Cotton End Road, Wilstead, Bedfordshire, MK45

AN HISTORIC 6-BEDROOM HOME, WITH A 2-BEDROOM ANNEXE AND DETACHED GARAGE BUILDING - BUT THAT'S JUST PART OF THE STORY

A lovely-looking, Grade II-listed home with 6 double bedrooms and attached 2-bedroom annexe, once the home of the village’s most famous son. A separate, unlisted garage building has an office, store and workshop above from which to run a business or earn an income. A total of nearly 5000 square feet. The historic property, which includes grounds that are mainly to the front and side, is now looking for a new family that is prepared to restore it to its former glory, and it’s priced accordingly. Within the parish of Wilshamstead, in the heart of a Bedfordshire village prized for its facilities and commutability, The Manor House is one of the opportunities of the year.

Sir William Morgan, who lived at The Manor House, rose from grocer’s assistant in Wilstead to Premier of South Australia. In accordance with what has been referred to as “a certain magnetism about Wilshamstead”, it’s fitting that he came home to be buried in the churchyard of his native parish. The 14th century church, along with two pubs, Indian and Chinese takeaways, shop, post office and pharmacy, as well as village hall and playing fields, are all within two or three hundred yards of your new home.

Walk the children to their pre and primary schools, both a couple of hundred yards away and both recently rated ‘Good in all areas’ by Ofsted, as is the secondary catchment school in Bedford, just over 4 miles away. The County town is home to the world-renowned Harpur Trust private schools and the station from where fast trains reach London in under 40 minutes. The railway station being built as part of the new town of Wixams, a couple of miles away on the A421, is scheduled to open in 2025, which should make commuting even easier.

Wilstead has the best of both worlds - close to the A421, with its links to other major roads, making driving to Bedford, Milton Keynes, Cambridge, Luton Airport and further afield a breeze. Yet far enough away to be spared constant traffic noise, and with excellent walking country for you and your dog on the doorstep. The Manor House has an ideal combination too – the character and beauty of an historic home, and the opportunity to reimagine both house and gardens to perfectly suit you and your family.

MORE ABOUT THE PROPERTY 

The Manor House comes with beautiful, original deeds which demand to be framed and mounted on its walls once you settle in. They tell us that this wonderful, old home was sold on 24th October 1801 by a Mr James White to William Morgan, presumably the grandfather of Sir William, thus suggesting that the house could date to the 18th century, rather than Historic England’s mid-19th century.

How fascinating to think of the changes your new home has seen over generations, the families who have lived here, not least the Morgans, and intervening periods as a hotel and an antiques outlet. House and annexe were once one and could easily be so again.

Indeed, it’s the versatility of The Manor House that’s so exciting. Full of space, height and light (from large sliding sash windows), substantial suites could be created upstairs, with rooms downstairs altered to suit your needs exactly. With the vaulted-ceilinged garage building too, your new home is as perfect for business as it is for family life and entertaining friends, for children as for grandparents. And, if you wish, for Airbnb.

Take a moment to admire the good looks of your new home, with its gorgeous brickwork and old clay tiles, its varied roof lines, tall central chimney and unusual drop finials, wisteria clambering over the pretty porch.

Step inside onto beautiful, bespoke parquet flooring, which runs throughout a hall spacious enough to sit in, a large dining room that’s looking forward to hosting lively dinner parties, and a peaceful snug, both log burner and open fire primed for cosy winter evenings. With a sitting room too, that stretches from front to back, just one of the rooms with wonderful, old timberwork a constant reminder of your home’s heritage.

Just as you’ll no doubt put your stamp on the inside of the house, the grounds also provide plenty of scope for the green-fingered family. The charming, walled, courtyard garden at the back, with its bountiful grape vine and pretty fuschia, rose and bellflower beds, is a delight for coffee and al fresco summer dining. But you may wish to add planting at the front, perhaps creating an entirely new, screened garden within the extensive, gravelled area. The Manor House has the ingredients to be truly special.