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A charming Grade II listed home for updating in a well served village.
The Old Foundry is a charming Grade II listed house, one of the earliest houses in this well served village of Castle Acre, famous for its medieval Castle and Priory. The house dates back to the 16th century, with later additions and alterations, and is now at a stage where it is ready to evolve once again to fulfil modern day living requirements, whilst retaining the wonderful aesthetic of an old house.
The exteriors of The Old Foundry provide an endearing timeline to the changes over the centuries. From the original brick and flint to the 18th century façade with Georgian sash windows, from stone quoins perhaps taken from the ruins nearby to the significant single storey extension, there are plenty of stories to tell.
The house is full of character within a very usable layout over the approx. 3000 sq ft of living space. Highlights include well proportioned rooms such as the living room with chamfered beams and original fireplace, the dining room with bressummer dated at 1636, and the open plan kitchen/breakfast room. The latter is a sociable space, where much of life at The Old Foundry flows through, complete with Rayburn, pantry and French doors out to the garden. The ground floor also hosts a snug, and lovely entrance hall with distinctive tiled floor and fireplace, and a bathroom for practicality.
Upstairs, four double bedrooms all have their own layout, with cupboards, and basins in a couple of them. These are served by the family bathroom and a separate WC, and all are linked by a long garden with views out to the gardens. There is a staircase up to the second floor with another spacious bedroom with vaulted ceilings and dormer window, with a convenient shower on the same floor, together with attic storage.
Whilst the house is perfectly liveable, it is fair to say it would now require updating to optimise the building and surrounding gardens.
Outside
The Old Foundry is accessed via two driveways, likely an original carriage driveway that could be opened up again. The main gravelled driveway leads up to the house, to a parking and turning area accessing a double car port. The second driveway leads to the outbuildings and the original foundry.
The house is south facing, with great privacy thanks to established hedges and trees on the boundaries. The south facing garden is mainly lawned, with a low brick and flint wall on one side, with gravelled area and brick weave paving. The front of the house is clad in wisteria and roses.
The main garden is behind the house. Sweeping lawns stretch away from the house, dotted with trees and shrubs including yew, beech, cherry, cedar and a fine willow. It creates a delightful environment to enjoy, with high degree of privacy within the village, with herbaceous beds, a paved terrace adjoining the kitchen for outside dining and entertaining, and a gravelled area for further parking or landscaping.
To the west of the house are traditional outbuildings, single storey, providing excellent storage and with plenty of opportunity to utilise in other ways. One of the main rooms is 10.5 metres long. To the south west of the house is The Old Foundry, a brick and flint building which has fallen into disrepair but again sets the imagination racing as to what it could be utilised for, subject to gaining the necessary planning consents of course.
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A lovely house to make your own, in one of my favourite villages.
Ben RivettProperty agent