Location

Dovehayes is located on the edge of the village of Bourton and has a secluded feel, despite being within easy walking distance of this popular village.

Bourton offers a has a range of local amenities including a primary school, post office and shop, award-winning public house, village hall and church. There is a strong community aspect, with clubs, societies and social networks in the village; at the time of writing, these include walking and wildlife groups, a book club, a toddler group and an amateur dramatic society.

The nearby towns of Gillingham and Mere offering more comprehensive shopping facilities.

The ancient Kites Nest Lane runs past the property and leads directly up to the renowned Stourhead Estate, with its beautiful National Trust gardens in addition to hundreds of acres of Forestry Commission land with numerous bridleways and footpaths. Gillingham also has a direct rail service to London Waterloo (from 1 hour 58 minutes). The Cathedral City of Salisbury is 28 miles away. The A303 is close by and gives good road access to the West Country and London (via the M3). The area is known for a number of excellent prep and secondary schools including Port Regis, Sandroyd, Hazelgrove, the Sherborne schools, Bryanston, and Millfield.

Description

Thought to date back to c. 1800, Dovehayes is originally one of the village farms and sits of the edge of the Dorset village of Bourton. Constructed of stone under a tiled roof, this charming period house is not listed.

Day-to-day access is from the driveway directly into the kitchen, with laminate floor, shaker-style units, Aga and electric oven with hob. There is ample space for a breakfast/dining table and lovely views across the garden. The family room adjoins the kitchen, a cosy space for day-to-day living. The sitting room is a lovely elegant room, with an inglenook fireplace and log-burner. The owners currently use the more formal entrance hall as a music hall, with lovely exposed beams and a stone-flagged floor. It provides a quiet space to one end of the house, with the dual-aspect study just off. There is a utility room and WC, with gently-rising stairs from the spacious light-filled hallway, up to the first floor.

There are five bedrooms in total. Two bedrooms have been opened into one, with bi-fold doors between them, creating a ‘suite-style’ set up which has been ideal for family needing an adjoining study area. There is a family bathroom and a separate shower room as well.

OUTSIDE
It is hard to look past the stunning Wisteria-clad façade of the main house, but as well as the house there is a stone barn across the drive that we suspect pre-dates the house itself; it is now a double garage and workshop with a superb games room above. There is another stone and brick outbuilding adjacent used as a garden and log store with a useful outside loo.

An older ruined house lies in the large garden, now something of a “folly”, and has been a charming venue for summer parties. A further outbuilding houses seasoning logs and garden equipment.

The Dovehayes garden was awarded a plaque from the Dorset Wildlife Trust for nature conservation and offers a diverse range of wildlife; recently spotted are Roe deer, Muntjac, Red Kites, Barn and Tawny owls. There is an owl box in one of the old oak trees and well as a myriad of woodland birds. A boardwalk traverses a bog garden with small stream full of flag irises, king cups and orchids.

The garden is diverse with lawns, garden beds, woods, wild areas, paddocks and a young orchard totalling approximately 2.2 acres.

Directions

SP8 5DA

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