Ellesfield, Welwyn

Summary:
Bryan Bishop and Partners are delighted to bring to the market this outstanding four bedroom two bathroom detached family home that enjoys a semi rural setting along a quiet residential cul-de-sac, but offers so much more besides, boasting a unique situation surrounded by an acre of gorgeous private grounds that include extensive woodland and a private island on the banks of the River Mimram, whilst also being just a few minutes walk from the bustling centre of Welwyn village. Generously proportioned and beautifully appointed throughout, this house offers countryside living and village life combined in one stylish package that is full of authentic character but still allows you a wonderful freedom of expression unhindered by the limitations that would be imposed if it was a listed building.

Accommodation:
This is a really attractive house with an elegant frontage that proudly celebrates its heritage whilst still presenting a fresh contemporary look. Decorative brick arches curve gracefully over two of the ground floor windows, cleverly balanced by a matching feature above the central window on the first floor. The gentle pitch of the roof atop the front facing gable end is neatly continued down on either side, ensuring a lovely visual balance to the property as well as a substantial footprint, which creates the extremely generous ground floor living space and some lovely architectural features on the first floor.

Once inside the part glazed traditional front door you are greeted by a neat lobby with two charming front facing windows and glazed double doors that open into the main entrance hall. Generously proportioned, the entrance hall enjoys a welcoming ‘T’ shape with doors into the office/study and kitchen/breakfast room, and further sets of glazed double doors opening into the separate dining room and, offering a superb extended view as you enter the house, the substantial living room at the rear. The entrance hall is large enough and of a shape that is entirely suitable to be better considered as a reception room really, readily able to accept multiple pieces of occasional furniture without even slightly compromising the free movement around and through the space, with a lovely open plan area created by the beautifully engineered and constructed staircase.

The front facing office/study is as practical as it is charming, with a large window keeping it light and bright and a curved top ledged and braced door giving useful direct access through into the two integral garages/workshops to the side. It is a good size and shape and is very capable of housing a comprehensive work from home facility with multiple workstations and all the necessary storage cupboards and ancillary furniture that the role demands. Of course this is a spacious and flexible house, so an office could easily be incorporated into one of the many rooms on the first floor, leaving this fabulous room to serve you in some other way. The choices are almost infinite, from a playroom, library, music room through to a games room, TV room or teenage hang out space, it would excel in any use you may choose for it.

Across the entrance hall is the dining room, another room graced by a generous front facing window and the stylish addition of glazed double doors providing elegant and practical access. Large enough to easily swallow a substantial dining table and chairs, yet also of a well balanced shape that injects some in intimacy into the space, the room has a lovely feature that makes the very best use of its position adjacent to the kitchen/breakfast room, with an absolutely delightful stained glass window set into an interconnecting gothic arch, with a further intricately detailed stained glass window beneath it that opens to give direct access between the rooms.

The kitchen/breakfast room has no fewer than three separate windows across the front, supplemented by two further windows to the rear and the side, allowing the natural daylight to flow in whatever the time of day. There is a comprehensive array of wall and floor mounted cabinets fitted around three of the perimeter walls, in a nice variety of formats that include open shelving, glass fronted and corner units, that combine to ensure you will never be short of storage space or food preparation worktop area. Integrated within the cupboards is a full complement of premium branded appliances, along with specific locations designed in for additional free standing items, with a well specified utility/laundry room offering full support to the main kitchen, readily accessed through a door in the front corner of the kitchen that also leads to a perfectly located guest cloakroom and a useful separate door out into the rear garden. At the rear of the kitchen is a lovely area of open floor that is an ideal spot for casual dining, enjoying as it does the abundant light from a side facing window overlooking the garden and a window to the rear that looks out into the fabulous conservatory.

The conservatory really is a wonderful addition to the house, neatly linking the kitchen/breakfast room with the living room to enhance the already free flowing nature of the layout. This is a premium quality installation with a tiled floor and a brick built plinth that incorporates heat, light and power, along with multiple opening windows, double doors into the rear garden and a ceiling fan to ensure full temperature control, making this a practical and usable room throughout the year. It is a lovely space, again further boosting the flexibility of the property and is ready to meet your family’s specific needs whatever they may be.

Taking up most of the rear of the house is the stunning living room, a room of well balanced proportions that has some lovely design elements within it, like the ornate cornicework and decorative ceiling rose, along with another absolutely stunning stained glass window set into the wall between it and the entrance hall. A large room by any measure at some twenty-three feet long and completely bathed in natural light from four separate windows arranged across two aspects as well as the glazed double doors connecting it to the conservatory. The two rear windows are almost full height, allowing gorgeous uninterrupted views out into the naturalistic grounds beyond, with two elegant half-round windows gracing another wall. The room is comfortably spacious enough for multiple sofas and chairs, along with other pieces of occasional furniture, while still leaving more than ample space for easy movement in around and through the room, with an elegant fireplace offering a wonderful visual focal point in the centre of the outside wall.

Upstairs there is a generous hallway that is nicely galleried over the stairwell and amply lit by two Velux rooflights, leading to each of the four double bedrooms and the family bathroom which is fully tiled and has a shower fitted over the bath. Two of the bedrooms boast fitted wardrobes, with one of them also benefiting from a large en suite shower room. The other two bedrooms both have additional rooms connected to them that could be used for walk-in wardrobes/dressing rooms, or maybe as children’s playrooms.

Exterior:
The house enjoys a substantial driveway with parking for a large number of cars that extends right across the generous frontage of the house, two garages and a separate double gated entrance through to a further secure parking area and the rear gardens beyond. There is a deep paved patio that runs right around the rear of the house, neatly connecting all of the access points within the utility/laundry room, conservatory and both of the garages/workshops, which is ideal for outdoor casual seating and dining furniture. The rest of the grounds, around one acre in total, just stretch away from you in a wonderful unspoiled amalgam of lawns, mature borders and a wide variety of trees, along with multiple storage sheds and a delightful woodland walk. The river Mimram flows gently through the grounds with a bridge over to a charming private island on the other side. The woodland setting is quite exceptional, a beautiful and peaceful place to relax and unwind, and made even more special by the unlikely proximity to the vibrant and ever popular village of Welwyn, the centre of which is within a few minutes stroll.

Location:
This fabulous property is ideally located in a quiet residential cul-de-sac just a few minutes walk to the centre of Welwyn Village, which has a thriving and bustling central area with a wide range of shops, pubs and restaurants as well as doctors and dentists. More extensive facilities are to be found in Welwyn Garden City, just 3 miles to the south. Welwyn North Station offers a fast and frequent service into London, getting you to Kings Cross in around 20 minutes. Junction 6 of the A1(M) is within one mile.