Culmstock, Cullompton

This striking four-bedroomed, Grade II* listed property is located up a private drive within the charming rural village of Culmstock. It is a very special property: the house is an intimate mix of the original 15th Century farm (with its thatched roof, central courtyard and impressive period features) and tasteful renovations that bring in light and provide spacious modern living. It is set within considerable, picturesque gardens with a potager garden; a walled garden; diverse nooks, seating and dining areas; a sunken firepit and lawns that stretch down to the riverside. In addition to the main house numerous outbuildings have also been converted including a separate self-contained single-bed annexe with ensuite and lounge; a summer house and an outside kitchen area with pizza oven and BBQ. Culmstock benefits from both excellent access to the M5 and great local services (including café deli, pub and garage) and is within the catchment of an Ofsted outstanding-rated Uffculme secondary school. This property is perfect for those looking for a distinctive and charming family home with great access to all the Westcountry has to offer.

Walk Through - This striking four-bedroomed, Grade II* listed property is located up a private drive within the charming rural village of Culmstock. Just from stepping onto the drive it is immediately apparent that this is something very special. To the right, the river Culm tumbles majestically over a weir beneath an 18th Century Grade II listed bridge, flowing out of sight around the bend of the property’s considerable gardens. Continuing up the drive, the path soon opens out into a gravelled courtyard from which the main dwelling can be seen. The house is an intimate mix of the original 15th Century farm (with its thatched roof, central courtyard and impressive period features) and tasteful renovations that bring in light and provide spacious modern living. It is set within considerable, picturesque gardens with a potager garden; a walled fruit garden; diverse nooks, seating and dining areas and lawns that stretch down to the riverside. In addition to the renovations and extensions of the main house, additional outbuildings have been converted: including a summer house with an adjacent, covered outdoor kitchen area (complete with pizza oven and BBQ) visible from the drive and a one-bed self-contained annexe, located adjacent to the main property’s inner courtyard. Clearly it is a fascinating and versatile property with lots of features to explore!

Kitchen/Family Room and boot room

The front door opens into an open-plan hallway that links the recently renovated (2020) kitchen/family room to the right, with the original house to the left. The kitchen streams with light from skylights and a wall of four, full-height double doors that open directly onto the grounds. The room is customised with high quality materials put together with a clear eye to detail: it has underfloor heating; limestone flooring dappled with fossils; vaulted ceilings with exposed beams and a central fireplace with wood lintel and log burner. The kitchen area includes a five-door electric aga with two hot plates and an induction hob as well as a fitted Miele Dishwasher. Worksurfaces on the central island, along one wall and adjacent to the hobs are all made of composite stone and provide ample food preparation space. The sink is Villeroy And Boch with an instant boiling tap and there is ample storage provided by high and low Tom Howley units with integrated lighting. These units continue down the adjacent passage where they include an integrated American-style, Miele fridge-freezer, wine cooler and a walk-in larder.

At the end of the corridor the boot room provides further storage as well as additional sink and side access to the garden. There is also a downstairs W/C.
The remainder of the kitchen/family room is a versatile space which can be customised into separate living and eating spaces: in its current configuration there is plenty of space for chairs and a coffee table around the fireplace and an eight-seater kitchen table located with views out onto the grounds.

Hallway

Leaving the kitchen/diner, a Yorkshire-stone floored passage leads into the original house. To the right is a utility room, straight on leads to the snug, study and the stairs to the first floor, whilst turning left leads to the drawing room and two bedrooms.

Utility room

The utility room is a good-sized room that provides plenty of space, further (marble) work surfaces and storage. It has a butler sink and the space, plumbing and electrics for multiple washing/drying machines and a second full-size fridge-freezer.

Drawing Room

To the left of the hallway, a door opens to an oak-floored drawing room. This room starts as a single-story ante room area, which opens up into an impressive double-storey main drawing room with mezzanine. The main drawing room benefits from full-wall windows that open over the front gardens and the central courtyard providing considerable natural light, they also provide direct access to the front drive. The room is spacious, with room for two three-seater sofa’s and one two-seater in the main area and an additional four seat coffee table in the ante room. The two areas have some fantastic unique features. The main room has exposed beams; a feature fireplace with wooden lintel and log burner; with bespoke bookshelves in the mezzanine. The ante room area hosts one of the original features of the property, a historically significant rare example of a wooden mullion window. There is a side door from the drawing room to the central courtyard.

Bedrooms 1 and 2

Two of the property’s bedrooms are accessed from the drawing room.
The principal bedroom is located in its own single-storey ground-floor extension accessed through a door to the right-hand side of the fireplace. The wooden floors from the drawing room continue and the extension includes a downstairs W/C; walk-in wet room (with stone floors and hand basins), vanity and dressing areas and additional storage, before opening into the principal bedroom. The bedroom itself is a good size with plenty of space around the bed for additional furniture. The room is wonderfully bright with bleached wooden floors and one set of windows and two sets of double doors looking over the gardens. These doors provide direct access to the outside space whilst a further door located off the extension opens onto the potager garden.

Heading back into the drawing room, a door to the rear of the room opens to stairs leading to a second bedroom located above the ante room area. This bedroom is an ensuite double room with exposed beams and low-level windows looking out to the summer house and gardens. The ensuite shower room consists of shower, W/C and cabinet-top basin with adjacent heated towel rail.

The Snug, Second Boot Room and Office

Heading out of the drawing room and turning left leads to the snug, with the office, formal dining room and stairs to the first floor all accessed from it. The snug is a cosy, carpeted seating area with an exposed beam ceiling set beneath a landing on the first floor. It offers plenty of space for a two-seater sofa with additional chairs, coffee table and TV unit set around a stone fireplace with electric fire.

The adjacent office is accessed through an original timber, open plan arch from the snug. The room offers plenty of space for an office desk looking out over the side garden. It has a tiled floors and a window seat, space for further furniture and two alcoves that can be used for bookcases/storage. Further original beams extend from the archway framing the office and making a distinctive unique feature in the room.

A further side door from the snug opens into a second boot room. This brick-floored room has fitted storage, a window nook through to the snug and another exciting unique feature of the property: the original farm well. The well is neatly integrated within the corner of the boot room, securely covered with toughened glass and has its own lighting allowing you to peer down to the water below. It’s a wonderfully preserved historic feature. A door opens from the boot room to provide direct access to the central courtyard.
The formal dining room

The final ground floor room of the property is the formal dining room, located just off the snug. This is a striking room packed with charming features such as dark-stained wooden floors, exposed beams and an inglenook fireplace with a thick original wooden lintel. It is a good-sized room offering plenty of space for a six/eight seater dining table and further furniture (it currently hosts a large piano!) with additional storage from fitted units neatly nestled under one of the side windows. It has twin windows looking out over the lane towards the bridge and further windows looking over the side garden. To the side of the room is a door to the central courtyard that would once have been the main door into the property.

Upstairs, Family Bathroom and Bedrooms 3 and 4.

Dark wood banisters lead up the stairs from the snug to a good-sized gallery landing/ reading area which offers plenty of space for a multi-seat sofa and additional furniture and bookcases. From here the family bathroom is located up a small number of steps, whilst a further landing leads through to the two remaining bedrooms.
The family bathroom is a good size-room with wooden floors, doors and exposed beams. It features a roll top bath, separate shower, W/C, cabinet-top basin, heated towel rails and a small feature fireplace. There is space for additional furniture as required.

The corridor leading to the Bedrooms 3 and 4 is a good width, with exposed woodwork and windows overlooking the side garden.
Bedroom three (next on the left) is a double room with a vaulted ceiling. It has exposed beams, low level windows looking out over the central courtyard and a charming shelving area moulded around the original chimney. There is plenty of space for additional wardrobes.
Bedroom four (located at the end of the landing) is a double room with dual aspect windows looking out over the lane and side garden. It has fitted storage along one wall.

The central courtyard

Accessed from either the snug via the second boot room or from the formal dining room, the central courtyard is another feature that contributes to the property’s Grade II listing. It is a lovely space that really brings the feel of the original farmhouse into the property. The floor is largely cobbled with additional brickwork and near-house paving with a central pond and mature fig trees adding to the charm. It is entirely enclosed bordered on two sides by the house (the drawing room and dining room) with the remaining two sides bordered by the barn on one side and the annexe on the other. A small feature stairway with inset lantern nook leads up the side of the annexe and an archway between the annexe and barn leads through to the potager garden. A triple-doored gate between the annexe and the house opens directly onto the road.

The Annexe and Barn

The annexe is a self-contained one-bedroomed accommodation with two floors. The bedroom and ensuite bathroom are on the ground floor. Stairs lead from the bedroom to an open-plan living room. The living area is a good-size with space for a three-seater sofa and numerous additional chairs around a coffee table. The current owners use the annexe as an AirBnB rental, but it is a versatile space that would work well as a home office, play room or accommodation for guests, elderly relatives or young family keen for both proximity and independence.

The barn is a good-sized outbuilding offering plenty of space for storage with particular areas designated for the storage of firewood.

The potager garden

Heading between the barn and the annexe leads through to the potager garden. This is a good-sized, walled garden with raised beds with a wonderful mix of plants, flowers, shrubs and trees including some fantastic climbing plants on the walls of the annexe, barn and main house. The potager garden has an outdoor dining area big enough to fit an 8-10 seat outdoor dining table and a number of seating nooks from which the garden can be enjoyed with pleasing sound of the river cascading over the weir in the background.
A door leads from the potager garden back into the main house extension and an archway leads through to the front drive.

Front drive, summer house and outdoor kitchen.

The front drive has parking for multiple vehicles, with the primary parking spaces located out of sight from the property’s many windows to preserve views over the grounds. There is additional parking/storage in a garage located to the side of the entrance gate. Between the house and the summer house (beside the door to the kitchen boot room) is a seating area with views through an iron fence to neighbouring fields. Alongside this, an outbuilding has been newly converted into a summer house. The room is fully tanked and newly plastered acting as a blank canvas for the new owners to finalise to their tastes. Adjacent to this is an outside kitchen (with a clay pizza oven and BBQ area with associated worksurface space and storage) set in a paved area which includes a 14-seat outdoor table.

The gardens

The gardens associated with the property are interesting and diverse. Adjacent to the drive is a good-sized border of mixed flowers, bushes and trees. Behind this, lawns interspersed with flower beds and trees spread down towards the river, where a hedge and some mature trees separate the main garden from the property’s private riverbank. A walled garden of fruit cages (raspberries, currants and greengages!) is located to the left-hand side of the garden on the way to the riverbank and a sunken fire pit with seating is located to the right, with further seating areas located on the riverbank itself. The private riverbank sweeps around the property to join up with the drive at the entrance by the weir and bridge. There is also a side garden of shrubs and plants accessed from the road adjacent to the formal dining room and office where it adjoins the neighbouring property.
With these gardens, the potager garden and the many rooms and outbuildings that directly open to the outdoors there are many, many places from which the property’s outside space can be enjoyed with a book and a coffee or a good meal and a glass of wine with friends and family. It is truly a special place.
Other details

The property is oil fired central heating, mains electric, water and drainage. There is also no onward chain.

Location - Culmstock is a thriving village with a busy village stores with café and deli (The Strand Stores café is impressively rated 5 star after 102 reviews on TripAdvisor). It also has its own garage and well respected local pub, The Culm Valley Inn. This property is perfectly located at the heart of the village within 120 yards of these amenities. The village also has a medieval church (0.2 miles), and a playground, football pitch and community pavilion located on nearby Hunter’s hill (0.5 miles from the property). This offers two outdoor BBQ areas and can be hired for private events. There are also excellent local walks, for example to the Elizabethan Beacon that overlooks the town and along the riverside to nearby Uffculme. The property is in the catchment of the well-respected, Ofsted Outstanding-rated Uffculme Secondary School. The village is friendly and welcoming and annually hosts its own fete and flower, craft and vegetable show.

However, despite its rural location, Culmstock is very well connected. The M5 Junction 26 is only 5.3 miles away with the A38 (2.2 miles) providing an alternative route to Wellington, Taunton and Tiverton. Wellington at 5.8 miles offers both an Asda and a Waitrose and Taunton, the county town of Somerset and Honiton and Cullompton (both Devonshire market towns) are within c. 20 minutes’ drive (11.2 and 9.9 miles respectively).

Tiverton Parkway Railway station is very accessible (c.6.6 miles). Heading West, it provides direct line access to Exeter, South Devon and Cornwall and heading East, it offers direct connections to Bristol, London (in less than two hours), Edinburgh and the North of England. Exeter Airport is easily accessed via the A30 within 25 minutes (21.1 miles) and Bristol Airport is c.49.3 miles and can be accessed in just over an hour.

The Jurassic coast at Picturesque Beer, Branscombe or Seaton can be reached in 35 – 40 minutes (c. 21.2 miles) and the moors of Exmoor and Dartmoor are also within easy day trip distance (c.19.6 and 47.5 miles respectively).