HOMES & INTERIORS Beautiful

A PROPERTY FOR SALE THAT’S Simply Divine

Grade I listed and located in the heart of Lincoln, with the peal of the Cathedral bells in the background. This month’s featured home is, we believe, the most desirable property on the market anywhere in Lincolnshire right now...

THE DETAILS Atherstone House, Eastgate, Lincoln

Location: Uphill Lincoln, Cathedral 100 yards, Bailgate 200 yards. Provenance: Grade I listed period property previously owned by the Diocese of Lincoln. Rooms: Five receptions currently arranged as living kitchen with family room, drawing room, dining room, study/snug and cinema. Eight bedrooms, three bathrooms.

OIEO: £2,600,000.

Find Out More: Savills, Olympic House, Doddington Road, Lincoln LN6 3SE. Call 01522 508909 or see www.savills.com. n THERE ARE PROPERTIES. There are nice properties. And then, there’s Lincoln’s Atherstone House, a country home quite in a class of its own. For a start, it’s Grade I listed and some parts of the house originate from as far back in time as the 13th century. And then of course, there’s the location. It’s positioned on Eastgate, just opposite the Cathedral, right in the heart of Uphill Lincoln, enabling its owners to wake up to the gentle peal of the Cathedral’s bells.

And if those selling points haven’t convinced you that this is probably the most impressive house on the market anywhere in Lincolnshire right now, there’s the scale of the place. The house offers over 8,000sq ft of accommodation and a plot that’s around an acre and a half in size. This we believe is one of the largest – if not the largest plot – for a residential property in the centre of Lincoln. The property’s current owners were born and raised in Lincolnshire and can’t resist a project. They’ve renovated four

properties, and have completed each one to a similarly high standard, promising themselves that each one was their ‘forever home.’ Sure enough though as soon as the last piece of furniture is in situ, the lure of the next project has consistently proved far too tempting.

Having previously lived in the village of Harmston, the paint is no sooner dry on Eastgate than the owners have spotted their dream plot back there, and so they have put Atherstone House on the market with estate agency Savills for £2.6m.

Atherstone House is the original name for the property that colloquially became known as The Old Bishop’s House. As its name suggests, it was home to Bishop John Saxbee until his retirement in 2011. It was at that point the property passed from the Diocese into private ownership. It was renovated in 2011, then acquired by the current owners in 2019 and further improved.

“All of the structural work was completed and it was in very good order,” the couple says. “It was just a case of reconfiguring the rooms to suit and decorating it to our tastes. Already, though, the roof, wiring and plumbing had been replaced. When we had the structural audit, we were told that it was in the best condition the surveyors had ever seen for a building of its age, and that the Diocese had obviously spared no effort in its upkeep.”

Investing in the property a similar level of commitment, the current owners enlisted The Treehouse Interior Design company, based in Doddington to assist them in the styling and decoration of the house. >>

Creating many bespoke items to suit the interiors, the reception rooms of Atherstone House utilise fabrics from names like William Yeoward and Andrew Martin, accessorised by de Le Cuona, with lighting products designed by Porta Romana...

Above: The drawing room with its wood panelling and open fireplace. Opposite: Interiors photographed by Two Bears Studio www.twobearsstudio.co.uk >> Owners Philip Martinson and Stephen Hodgkinson are ridiculously talented and have laser-guided judgement… they’re just… emperors of good taste. Creating many bespoke items to suit the interiors, the reception rooms of Atherstone House utilise fabrics from names like de Le Cuona, Dedar and Scottish leathers from Muirhead with additional accessories by Ecco Trading, Tyson London, Andrew Martin, and lighting products designed by Porta Romana as well as furniture from William Yeoward, Davidson and Julian Chichester... not to mention pieces designed and commissioned by The Treehouse. The kitchen of Atherstone House was already in situ, but has been further enhanced by Philip and Stephen with the assistance of Lincoln’s Krantz Designs. Painted in two Little Greene shades and finished with white quartz work surfaces, the kitchen is equipped with appliances from Gaggenau, Wolf, Ilve and Siemens. It’s also equipped with a Quooker boiling water tap. The kitchen has a casual dining area and a family room with a Chesney log burner, and there’s a dedicated butler’s pantry as well as a utility room and a boot room for keeping family clutter at bay. In addition to the dining area in the kitchen, there’s a formal dining room with views of the Cathedral and grounds as well as doric columns and a gold metallic Stucco Venezianostyle polished plaster effect to the ceiling. >>

“To say that Atherstone House is exquisite in every detail would be an understatement. A great deal of consideration and expertise has been invested in its appearance and its character...”

>> The adjacent living room meanwhile features wood panelling and a further log burner, and on the first floor, one of the bedrooms is currently used as a cinema room. Also on the ground floor is a study/ office as well as a spectacular entrance hallway with wood panelled fireplace, galleried landing and an ornate staircase. To the first floor is a master bedroom suite with dressing room and shower room, and there’s a family bathroom too. Two further bedrooms share an en suite, and a separate staircase leads to a second floor with two further bedrooms. Much of The Treehouse Interior Design Studio’s attention has been invested in creating bespoke furniture in conjunction with APSS joinery, who created console tables and other furniture in the bedrooms. Bathroom furniture includes bespoke vanity units from Porter and handmade baths by Albion. The grounds of Atherstone House, too, are a reflection of the owners’ efforts, investment and attention to detail in the property’s design. Reclaimed cobbled setts flank a resin-bonded driveway, there’s a double garage and an elevated sun terrace as well as a rear courtyard and patio area. There’s provision, too, for a gym and a workshop, though this space can be re-purposed to suit the next owners’ needs. Much of the garden is laid to lawn to ensure low maintenance, but established trees and borders plus the position of the property, set back from Eastgate, affords privacy despite its location in the centre of the city. To say that Atherstone House is exquisite in every detail would be an understatement. A great deal of consideration and expertise has been invested in its appearance and its character. It’s difficult to imagine quite how the current owners will create a property to equal it as they embark on a new project, but for the property’s next owners, this is a unique and very desirable proposition in terms of its location, scale and of course the quality of its presentation and design. n

Above: Master bedroom suite, dining room and kitchen photographed by Two Bears Studio www.twobearsstudio.co.uk. Treehouse Interior Design is based in Doddington, for more information see www.thetreehouseinteriors.com. Atherstone House is currently on the market with Savills, call 01522 508909 or see www.savills.com.

Guide Pride: £3,000,000

Country estate in the heart of The Wolds, set in approx 59 acres. Kirmond Hall extends to over 11,000 sqft and overlooks a beautiful three acre spring fed lake, and enjoys panoramic views across neighbouring countryside.

www.lovelle.co.uk

n Horncastle Road, Louth

Guide Price: £1,845,000

A very substantial and highly individual detached family home with a floor area of approximately 9,009ft and superbly located on the rural fringes of Louth market town with large formal gardens and five acres of grassland to the rear.

www.masons-surveyors.co.uk

n Rawsons Lane, Boston

Guide Price: £995,000

Fabulous architect-designed property, with four double bedrooms and open plan living kitchen as well as an outdoor entertaining area and other features such as a cinema room and gym with spa.

Jubilee Celebration Hamper, with tea, biscuits, champagne, coffee, chutney, jam, honey and more within, £230. www.fortnumandmason.com.

Royal Collection Trust

Limited edition Platinum Jubilee teacup and saucer, £225. See www.royalcollectionshop.co.uk.

Highgrove

Engraved Champagne flutes, pair, gift boxed for presentation, £99. See www.highgrovegardens.com.

Fortnum & Mason

Posh up that afternoon tea with Jubilee Caviar, 125g, £270. See www.fortnumandmason.com. The Royal Mint

Jubilee half-sovereign set, limited edition, £1,150. See www.royalmint.com.

JUBILEE

SOUVENIRS

Grapefruit Zest Candle

Platinum Jubilee candle, from Fortnum & Mason, 300g, £60. See www.fortnumandmason.com.

What’s a Royal Jubilee without the collectable merchandise to enjoy? This month we’ve a right royal selection of luxury products for your home...

Selection: Mandy Bray. Emma Bridgewater

Queen’s Platinum Jubilee round tin tray, £10. See www.emmabridgewater.co.uk.

Emma Bridgewater

Queen’s Platinum Jubilee half pint mug, £22. See www.emmabridgewater.co.uk. Royal Collection Trust

The Queen: 70 Glorious Years official souvenir album, £19.95. See www.royalcollectionshop.co.uk.