6 bedroom equestrian facility for sale

A former farmhouse, extended in the past by converting adjoining barns, provides a spacious, modernised 4 bedroom house combined with a self-contained 2 bedroom annex, perfect for multi-generational living but recently has proved a highly successful holiday let. All surrounded by a delightful garden, a paddock with the potential for equestrian facilities and far reaching open field views, a separate tandem garage and outbuilding used as workshop space and sunroom, complete this charming home.

Nearby Heckington is just south of the A17, an attractive, thriving place to live with all its amenities including a train station with services connecting to Grantham and on to Central London where fast trains to King’s Cross take around an hour. Excellent schools are in the locality.


Main House Key Features

• A recently refurbished former farmhouse dating to the late 1800s
• Quiet, rural position with superb open field views and big skies
• UPvc double-glazed windows with newly replaced glazing
• 4 generous bedrooms upstairs
• Main bedroom dual aspect with period fireplace and fitted wardrobe
• Contemporary upstairs family bathroom with bath, washbasin and WC
• Second WC upstairs with eaves storage
• Large, fully-tiled downstairs shower room
• Triple aspect living room with south-facing French doors to garden
• Multi-fuel burning stove in simple, stone fireplace
• Over 18 ft. triple aspect kitchen dining room
• Fitted kitchen with abundance of units and sink with Quooker tap
• Smeg cooker with LPG gas hob and electric ovens
• Under-counter slimline dishwasher included in sale
• Formal dining room
• Dual aspect utility/boot room with storage and space for appliances
• Separate outbuilding divided into 2 workshop spaces and sun room
• Separate tandem garage for 2 cars
• New greenhouse; new summerhouse
• Garden fully enclosed by recently installed timber shiplap fencing
• Trees, borders, shrubs, lawns, paved and decked areas with pergola
• Almost an acre, L-shaped, fenced paddock with trees and hedging
• Security cameras around property
• Driveway with parking for numerous cars

Adjoining Annex Accommodation

• Single-storey, self-contained annex adjoining main house
• Internal access from main house and separate external access
• Very spacious, south-facing living dining room, door to garden
• Multi-fuel burning stove in rustic-style fireplace
• Fully fitted kitchen with all appliances included in sale
• 2 double bedrooms - wardrobe included in the sale
• Shower room with shower, washbasin , WC and cupboard
• Walled garden with lawn

Location

The property is situated in a rural position to the north of the A17 about 3 miles east of the large village of Heckingham and 8 miles east of Sleaford, and just over a half hour drive from Grantham, Newark and the A1. Boston is around 9 miles (15 mins) east. Heckingham has lots of fine buildings, visitor attractions, a community swimming pool and even its own railway station, not to mention its easy access to the major A17 road network, making the area a popular place to live, work and visit. Heckington Station on the Nottingham to Skegness, East Midlands line runs directly to Grantham for fast trains to London and has links to Peterborough and Lincoln.

Village amenities include a Co-op, a butcher’s, a greengrocer’s, a doctors’ surgery, a pharmacy, a dentists’, a barber, a fish and chip shop, Indian and Chinese takeaways, two pubs - The Royal Oak serving excellent food - a Sports Club with Pavilion and Bar with cricket and football pitches, a swimming pool, and the parish Church of St. Andrew dating to the 14th century.

The nearly 1,000 year old village is best known for its windmill, formerly known as Pocklington's Mill, the only working 8-sailed example of its type still standing in the world. In 1986 the windmill underwent restoration and is now open to the public with an award-winning visitor centre, tea room, brewery, bakehouse and museum. The Heckington Show, an important and spectacular local event, has been held annually in the village over July’s last weekend since 1864 whilst the village's 1859-built railway station is a museum.

Schools

The nearest primary school is in Heckingham, St Andrew's Church of England School, which is a feeder school for three secondary schools in Sleaford, each of which has a sixth form and has been rated Good by Ofsted: Carre's Grammar School (for boys), Kesteven and Sleaford High School Selective Academy (for girls) and St George's Academy, a mixed non-selective secondary school. Boston, to the east, has state secondary schools such as Boston Grammar School and Boston High School, both rated Good by Ofsted.

Seller Insights
“We came here in 2016 as we wanted a multi-generational home and this was perfect. My mother lived in the annex which is almost totally self-contained as it has its own boiler, oil tank and septic tank. After she passed away in 2019 we started using it for holiday lets and it has proved very successful. It has been booked out for 39 weeks this last year.”

“Originally a working farm, the property was a small farmhouse dating to the late 1800s which has been extended over time and the annex, which we call Poppy Cottage, and the outbuilding we use as a workshop, were probably converted from cow barns as they adjoin the old crew yard. They have the old terracotta pantile roofs and all the bricks are the original handmade ones with some thumbprints visible.”

“We have done a lot of work on the property inside and out. A great deal of clearing in the garden and paddock was necessary and we opened up the paddock into one large area; it had been divided into three parts as a previous owner had a smallholding here. The garden we created almost from scratch planting shrubs and perennials, adding the paved and decked areas and enclosing it completely in timber post and rail shiplap fencing. The decking with the pergola is very spacious and will take a table and chairs as wells as comfy outdoor sofas and armchairs. The garden or sun room adjoining the workshop barn is ideal for enjoying the sunsets; we find our annex guests often like to sit there on a sunny evening.”

“Inside, we have also done a lot. It used to be a five bedroom house but we turned one of the bedrooms into the upstairs bathroom. We also completely redid the downstairs shower room which is fully tiled with porcelain tiles. There was no central heating in the annex when we moved in so we had a completely new system installed including an oil tank and boiler. At the same time we decided to renew the boiler and oil tank for the main house. All the windows throughout have had their glass replaced although the utility ones are completely new windows. There are new French doors in the living room and we fitted the multi-fuel burners in both living room fireplaces.”

“It’s been a fabulous place for enjoying family life; we’ve had lots of family get-togethers and celebrations as there is so much space. It is a very versatile property as the annex links directly with the house yet it has its own separate entrance so can be completely shut off and self-contained.”

“If someone wanted to have a pony or two, the workshop outbuilding could easily be stabling.”

“The birds and wildlife are amazing being surrounded by open fields and the dyke alongside the property draws in ducks, coots, and herons being home to sticklebacks. The land is well-drained and there’s never been a problem with flooding as the inland water board constantly controls the water levels with sluice gates down the road at the pumping station. From here, there are lovely walks along the river. The skies are huge and when the sun’s out we see it from sunrise to sunset.”

“We are only about a five minute drive from Heckington (although we like to cycle there along the back roads) which is a superb village with all you need and more. Heckington Windmill is a working mill with a shop, visitor centre and a micro-brewery, and there’s a little railway museum over the road. The village amenities are excellent including two dog-friendly pubs, an award-winning fish and chip shop (Ruby’s Plaice – the best in Lincolnshire), and a primary school not to mention the train station which runs to Grantham if you want to catch a fast train to London, or go to the seaside in the other direction. Heckington is also famous for hosting the largest agricultural village show in the country with everything you can imagine including an incredible firework display at night which we can admire from the house!”

Services: Mains electricity and water; 2 private septic tanks (one to main house, one to annex); oil-fired central heating (separate external boilers and tanks for each dwelling)
Local Authority: North Kesteven District Council
Council Tax Band: Main House D / Annex A
Tenure: Freehold
EPC Rating: Main House E
EPC Rating: Annex F