THE ancient Wiltshire parish of Woodford lies between Salisbury and Amesbury on the western side of the River Avon, bounded on the east by the winding course of the river and on the west by the old turnpike road from Salisbury to Devizes, now the A360. The land rises sharply from some 200ft above sea level in the valley to about 400ft at the top of the down. The land on the slopes is mainly pasture and, in the valley, the famous chalkstream runs fast and deep. For centuries, it was fished by permission of the lords of the manors of Woodford and Heale.
It's a tranquil pastoral setting where, according to the Victoria County History (1962), 'the most notable event in the history of the parish occurred in 1651, when Charles II took refuge at Heale House during his flight from Cromwell's army after the battle of Worcester'. Undisturbed by housing development in the 19th and 20th centuries, the relatively small number of good houses available along the picturesque valley is much sought after nowadays by country-house buyers from Salisbury and further afield.
Oliver Custance Baker of Strutt & Parker (020-7591 2213) quotes a guide price of $4.5 million for the charming Moor Hatches, a converted former 18th-century farmstead set in six acres of formal walled gardens, kitchen garden and orchards at the head of the valley. The house, which is unlisted, lies within the UNESCO Stonehenge World Heritage site and is bounded by the Avon, which runs along the bottom of the garden. Built of brick and flint under a clay-tiled roof, the former farmhouse, barns and an older non-conformist chapel were combined in the 1930s to create a significant, 4,850sq ft country house, which has been thoroughly and tastefully modernised by its current owners.
Denne historien er fra May 22, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra May 22, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Tales as old as time
By appointing writers-in-residence to landscape locations, the National Trust is hoping to spark in us a new engagement with our ancient surroundings, finds Richard Smyth
Do the active farmer test
Farming is a profession, not a lifestyle choice’ and, therefore, the Budget is unfair
Night Thoughts by Howard Hodgkin
Charlotte Mullins comments on Moght Thoughts
SOS: save our wild salmon
Jane Wheatley examines the dire situation facing the king of fish
Into the deep
Beneath the crystal-clear, alien world of water lie the great piscean survivors of the Ice Age. The Lake District is a fish-spotter's paradise, reports John Lewis-Stempel
It's alive!
Living, burping and bubbling fermented masses of flour, yeast and water that spawn countless loaves—Emma Hughes charts the rise and rise) of sourdough starters
There's orange gold in them thar fields
A kitchen staple that is easily taken for granted, the carrot is actually an incredibly tricky customer to cultivate that could reduce a grown man to tears, says Sarah Todd
True blues
I HAVE been planting English bluebells. They grow in their millions in the beechwoods that surround us—but not in our own garden. They are, however, a protected species. The law is clear and uncompromising: ‘It is illegal to dig up bluebells or their bulbs from the wild, or to trade or sell wild bluebell bulbs and seeds.’ I have, therefore, had to buy them from a respectable bulb-merchant.
Oh so hip
Stay the hand that itches to deadhead spent roses and you can enjoy their glittering fruits instead, writes John Hoyland
A best kept secret
Oft-forgotten Rutland, England's smallest county, is a 'Notswold' haven deserving of more attention, finds Nicola Venning
