Cotford Road, Sidbury
£1,175,000

If you’re searching for your own very special little piece of Devon, how about taking a closer look at this handsome and unique detached home?

Sidbury’s historic Rose Hill House occupies an elevated spot in the centre of this ever-popular East Devon village. Sidbury lies on the River Sid, just a couple of miles inland from the coastal town of Sidmouth.   The village enjoys a tremendous community spirit and it has a pub, a primary school, a thriving shop and a village hall, qualities so often missing from modern village life. Even better, Sidmouth’s Waitrose supermarket is only a 2½ mile drive!  

We believe that parts of Rose Hill House date back to the 18^th Century and successive owners have extended and added to the living space during their tenure.  One of the more notable owners was the renowned artist John Frye Bourne (1912-1991) who retired to Sidbury in 1956. 

The Grade II listed double-fronted property provides wonderful character accommodation with many interesting period features and the bright and spacious rooms are arranged over three floors. 

The imposing front entrance door and leaded umbrella canopy lead through to a welcoming entrance hall with a cloakroom and unusually, a glazed panel shows the original cob construction of the wall.  To the left is an elegant dual-aspect sitting room with an impressive fireplace and a couple of steps at the rear lead up into a handy study.  Across the hall is a well-proportioned dining room that’s just perfect for those special family gatherings, it too has a lovely period fireplace with glazed cabinets to either side. 

To the rear of the house is an L shaped kitchen-breakfast room, the focal point of which is a smart powder-blue gas-fired Aga.  The fitted kitchen has an extensive range of oak finish cupboard units and there’s also a useful utility room to the rear.  To the side is a sunny conservatory that leads out into the garden. 

The main house has four good-sized double bedrooms and two bathrooms.  The master bedroom and two others are on the first floor along with a large family bathroom and a separate loo.  The fourth bedroom and another bathroom are up on the second floor.

Whilst we feel Rose Hill House itself offers fantastic family living space, the extensive gardens of just over ½ an acre really do place it head and shoulders above the local competition.  The gardens were designed and created in the late 1950’s by the Frye Bournes and a commemorative slate plaque bears testimony to this.  The garden was planted with a profusion of specimen shrubs and trees and these have matured beautifully over the intervening years.  Pathways inset with pebbles gathered from local beaches wind their way around the garden and lead to a beautiful thatched pavilion, ideal for sitting and simply taking in the views during fine weather.  The garden also has a greenhouse and several small outbuildings for storage.

One of the most attractive features of this fine property is the wonderful thatched garden lodge.  We understand that Frye Bourne used this as his studio during his time in Sidbury and it now provides intriguing guest accommodation.  The lodge has an en-suite double bedroom and it’s attached to a modern double garage which has a small kitchen to the rear.  With some imagination and a little work, we believe these could be incorporated to create a totally separate annexe, which would lend itself to multigenerational family living.  It could perhaps even be used as a valuable holiday let.

As you might imagine, we’re hugely impressed by Rose Hill House and we’re sure you will be as well.  Call us on 01404 45343 to learn more and to arrange your visit.