A beautiful Victorian unlisted country house with lovely southerly-facing gardens and grounds.
Orlestone Grange is a handsome Victorian country house of wonderful proportions, situated within the parish of Orlestone, on the periphery of the village of Hamstreet, under six miles to the south of Ashford and about eight miles to the east of Tenterden.
This impressive home was designed by Thomas Blashill, a renowned architect in his own right and contemporary of Sir Edwin Lutyens, responsible for designing the entrance gates to the Blackwall Tunnel amongst other notable buildings. Orlestone Grange dates from 1878 and was originally commissioned by the church as a rectory for the vicar of nearby St Mary's Church.
The property has been sympathetically refurbished retaining many of the period features typical of the Victorian era, including high ceilings, painted panelled internal doors, beautiful multi-paned windows affording light filled rooms, many working period fireplaces and exposed pine flooring or quarry tiled floors to a number of rooms.
Generously proportioned principal reception rooms offer ideal areas for formal entertaining and include elegant drawing and dining rooms with garden vistas, the former having a wide bay window and French doors to a lovely verandah. Further reception rooms are situated off the reception hall and comprise a sitting room with fitted bookshelves and open fireplace and a snug/TV room.
The kitchen, with old pine flooring, has hand-painted cupboards, a freestanding dresser in keeping with the period, a larder and space for various appliances. The adjoining dual aspect breakfast room has original cupboards and a refurbished electric Aga.
The staircase leads to a split level landing on the first floor where there are four attractive bedrooms, served by two bathrooms and a separate WC. These include the superb principal bedroom with walk through dressing room incorporating hanging and shelving and a luxuriously appointed bathroom with clawfoot bath. On the second floor there are three further bedrooms, a bathroom, linen cupboard and access to a substantial attic space.
Orlestone Grange with its westerly elevations enhanced by mature wisteria, is approached via a gravel drive leading to a parking area to the front of the house.
The delightful gardens lie mainly to the south and west and comprise sweeping expanses of lawn interspersed with an abundance of coniferous and deciduous shrubs and trees. There is a former tennis lawn partially screened by hornbeam hedging, rose arches and various fruit trees. Terraces lie to the east, south and west providing lovely areas to enjoy the sun throughout the day. Adjoining the garden is a paddock area and ancient oaks are planted to the major boundaries.
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When I came to Orlestone Grange I thought of the TV programme 'What the Victorians Did For Us' - they certainly knew how to design a house, such elegant light rooms of wonderful proportions
Sarah HuntProperty agent