Corton

A delightful Georgian house in the popular village of Corton, Saracens House perfectly combines traditional English charm with relaxed elegance.

Why We Love Saracens House - A delightful Georgian house in the popular village of Corton, Saracens House perfectly combines traditional English charm with relaxed elegance.

Located within the Wylye Valley this spot boasts both the uplifting qualities of a picturesque rural location and the practicality of a hassle-free commute to London.
The house dates back to the 18th century with a wonderful array of unspoilt period detailing, whilst also having the advantage of not being listed. The current owners have undertaken a substantial programme of improvements which have greatly enhanced the house, including creating an ensuite bathroom for the principal bedroom, new water tank, new septic tank and drainage, an overhaul of the roof, updates to electrics.

The interiors have been beautifully re-decorated with new carpets, upgraded bathrooms and new bespoke cabinetry. The generous accommodation is well suited to family life and entertaining friends to stay in comfort, with a practical layout throughout which allows great flow from day to day.

Downstairs

Doors flow off from the welcoming entrance hall with period flagstone floor and adjoining downstairs loo/cloakroom. The generous dual aspect drawing room includes a period fireplace and parquet floor, inbuilt bookcases and a large bay window overlooking the gardens. There is also a separate dual aspect family sitting room/playroom painted in warm Sudbury Yellow with a cosy logburner.

The dining room is the oldest part of the house and retains fantastic period features including an open stone fireplace, half panelling and oak floor, strawberry gothic windows and a glazed door with attractive porch leading onto an outdoor dining terrace. The room is regularly used day to day as well as for hosting by the current owners, who have re-papered the walls in Soane Britain’s timeless Scrolling Fern wallpaper.

The lovely family kitchen/breakfast room next door and serves as a warm and generous hub to the house. To one end it is fitted kitchen with painted cabinetry, traditional AGA, separate Neff electric ovens, island with electric hobs, and double butler sink. The other end of the room has a fireplace with logburner and a large breakfast table. The room has a classic stone floor and charming wall niches perfect for displaying china and cookbook collections. There is also a tardis-like adjoining walk in-pantry and a proper utility/boot room with fitted cabinetry and a flower room with butlers sink. A conservatory, currently used as a gym completes the ground floor.

Upstairs

The main staircase and the back stairs, both with galleried landings, offer access to the six bedrooms and three bathrooms on the first floor. The principal bedroom is situated at one end with large south facing window giving views onto the garden, new fitted wardrobes, and a spoiling ensuite bathroom installed by current owners with marble tiled walk-in shower and marble vanity counter. Five further airy bedrooms and two family bathrooms fan off from the landing. All have been redecorated to an excellent standard. Both of the family bathrooms include pretty painted panelling rolltop cast iron-baths and separate showers.

Timber-Framed Carport/Annexe

Built in 2018 this attractive structure comprises a carport and several storage rooms on the ground floor, one of which is used as a studio. There is also expansive accommodation on the first floor which is currently used as a home office. The current owners have obtained planning permission to install a loo, washbasin, and a bath so that the space has potential to function as additional guest accommodation (Planning Application Reference PL/2025/08103).

Glorious South Facing Garden

A real highlight of this home is its expansive landscaped garden, which extend to just over an acre.

The house with its handsome covering of wisteria is set behind a neatly clipped hedge and accessed via a new set of electric gates leading onto a large, gravelled yard with extensive parking in front of the Timber-Framed Carport/Annexe.

The wonderful south-facing garden was laid out with the assistance of the award-winning garden designer, Catherine Thomas. It has been configured as a series of ‘rooms’ divided by immaculate clipped yew hedging. A York Stone dining terrace abuts the house and serves as a suntrap. Perfect for long summer lunches, it overlooks deep herbaceous borders planted with roses, lavender and thousands of assorted tulip bulbs with expansive lawns spreading out beyond. A formal rectangular lily pond has stepping stones across the centre and is fed by a small circular pond with a rill. (Ponds currently fitted with safety feature for young children).

The orchard is under-planted with an abundance of snowdrops and daffodils. At the end of the garden is an additional West-facing York Stone terrace, positioned to catch the evening sun. This includes a Hartley Botanical greenhouse with cold frames, a fruit cage planted with raspberries, strawberries and gooseberries, and several productive vegetable beds.

Living In The Wylye Valley - Warminster 5.6 miles, Westbury 10.5 miles, Tisbury, Frome 14 miles,
Salisbury 17 miles, Bath 25 miles
(All distances and times approximate)

A fantastic rural setting that promises fresh air, excellent schooling and a true sense of community, yet remains accessible from London.

Positioned in the Wylye Valley, Corton is a small and pretty village made up of a charming mix of predominantly period houses, a large proportion of which are listed. The village falls within the Cranborne Chase & West Wiltshire Downs National Landscape and forms part of the ancient Wessex Ridgeway with stunning countryside and excellent local walking routes on the doorstep.

Residents are spoilt for choice with great traditional pubs in the area, including two within a short stroll from Saracens House. Corton’s own pub, The Dove, holds a schedule of pop-up food and drinks events, and The Prince Leopold in neighbouring Upton Lovell, also within a short walk, remains popular with local dog walkers for its warm fire, great food, and beer garden overlooking the river Wylye.

The nearby village of Codford is a 9-minute drive away and has a range of amenities including a village shop, Post Office, primary school, pre-school, pub, church and doctors' surgery. The Gingery Piggery, a much-loved farm shop, delicatessen, and café on the edge of Boyton champions local produce.

The attractive market towns of Warminster is a 15-minute drive away, and offers further amenities plus a choice of supermarkets including Waitrose and Marks & Spencer. A wider choice of independent shops, restaurants and other facilities are on offer in historic Salisbury with its famous medieval cathedral. Racing is available at Salisbury and Wincanton Racecourse, and golf at Warminster, South Wilts Golf Club and High Post. This area is renowned for its chalkstreams with the crystal-clear waters of the Avon, the Test, and outlying streams attracting trout, grayling, and fly-fishermen alike.

Transport

Saracens House has excellent direct rail links to London from Westbury 10.5 miles (1 hr 20 mins to Paddington), Tisbury 14 miles (1 hr 48 mins to Waterloo), and Salisbury 17 miles (1 hr 38 mins to Waterloo) The A303 provides access to the Southwest and London, via the M3.

Fantastic Schools

There is a great selection of both state and private schools in the area, including Sutton Veny CofE School, Warminster School, Dauntseys, Sherborne, Clayesmore, Bruton, Port Regis, Salisbury Cathedral School, Sandroyd, Chafyn Grove and Godolphin, as well as Bishop Wordsworth and South Wilts Grammar Schools.

Chapters Past - The village of Corton, just west of Warminster, lies close to the line of the Great Ridge Roman Road, the old lead route linking the Mendip mines with Old Sarum. This ridgeway shaped early movement and settlement in the area, whilst nearby prehistoric barrows and earthworks show the route had ritual and strategic importance long before the Romans formalised it as a road.

The parish developed as a small agricultural community, its churches and scattered farmsteads reflecting continuity from at least the 12th century. By the medieval period, Corton formed part of the rural hinterland supporting Warminster’s growing market economy. The chalk downland was particularly suited to sheep, contributing to Wiltshire’s important wool trade.

The village has retained its historic character, its houses largely dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries, built of local rubble stone with thatched or clay-tiled roofs and some fine local examples of cob walls. Later Georgian and Victorian additions are simple and vernacular, maintaining the village’s cohesive rural appearance. Saracens House itself is believed to date back to the early 18th century. The house was previously a pub called The Royal Oak which, according to village legend, used to be a favourite meeting place for highwaymen. The house was later bought by a local family from Sutton Veny called the Prideauxs, who renamed the building Saracens House after the emblem in their family crest.