Barford St. Michael, Banbury, Oxfordshire

A highly desirable country estate, with manor house, range of oubuildings with land on the edge of a very well-regarded village. In all about 260 acres. As a whole or in 3 lots.


Historic Manor house
The Manor Farm Estate comprises a five bedroom Manor House, with fabulous period and historical features. It now requires some sympathetic updating and modernising to create a very special home. It has the potential to be remodelled or extended (subject to obtaining the necessary planning permissions).
It is surrounded by a picturesque naturally fed moat on three sides, with spacious gardens and grounds, ponds, a fishing lake and amenity areas. There are a good range of modern and traditional buildings in a courtyard setting together with a further range of offlying modern farm buildings.
The land is gently sloping arable and pastureland. In all the property extends to around 260 acres.

Lot 1
Accommodation
The Grade II* Listed Manor House has a wealth of original period features. The dining room has a flagstone floor and fireplace, with mullioned windows and ceiling beams. The sitting room has an impressive inglenook fireplace, and wooden panelling. The drawing room has a wooden floor, fireplace with woodburner, and shuttered windows. The kitchen leads to an extensive range of store areas which were previously used as the village post office and general store/farm shop. On the first floor there are five bedrooms, all with good ceiling height, and a bathroom with adjacent storage areas.

Gardens, grounds and outbuildings
There are a good range of traditional and modern outbuildings adjacent to the Manor House. The gardens and grounds provide plenty of places to relax and enjoy the peaceful surroundings. There is a walled garden with a mature orchard, and a terrace overlooking the moat. The moat is a unique feature of the property, which is naturally fed, and surrounds the property on three sides (the south side having been filled in many years ago). The buildings have been utilised as part of the successful campsite business as well as additional stabling and modern general purpose farm buildings. The amenity areas and paddocks surrounding the property have a parkland feel with a number of mature trees and wooded areas. This all along with a former fishing lake and other watered areas provides valuable ecological and wildlife habitats.

Land
Beyond the moat, immediate paddocks and amenity areas lies a gently undulating block of arable land with good frontage. The land is divided into usable enclosures and rises to a high point which benefits from stunning views over your own land and the countryside beyond. The land benefits from river frontage and meadow giving further amenity and wildlife areas. There is a dilapidated stone outbuilding located in the centre of the land. In all this lot extends to around 134.29 acres and includes the small paddock adjacent to the Manor House entrance.

Lot 2
Lot 2 is located on the opposite side of the road to lot 1 and includes an elevated set of modern farm buildings together with a compact block of arable land benefiting from very good road frontage. The land also contains a former hovel and the village allotments for which a peppercorn rent is paid under an informal licence agreement. The property known as ‘Fir Warren’ is not available for purchase. In all lot 2 extends to about 103.74 acres.

Lot 3
Slightly offlying from lots 1 and 2 is a fully enclosed single arable field with frontage onto the South Newington road.
In all about 22.18 acres.

History of the Property
The presence of a Manor House at Barford St Michael can be traced back to the Doomsday Book where in 1086 it was recorded as an Estate of 5 hides (20 Acres) owned by Abingdon Abbey. The Abbot, Roger d’Ivri, was a son of Wadard one of the Norman invaders who conquered the country in 1066. The Manor is surrounded by a rectangular moat whose South side has been filled in. Also on the south side of the house is a formal walled garden, probably 18th Century, with two grandiose gate piers. The main building is thought to be a 17th Century re-construction. There is evidence of an earlier building in the Western part of the garden wall which houses alcoves and an old fireplace. There are two medieval corbels (circa 14/15 Century) on the West side of the main house. The Sexton family owned the Manor for 200 years from 1275 – 1476. The Hall family took over the estate in 1806 and held it for 100 years. It was sold to PW Flick in 1909. In 1917 John Colegrove acquired the Manor. In 1928 his daughter Gertrude married Herbert Harry Bennett and in 1933 when her father passed away, Gertrude inherited the Estate. In 1968 Gertrude passed the estate by Deed of Gift to her daughter Barbara. Barbara lived there until she died in 2023 and the Manor estate was passed to her four daughters.

Situation
Barford St Michael is situated in picturesque North Oxfordshire countryside in the Swere Valley. The village has a village hall, church, popular village pub 'The George Inn' and a thriving community with numerous clubs and activities. The nearby highly regarded villages of Deddington and Bloxham offer many amenities including several shops providing for everyday needs, post office, health & community centres, library, hotels and restaurants and a monthly farmers' market in Deddington. The popular 'Soho Farmhouse' is just 6 miles away. For primary schooling the village falls within the catchment area of both Deddington & Bloxham whilst secondary schooling is at The Warriner in Bloxham. An extensive selection of well-regarded educational establishments in the area include Deddington C of E Primary School, Great Tew, Warriner Senior school (Bloxham) and Chipping Norton. Independent schools include St Johns Prep (Banbury), Carrdus School (Banbury), Beachborough, Winchester House, Bloxham School and Tudor Hall (girls) in Bloxham. There are local bus services to many of the Oxford schools, which include The Dragon, Summerfield’s, Headington, St. Edwards and Magdalen College School. Banbury offers extensive retail, leisure and recreational facilities. Oxford, Milton Keynes and Stratford-upon- Avon provide excellent opportunities for theatre, cinema and concerts. Access to M40 Motorway can be gained at Junction 10 or 11 and mainline rail services to London Marylebone are available from nearby Kings Sutton, Banbury & Bicester, from under an hour.

Fixtures and Fittings
All fixtures, fittings and furniture such as curtains, light fittings, garden ornaments and statuary are excluded from the sale. Some may be available by separate negotiation.

Services
Mains water and electricity are connected. Heating is via oil plus traditional hayburner system. Private drainage via septic tank. None of the services or appliances, heating installations, plumbing or electrical systems have been tested by the selling agents. If the private drainage system requires updating/replacement, it is assumed that prior to offers being made, associated costs have been considered and are the responsibility of the purchaser. Interested parties are advised to make their own investigations, no further information will be provided by the selling agents. We understand that the property is likely to have current mobile coverage (data taken from checker.ofcom.org.uk on 08/08/2024). Please note that actual services available may be different depending on the particular circumstances, precise location and network outages.

Tenure and Possession
Freehold with vacant possession on completion except for the allotments.

Sporting, Timber and Mineral Rights
The sporting, timber and mineral rights are owned so far as we are aware.

Local Authority
Cherwell District Council
Council Tax Band: G

Public Rights of Way, Wayleaves and Easements
The property is sold subject to all relevant public and private rights of way that affect the property.
A public footpath crosses one of the fields in Lot 1 and a second crosses Lot 3.

Plans and Boundaries The plans within these particulars are based on Ordnance Survey data and provided for reference only. They are believed to be correct but accuracy is not guaranteed. The purchaser shall be deemed to have full knowledge of all boundaries and the extent of ownership.
Neither the vendor nor the vendor’s agents will be responsible for defining the boundaries or the ownership thereof.

Rural, environmental and woodland schemes
The property is not subject to any ongoing rural, environmental or woodland schemes.

Holdover and ingoing valuation
If required provision may need to be made for holdover an ingoing valuation of the growing crops although the land has not been formally cropped in the 2024 season.

VAT
The property is not subject to VAT on the purchase so far as we are aware but reserve the right to do so should further information come to light.

Viewings
Strictly by appointment through Fisher German LLP.

Directions
Postcode – OX15 0RJ
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