Location

The Old Rectory is situated on the edge of the village of Beeston. The village is very active with many events run from the village hall, including exercise classes and quizzes, has a popular community-run public house with a good restaurant, sports field and active cricket club. The village is well positioned for access to the A47, about 3 miles to the south.

There is a primary school in the village. Secondary education together with every day amenities including a village shop, delicatessen, post office, doctors surgery and a public house can be found in the neighbouring village of Litcham which is approximately 2 miles.

Further amenities and facilities can be found in the nearby marketing towns of Swaffham and Dereham, with a Waitrose supermarket at Swaffham.

Norwich, the cathedral city and regional centre of East Anglia lies approximately 25 miles to the east and has excellent retail, cultural and business sectors alongside renowned education at all levels right through to the University of East Anglia and excellent transport links with an international airport and a mainline rail service to London Liverpool Street.

Description

A house that really fills the eye on arrival, with a handsome, symmetrical and tall Georgian façade the Old Rectory has a beguiling approach sweeping up to the house. With a history back to 1793, the house has the elegance to be expected, with tall shuttered sash windows, fine rooms filled with natural light and yet successful modern transformations, mostly apparent in the kitchen/breakfast room, the three bathrooms and downstairs cloakrooms.

The entrance hall sets the tone, a wide space with yorkstone flooring, fanlight above the door which has original stained glass, and leads off to the principal reception rooms. These include the dining room with elegant panelling and working fireplace, conveniently located next to the kitchen, and the drawing room with wood burner, leading into the cosy library with bespoke shelving, the type of room that could evolve for different uses. The kitchen/breakfast room is perfectly positioned for morning sun, having an east to south orientation, with the entire eastern elevation glazed with double doors out to a terrace, ideal for outside dining, entertaining and relaxing whilst overlooking the moat, an ideal spot for watching wildlife on the bird feeders, on the water and in the field beyond.

The kitchen has been completely refurbished, with bespoke cabinetry now topped with thick granite worktops, with large island unit complete with breakfast bar, and the country house staple of an Aga.

For practicality, a tall utility room which contains a large clothes drying rack, is off the kitchen, whilst a boot room has the essential storage a house of this scale requires, and a panelled WC with its own fireplace, charming.

The elegant central staircase leads to the first floor comprising two impressive bedrooms. The principal bedroom is particularly spacious, with feature fireplace, an en suite bathroom, and adjoining dressing room. The second bedroom, is equal in scale, and again with en suite bathroom. The second floor hosts a further four bedrooms, three of which are double rooms, together with a bathroom, making this a very practical floor of accommodation.

One of the beauties of this house is the symmetrical, dolls house style layout, with all the principal rooms equal in size, south facing and one above the other.

Technically, the house is very narrowly attached, yet you would not know it. The neighbouring smaller house to the north, former kitchens and staff accommodation for the Old Rectory, was divided many years ago. The property orientates away from this, and its privacy and enjoyment of its surroundings is unaffected.

Cottage and Outbuildings
Within the grounds of the Old Rectory is a charming period cottage, currently providing a useful income as an Airbnb, but would also be suited to elderly relatives or similar, given the lateral living. The cottage, with its own private garden next to the moat, enjoys an open plan kitchen/sitting/dining area with cosy woodburner, a shower room, hall and bedroom. It is deservedly popular on Airbnb with fantastic reviews.

Elsewhere in the grounds is a substantial two storey outbuilding comprising workshop and garage on the ground floor, together with car ports, with steel staircase up to a first floor. This hosts a studio, kitchenette, WC and office space, with natural light through velux windows and glazed gable ends. This is a brilliant asset to the house as it can be utilised in many ways, ideal for working from home, an art studio, studio for pilates, or as a further Airbnb.

Gardens
The gardens of the Old Rectory are charming. The initial entrance, over gravelled driveway sweeping up the house, continues to a parking area before circling back to the main gate. Areas of lawn, and professionally planted landscaped garden, provides colour all year round, with structural yew, grasses and paths are to the south of the house, together with a striking Indian bean tree, and a seating area in one corner, a real sun trap taking in south and west sun.

Between the house and the moat on the eastern side is a terrace, a delightful spot accessed directly from the kitchen, with a solid gazebo almost creating a further room to the house. The terrace, with glass balustrade, allows for views over the water and watching water birds. An attractive Monet-style long bridge, recently refurbished, spans over the moat, leading to further lawns that stretch away from the house to farmland and a large pond at the southern most point of the land. The gardens are fenced with estate style railings, a defined backdrop, which continues to the north, where there are raised beds for kitchen gardens, a pizza oven, greenhouse and a useful shed for garden tools and machinery.