VIEW ROOM WITH A

The unique glazed garden room at the heart of Clive & Ruth Davies’ stone barn is the perfect place to enjoy views of spring skies and open countryside...

Words: Rob Davis.

The Details

Manor Farm Barn, Lenton, Grantham

Location: Grantham 9.4 miles; Stamford 22.5 miles, A1 9.3 miles.

Provenance: Former farm building of the Ancaster estate, dating back to 1887, converted for residential use 10 years ago.

Rooms: Four reception rooms currently breakfast room, sitting room, dining room and garden room. Four beds, each with en suite.

Guide Price: £1,500,000.

Find Out More: Fine & Country, Seaton, Oakham LE15 9HT. Call 01780 750200, or see www.fineandcountry.co.uk.

CLIVE & RUTH DAVIES are probably the most accommodating babysitters in the area. Having moved to Lincolnshire five years ago to help look after their young grandchild – now happily installed in a local primary school – the couple are moving once again, this time to Yorkshire, to look after another grandchild; a blue one, aged 10 months.

They’ll have to leave behind their superb contemporary barn conversion located in the village of Lenton. Family comes first but, they admit, it’ll be a real wrench to hand over the keys.

The property itself was once a barn on the Ancaster farming estate. Dating back to 1887, the estate was especially keen to ensure the skills of its staff and the quality of the buildings they created. And so, the apprentices charged with building on the estate used such buildings at this to finesse their skills, and the barn utilises King & Queen trusses, Ancaster stone and other materials which saw the building’s construction rather over-specified for its original purpose as a barn on a working farming estate.

It wasn’t the last time that the building was treated to an assiduous investment of time, money, good quality materials and craftsmanship, either. 10 years ago, Manor Farm Barn was converted for residential use as the third and final project that its owner – who worked as the head of the MoD’s property division –would live in as their ‘forever home.’

An unexpected move overseas, though, saw the original owner putting the property on the market and Clive & Ruth – who were looking to move into the area – take on the four-bedroom barn, which is arranged in a U-shape around a central courtyard.

The couple wanted somewhere that was built and finished beautifully. They were also keen that the property facilitated intergenerational living for Ruth’s elderly parents. With living space and two of the bedrooms on the ground floor, and with no awkward steps plus wide, wheelchair-friendly doors, Manor Farm Barn suited the couple’s needs perfectly. On the ground floor there’s a kitchen with breakfast room, plus a dining room and day room or office. A large living room has bi-fold doors opening out onto the courtyard plus a unique pyramid wood burner which, quite in addition to looking impressive, has a flue which is located underneath the floor, rather than venting its smoke through a vertical pipe, resulting in a much cleaner appearance.

There’s a unique glazed garden room, too, resembling the bow of a ship, which Clive & Ruth say dissipates heat throughout the ground floor. Elsewhere, the whole property has underfloor heating and high performance glazing, ensuring it’s a true house for all seasons. >>

>> Other features of the property which aid its efficiency include a bank of solar panels on the roof for the underfloor heating and rainwater harvesting technology too.

The property’s kitchen is a modern cream design with Corian engineered stone surfaces and contemporary wood highlights. Appliances include a Neff induction hob and a Quooker boiling water tap. There’s a separate laundry room and an additional utility room too, helping to keep clutter away from the property’s living spaces. On the first floor are two remaining bedrooms with en suite shower rooms, and a mezzanine snug area above the kitchen.

Set in 1.25 acres, the property’s garden room is beautifully framed by the reflection pool which runs into a rill and ultimately towards an obelisk at the end of the garden, beyond which are southerly views over acres of countryside.

“We’ll really miss the place,” say the couple. “We’ve loved the beauty and peace of the reflection pool and water cascading down the rill, the constantly changing landscape of the seasons with the growing crops and the wide variety of birds and wildlife so close to the property, not to mention the superb views of some really outstanding sunrises and sunsets.” n n Tee View House, Skegness Guide Price: £1,150,000

A superb luxury executive five bedroomed house with open plan Poggenpohl kitchen living area plus four reception rooms including a cinema room. Gymnasium, spa pool and garden office, gated entrance and walled gardens, www.poyntons.com n Tudor Lodge, Holbeach Guide Price: £2,000,000

Impressive family home built in the 1920s in an Arts & Crafts style in stone and brick. Sympathetically extended providing attractive garages, annexes, a cinema, a heated indoor pool, and a hard tennis court beside the original pavilion, www.fineandcountry.com n The Moat House, Louth Guide Price: £1,250,000

Magnificent five bed detached country residence in a rural location near to Louth. Georgian and Palladian influences to design, grand reception rooms. Gardens and land of about three acres, a moat, orangery, studio, gymnasium and equestrian facilities. www.savills.co.uk