, but because the people who find them tend not to leave. Set in 3.4 acres off a country lane on the outskirts of the village of Horsley, the property is surrounded by rolling fields and open countryside. With grazing land, stabling, a detached barn annexe and various studio/ outbuildings, this is a home for someone looking to live a little differently.

The principal cottage was modest semi-detached stone building initially, full of character and interest shaped over generations. It has been extended sympathetically in the more recent past, retaining the warmth and feel of the original building whilst more than doubling the living space. You walk into a generous entrance hall, with a utility room with shower and WC tucked conveniently at the rear. To the left there is a 17’ reception room with wood burning stove. To the right, a 26’ kitchen/dining room, with Everhot stove and flagstone floors is the natural heart of the home. Two further reception rooms on the ground floor, one with a wood burning stove and a door out to the rear courtyard, means there is plenty of good living space for busy family life, offering flexibility as a study, playroom or snug as needs change over time.

A staircase leads up from the larger of these two rooms to the first floor. Here, a large landing connects four bedrooms, a study and a family bathroom. Two of the bedrooms interconnect, with an en suite shower room off. Glazed double doors open from the far room onto steps that lead back into the garden, and this area has been used as a small informal annexe in the past, although it’s likely that it will be earmarked as the parent’s suite, with bedroom, dressing room and shower room. The remaining bedrooms have plenty of character of their own, with sloping ceilings, deep-set windows and the kind of quiet that comes from being surrounded by open countryside on all sides. Separate from the main house, the detached barn annexe is a space quite unlike anything else. A vaulted, beamed interior with its own kitchen area, bathroom and a mezzanine bedroom reached by a ship's ladder, it has a warmth and personality that comes from years of creative occupation — the sort of place that people fall in love with the moment they walk in. With its own entrance, solar panel generated electricity and wood burning stove, it functions comfortably as accommodation away from the main property. For those with older children, elderly parents or simply a need for a properly separate guest space, it makes The Orchard a genuinely practical proposition for multi-generational living in a way that few properties in this price range can match.

Taken together, the main house and annexe offer approximately 2,315 square feet of living space. In addition, there is an insulated detached studio outbuilding, a summerhouse and other useful sheds, stores and outbuildings, adding to a versatile home that is greater than the sum of its parts. Flexible, characterful and totally unique, The Orchard is full of potential for a family ready to put their own stamp on a very special place.

The Orchard forms the left-hand side of a row of three buildings which are believed to have originally been weavers’ cottages, later becoming cider storage sheds when the central building briefly served as a Georgian public house. Since that time the cider apple trees were removed and more recently the kitchen, constructed cowshed roof in the barn by German journeymen, stables, and extension to the main house with external staircase.

Entering Orchard House from Hay lane, the driveway curves round a substantial lawn or green, with a variety of trees some of which are relatively rare and are labelled. On the right is a fruit cage, tied entrance, the curved turf roofed stable, workshop and garage building (topped with solar panels), access to the apple orchard, a pond, and access to the second field. This has been recently planted (partially to stabilise the soil), as a deciduous park. Passing The Barn annexe and some wood storage containers , one ends up eventually facing the house. There is also a small raw wool insulated shed, on the left. There is access to parking in a variety of places, to the studio, decking and area of land behind the barn, and to a second, somewhat shallow pond.

There are a substantial variety of unusual or rare trees, flower and shrub beds, and a no dig organic vegetable patch. Mature species trees include, Parrotia Persia, Davidia, Catalpa (Indian Bean Tree), Cedar, Golden Rain Tree and Caucasian wing nut. Apple varieties including Annie Elizabeth, Cox's Orange Pippin, Jupiter, Wyken Pippin, Blenheim Orange, Autumn Permain, Tydeman's Late Orange, Sunset, Braeburn, Falstaff, Gloucester Cross, Ashmead's Kernel, Canadian Reinette and Aromatic Russet. Solar panels sit atop the stable and these serve the house and annexe.

In all, the property extends to approximately 3.40 acres — a unique opportunity to live with the land in a setting that very rarely comes to the market.

The popular village of Horsley boasts a shop, church and primary school. The lively Cotswold town of Nailsworth is approximately 1½ miles away and has become an increasingly popular shopping destination within the Stroud Valleys benefiting from a large and comprehensive selection of speciality shops including Williams Food Hall, the famous Hobbs House Bakery, various clothing and gift shops, several cafes and a good selection of very well regarded restaurants. In addition to this the town currently benefits from three supermarkets, free parking and both state and private schooling in the area. Nailsworth is also home to Forest Green Rovers Football Club where there is a modern leisure/fitness centre. Bus services connect with Stroud, some 4 miles away, where there is a more comprehensive selection of shopping, educational and leisure facilities. Junctions of the M4 and M5 motorways are within easy reach and railway stations at Stroud (4 miles) and Kemble (10 miles) provide main line services to Gloucester, Swindon and London Paddington

Property information

The property is freehold. Oil fired central heating, mains electricity, water and private drainage. The council tax band is D. We have checked the service and reception levels available locally through the OFCOM network checker and the broadband services available include standard and ultrafast connections, and you are likely to have full service from all major mobile providers outside the property, although reception may be limited inside the house. These results are predictions and not a guarantee. Actual services available may be different depending on the particular circumstances and the precise location of the user.

Agents Note

There is a right of way for the neighbouring property over the drive. A small area of land will be retained by the seller. Please contact the office for more information.