“With the clocks having ‘sprung forward’, Easter behind us and summer on the horizon, the Cotswold property market has emerged from hibernation and is now really motoring: clients are keen to get their properties launched, while purchasers wanting to move to the area are clamouring to know what’s new and what’s coming.  There’s a real vroom in the air,” says Sam Butler of Butler Sherborn.

“It is a great time of year with a tangible sense of renewal, and if you have a classic or sports car, there’s no better time to hit the road with the roof down to explore the Cotswolds and everything it has to offer.”

Hampen Court, Hampen, Gloucestershire, GL54 4JJ - £1.65million

Owned by the same family and on sale for the first time in 200 years, Hampen Court is set on the edge of a quintessential Cotswold hamlet in a slightly elevated position with views overlooking its garden and surrounding fields.

Attached to Hampen Manor, Hampen Court is a distinctive, handsome and spacious family home offering plenty of character and thanks to its hall roof lantern and west facing windows, an interior filled with light.  Period features include sash windows, some of which have shutters and window seats, open stone feature fireplaces, a beautifully tiled hallway, wooden and Cotswold stone flooring, high ceilings with coving and picture rails, and some architecturally impressive chimneys, carved Cotswold stone finials and lintels with scroll detailing.

Ground floor accommodation includes a generous sized hall complete with beautiful floor tiles and impressive staircase, a sitting room with original wooden floor, open Cotswold stone fireplace and large sash windows, a dining room with flagstone floor and a comprehensively equipped kitchen with the scope to create an open plan kitchen/breakfast room using the conservatory.  There is a laundry room, playroom/office, cloakroom and cellar.  Gigaclear optic fibre broadband is connected.

Upstairs the main bedroom includes a feature fireplace and bath/shower room, and an adjacent bedroom which could become a dressing room.  There is a guest bedroom with sash window, shutters and a window seat plus a family bathroom, while on the top floor are two further bedrooms.

Hampen Court is approached through some beautiful parkland with ancient horse chestnut trees lining the no-through lane.  The gardens on the western aspect comprise a raised terrace and large flat lawn, with boundaries of attractive estate fencing and Cotswold stone walls.  There are rose clad stone arches with views to the fields in between, York stone paths around the lawns, a small terrace and a mature orchard complete with a superb treehouse with electric lighting.  A delightful little stream runs down to the fields below.

Hampen Court is in a Conservation Area and the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.  Hampen hamlet has excellent communications via the A40 to Cheltenham, Oxford and beyond, while the area gives access to a superb network of footpaths and bridleways area.  Local communities include Shipton Oliffe with its parish church and recently renovated Reading Room for local events, while Charlton Kings, Northleach and Andoversford offer supermarkets and meet day-to-day requirements.

For those interested in matters motoring, Prescott Hill Climb is less than 11 miles away, while the Classic Motor Hub at Ablington near Bibury is 9 miles.

https://www.butlersherborn.co.uk/hampen/nid3552

Guide price: £1.65million

Butler Sherborn - Stow-on-the-Wold - 01451 830731

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Westrop House, Cricklade Road, Highworth, Wiltshire, SN6 7BL - £1.85million

Featuring a classical frontage with an imposing semi-circular Doric portico and entrance, Westrop House is a fine Grade II Listed Georgian townhouse built in 1818 for renowned local solicitor of the time, William Crowdy.

Inside it boasts high ceilings, spacious room proportions, large bay windows, original cornices and mouldings, dado rails, flagstone flooring, sash windows with working shutters, and an imposing stone cantilevered staircase.

Approached over a long curved driveway it resembles a charming country manor house overlooking delightful and peaceful gardens while also providing the convenience of being within walking distance of the town centre yet still enjoying the sense of quiet country living.

Accommodation on the ground floor comprises a glazed entrance porch, hall with its stunning cantilevered stone staircase, galleried landing and coved ceiling above, and formal reception rooms on either side.  The elegant drawing room has a wide bay window with working shutters, decorative mouldings, a working stone fireplace and doors leading to a conservatory.  The dining room opposite is of similar proportions with a matching bay window and ornamental stone fireplace.  There is a south-facing sitting room to one side.

The kitchen/breakfast room features a window seat and blends original kitchen cupboards with bespoke hand-painted kitchen fittings including an island unit, Rangemaster cooker with gas hob, fitted microwave and integrated dishwasher.  There is a large utility room with boiler, plumbing for a washing machine, deep airing cupboard and a door to the side hall that is ideal for muddy dogs and boots.

There is a service wing with a series of rooms including a large cloak/shower room, an office - formerly the butler’s pantry with fitted cupboards, a study and cellars.  These are accessed via an enclosed stone staircase and comprise wine stores with brick bins, several dry storage areas including a workshop.

On the first floor are located the principal bedroom with en suite bathroom featuring a free-standing bath, four further double bedrooms, a family bathroom, two night cloakrooms and walk-in cupboards.  The top floor is currently configured as a two bedroom flat with a separate electricity supply, kitchen, bathroom and walk-in storage cupboard.  Ideal for teenagers, a nanny or guests this could easily be remodelled.

Sitting in 1.47acres, the house has its own private drive that sweeps around the edge of the gardens to the house.  Predominantly laid to lawn, the garden comprises magnificent trees including a large cedar and copper beeches, a woodland walk, sunken walkway, rose arbour, clipped box hedging, and a vegetable garden with fruit cages and a productive asparagus bed.  There is also a large ornamental pond and a terrace, and for car enthusiasts three garages/stores discreetly set back from the drive as well as a paved garden adjacent to the conservatory for entertaining outside.

https://www.butlersherborn.co.uk/highworth/cricklade-road/nid3547

Guide price: £1.85million

Butler Sherborn - Cirencester - 01285 883740

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Wellingtonia Lodge, Buckland, Oxfordshire, SN7 8QW - £2.25million

Wellingtonia Lodge is an eight bedroom Grade II Listed Georgian family home complete with swimming pool in just less than an acre.  Originally part of The Buckland Estate it is positioned centrally in the much sought-after community of Buckland.  The house exudes quality and a sense of gracious living throughout with many original features such as flagstone flooring, exposed beams, feature fireplaces, bay windows and a cellar.

Well-proportioned throughout, ground floor accommodation includes an entrance porch with flagstone flooring and a Lancet window leading to the main entrance hall with original, delicately crafted staircase.  There is a bright and high-ceilinged drawing room with bay window, open fireplace and solid wooden flooring, a cosy family sitting room with bay window and original stone fireplace, a dining room, kitchen/breakfast room, with granite work surfaces, double Aga and gas hob and solid wood flooring, a boot room and laundry room.  There is a playroom/office, cloakroom and cellar.

On the first floor is a galleried landing which wraps around to the principal bedroom which is dual aspect and features a semi-vaulted ceiling, original fireplace and built-in wardrobes.  This floor also includes bedroom five which is currently used as a dressing room/bathroom for the principal bedroom, a further double en suite bedroom, family bathroom and a generous sized double bedroom/guest room.

On the upper floor are a further three bedrooms with dormer windows and exposed apex beams, an en suite shower room and sitting room which could be used as ‘working from home’ space, hobby rooms or children’s area.

Outside and with its private gravelled drive and gated access, there is a real degree of privacy.  The well-established garden includes mature trees and hedges, well-stocked borders and lawns, a vegetable area, greenhouse and paddock.  The swimming pool area is assured privacy thanks to the hedging, and there is a banked wild meadow and sunny patio terrace for al-fresco dining.

Conveniently situated off the A420 between Swindon and Oxford, Buckland is in a Conservation Area and has an ancient church, popular pub with restaurant, a village hall and well-regarded primary school.  Mollies Diner is close by as is St Hugh’s prep school just two miles away amongst many other excellent independent and state schools in the area.  Road and rail communications are excellent with the M4 and M40 within easy reach and main line services at Didcot to London Paddington and London Marylebone from Oxford Parkway.

https://www.butlersherborn.co.uk/buckland/nid3549

Guide price: £2.25million

Butler Sherborn - Stow-on-the-Wold - 01451 830731

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The Great Barn, Manor Road, Sandford St. Martin, Oxfordshire, OX7 7AG - £2.5million

Located within three miles of Great Tew and Soho Farmhouse (approx. 25 minutes on foot), The Great Barn offers a rare opportunity to purchase a substantial family home in Sandford St. Martin, one of the most desirable villages in the North Cotswolds.  It is centrally situated within the village yet discreetly hidden away with its own private driveway.

Offering period character fused with contemporary open plan living, The Great Barn provides

4,235sq ft of light filled space.  Well-presented in neutral colours, this family home comprises four large reception rooms including a capacious drawing room measuring over 30’ x 17’ featuring a large Cotswold stone fireplace with wood burner and a study/TV room.  There is an impressive 37’ x 15’ open-plan kitchen with hand-painted shaker style units, a large central island, Granite worktops and four oven Aga, and an extension off the kitchen provides the dining room and family living space that is also ideal for entertaining.

The first floor has a large master suite incorporating the dressing room and modern en suite with large walk-in shower.  There are two other bedrooms on this floor (one double and a large single) along with a family bathroom, and the top floor has two large double bedrooms and a modern shower room.

The private and peaceful walled garden extends to 0.74 acres and is well maintained, flanked by herbaceous borders and a raised terrace.  There is a vegetable patch with raised beds for growing your own produce and patios for alfresco dining.

For petrolheads, there is detached garaging with three open bays with distinctive stone pillars, ideal for storing that special classic car for touring the Cotswolds at weekends.

Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm Shop is just a nine mile drive away, Gilks’ Garage Café is 20 miles, The British Motor Museum, 22 miles and Caffeine & Machine, 24 miles, while for foodies, The Cotswold Guy’s Farm Shop & Café at Gagingwell is less than two miles away, The Quince and Clover café is three miles and Daylesford Organic a short cruise cross-country.  Since its conversion 27 years ago, the property has remained in ownership of the same family.

https://www.butlersherborn.co.uk/sandford-st-martin/manor-road/nid3542

Guide price: £2.5million

Butler Sherborn - Stow-on-the-Wold - 01451 830731

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10 great motoring venues for those setting out to drive across the Cotswolds

With its rolling countryside, honey coloured stone villages and leafy lanes and byways, the Cotswolds is a superb place for driving, especially if you own a classic or sports car now that warmer, sunny days are coming.

Before setting out, it is good to have a destination in mind, and the area is host to a number of great places for car enthusiasts.  Whether to look at other special vehicles or just a coffee stop for a natter, here is the Butler Sherborn selection of the best ‘go to’ places for petrolheads around the region:

Bicester Heritage - https://bicesterheritage.co.uk/events

British Motor Museum, Gaydon - https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/

Caffeine & Machine, Ettington - https://caffeineandmachine.com/

Castle Combe Race Circuit – https://castlecombecircuit.co.uk/

Classic Motor Hub, Bibury - https://classicmotorhub.com/

Cotswold Motoring Museum, Bourton-on-the-Water - https://www.cotswoldmotoringmuseum.co.uk/

Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm Shop - https://diddlysquatfarmshop.com/

Gilks’ Garage Café, Kineton - https://gilksgaragecafe.com/

Morgan Motor Company, Malvern - https://morgan-motor.com/

Prescott Hill Climb, nr Cheltenham - https://www.prescotthillclimb.co.uk/