Summerhouse Road, Godalming, GU7

Maison Godalming presents Oak Holm.

There are homes that are renovated, and there are homes that are reimagined entirely. Oak Holm belongs to the second category. Rebuilt from its foundations by an architect and an interior designer, Oak Holm is a home conceived with genuine creative intent. The approach is modest, a narrow lane that gives little away, but what unfolds beyond it is something else entirely. Warm brick, handmade roof tiles and steel framed windows give the exterior an understated character that feels entirely at home within its Busbridge setting, while inside, the quality of every decision becomes immediately apparent.

The entrance sets the tone immediately. A double height vaulted hall, flooded with light through full height steel framed glazing, creates a moment of arrival that is rare in a residential setting. Bare filament pendants drop through the void above, and wide oak boards run underfoot, and the whole space manages to feel both architectural and warmly inhabited. From here, the ground floor opens outward in a way that rewards exploration.

The kitchen is the gravitational centre of daily life here. It is a large, well planned room with shaker cabinetry in a soft chalk finish, stone surfaces throughout, and an island generous enough to seat five comfortably. What makes it exceptional is the light: the garden sits to the south, and from late morning the sun pours across the worktops in a way that makes cooking feel less like a task and more like something to enjoy. The kitchen flows naturally into the sitting and dining area, which in turn opens onto the terrace through wide steel framed doors, dissolving the boundary between inside and out on warmer days.

The living room is positioned slightly apart, giving it a quieter, more considered character. Corner glazing frames a view into the garden from two angles, and a wide format log burner sits within a beautifully resolved stone and joinery surround, with log storage recessed to either side. It is the kind of room that is just as comfortable on a grey November afternoon as it is in midsummer. Off the main hallway, there is also a snug and a separate music room, the latter a thoughtful addition that speaks to the particular interests of the people who created this home.

A ground floor shower room provides practicality for returning from the garden, and a utility room sits quietly off the kitchen, keeping the everyday mechanics of the house out of sight.

Upstairs, the landing spans the full width of the house and benefits from the double height void below, giving it a spaciousness that most first floors can only hint at. There is a small study off the landing for anyone who needs a quiet place to think. The principal bedroom faces the garden and opens to the treetop canopy through steel casement windows that frame the view like a painting. The en suite is calm and well fitted, with a deep bath positioned beneath a window that looks out into the greenery with considerable privacy. Four further bedrooms are arranged across the first floor, served by a family bathroom and an additional shower room, providing both the space and the flexibility that a larger household needs.

The grounds extend to around an acre in total. Approximately half is given over to the wrap around garden, which is thoughtfully planted and largely lawned, with a generous stone terrace directly off the living spaces, a pergola overhead, a hot tub set into its own raised brick enclosure, and enough space for a long table and a separate seating area without either feeling crowded. The remainder of the plot is mature woodland, largely natural in character, and from within it a private path descends through the trees to the High Street below. It is an unusual and genuinely useful thing to have: the feeling of deep seclusion at home, and the town five minutes on foot through your own woodland.

The detached garage building is a considered structure in its own right, with a ground floor garage and bike store, a sauna and shower room, and on the first floor a fully fitted home office and meeting room. The configuration is that of a self contained annexe and could be used as one, or as a workplace entirely separate from the main house, depending on what the next owner needs it to be.

Oak Holm is the product of two creative disciplines working in complete alignment. It is a home that functions brilliantly for family life while remaining genuinely beautiful to be in. For those who understand the difference between a house that has been finished and one that has been considered from first principles, this is a rare opportunity in one of Surrey's most connected and characterful towns.

Location Guide
Busbridge occupies a position that most Surrey villages can only aspire to: elevated above the town, rooted in genuine countryside, yet connected enough for daily life to feel entirely effortless. The southern fringe of Godalming has long drawn families who want space, good schools and easy access to London without the compromise of a commuter corridor. Those who settle here tend to stay. The lanes are quiet, and the Surrey Hills begin almost at the garden gate.

Transport Links

Godalming is around 30 miles from central London, with fast rail services to London Waterloo taking about 40 minutes. Godalming station, at the foot of the hill, handles the majority of commuter journeys, with Farncombe station a short distance to the north offering an alternative service on the same line. Both are within easy reach of Busbridge, making the London commute genuinely manageable. The A3 is accessible within minutes, providing a direct road connection to both London and Portsmouth, and Guildford is a straightforward ten minute drive for those needing a larger town centre or connection to the mainline fast services into London Waterloo.

Education

The schools around Busbridge are one of the primary reasons families choose to put down roots here. Busbridge Church of England Junior School is one of the best state primary schools in Godalming, rated Good by Ofsted and ranking in the top 21% of schools in the country by attainment. Busbridge Infant School sits immediately adjacent, feeding naturally through to the junior school and making the years from reception to eleven straightforward and local. St Edmund's Catholic Primary School, also within the immediate area and rated Good by Ofsted at its most recent inspection, provides a well regarded alternative for Catholic families at primary level. For secondary education, Broadwater School and Rodborough both serve the area, while Godalming College provides sixth form provision with a strong reputation. Independent options are exceptional: Charterhouse is one of the best independent schools in the UK, located in Godalming and providing a world class education for boys and girls aged 13 to 18, and is a short distance from Busbridge Lane. St Catherine's School in Bramley and Prior's Field School offer further independent provision at senior level, both within comfortable reach.

Local Attractions

The countryside around Busbridge is the kind that people move to Surrey for. Winkworth Arboretum, managed by the National Trust, is renowned for its seasonal colour and woodland walks, and sits just to the south of Busbridge. Loseley Park, the Elizabethan manor house and estate on the edge of Godalming, offers a different kind of afternoon: formal gardens, the Walled Garden, and a house with genuine historical weight. The Surrey Hills National Landscape extends to the south and west, with footpaths of Box Hill and Leith Hill, the North Downs Way, and the nature reserves at Thursley and Hankley Common all within reach. The River Wey runs through the valley below, providing riverside walking in both directions, and the National Trust's Munstead Wood, designed by Gertrude Jekyll, is a short drive away.

Entertainment and Leisure

Godalming's High Street punches well above its size for a market town, with independent cafés, delis, restaurants and shops sitting alongside the practical everyday offer. More than 130 listed buildings line the town centre, giving it a character that feels earned rather than manufactured. For Oak Holm specifically, Holloway Hill Recreation Ground is all but on the doorstep, with a tennis club, bowls, a children's playground and the Howling Owl, where you can sit with a coffee or something stronger and watch the cricket on a summer afternoon in a way that feels entirely removed from the pace of London life. On the dining front, Lavika on the High Street has recently opened to considerable interest, bringing grill-led Turkish cooking with a Mediterranean sensibility, while Greedy Elephant offers a well regarded Thai menu that has become a firm local favourite. For drinks and a proper meal, the Fox and Finch is a substantial gastropub with serious food credentials, and the Rose and Crown offers something altogether more lively, a smaller and more characterful pub that keeps later hours and has a loyal following. Church Street, one of Godalming's prettiest historic streets and the location used for Cameron Diaz and Jude Law's scenes in the 2006 film The Holiday, is home to The Star: a pub with a rich history dating to the 1600s that was crowned the UK's Best Pub of 2025 at the Greene King Pub Awards and has featured in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide for over twenty years. For a Sunday afternoon further afield, The Stag on the River in Lower Eashing, an 18th century pub on the banks of the River Wey, is the kind of place that becomes a local ritual. Guildford, ten minutes by car or train, provides everything else: a main theatre, larger retail, and a lively restaurant scene.