HISTORY Oakwell-in-the-Blean is a handsome Georgian house set on the rural fringes of the city of Canterbury. The property is available for purchase for the first time, having been in the same family ownership for seven generations since the current house was created in 1836 and given as a wedding present to the great-great-great grandparents of the current owners. The house takes its name from a well encircled by oak trees found in one of the fields.

OAKWELL-IN-THE-BLEAN This elegant Georgian country house has mellow yellow brick elevations and a wealth of imposing features, including sash and bay windows, high and ornately corniced ceilings, panelled walls and period fireplaces. The house is locally listed and may now benefit from updating.

The ground floor provides elegant and light-filled accommodation, with its grand entranceway and reception hall opening to four imposing and adaptable reception rooms, including a front-facing formal dining room and a music room, adjacent to which is a comfortable sitting room.

The main drawing room, with its triple aspect shuttered bay and sash windows, overlooks the gardens and the parkland beyond. To the rear of the house is the conservatory, which enjoys a panoramic garden aspect.

The traditional kitchen/breakfast room has an AGA and is fitted with an array of wall and base unit storage cabinetry; there is ample space for a large table. Accessed through an inner hall, there is a useful utility room with shower and cloakroom, and also a door giving access to stairs to the large five-room cellar below.

The beautiful and easy rise staircase ascends to the first floor, where there is a peaceful home office and five very well-proportioned bedrooms with far-reaching views of the established grounds. The second bedroom enjoys a large bay window, whilst the principal bedroom benefits from a tasteful en suite bathroom and a further family bathroom completes the floor.

An attic sits above.

ANNEXE The useful adjoining annexe comprises an open- plan sitting and dining room, kitchen, cloakroom, two bedrooms and a bathroom.

This property has 3.29 acres of land.

Outside

The property sits in substantial private gardens, with a sweeping gated and gravelled driveway beside the house leading to a large courtyard and brick-built coach house, which contains two large garages and a range of useful rooms.

The landscaped gardens are surrounded by parkland and contain an array of expansive lawned areas divided into rooms by pathways. The garden is interspersed with mature and specimen trees, shrubbery and vibrant mixed herbaceous beds and bulbs. Various climbing plants adorn the handsome façade. A tennis court sits further along and a sun terrace offers the ideal spot for al fresco dining.

FURTHER LAND Available in addition are a further 70.43 acres of pasture land with mature trees and a stream.

The pasture land is set both sides of the Crab and Winkle Line – a long since disused railway that divides the estate. Access is available at the Northern end from Tyler Hill Road as well as from the East, and a Right of Way for Agricultural Purposes provides the day-to-day access across the neighbouring farm.

AGENT’S NOTE: The purchaser of Oakwell-in-the-Blean will be required to erect new boundary fences between points A and B on the plan and to build a wall across the gate beside the coach house.

Situation

Tyler Hill is to the north of historic Canterbury and is well placed to take advantage of all that the city has to offer, including a wide range of supermarkets, shops and restaurants, together with an array of cultural, sporting and recreational facilities. Many of the city’s amenities are easily reached without travelling through the centre.

There are well-regarded schools in both the independent and state sectors, including the Simon Langton grammar schools, The King’s School, St Edmund’s School, Kent College. The University of Kent is close by.

The A2 has direct dual carriageway access to the motorway network. The High Speed service to London St Pancras from Canterbury West takes from 53 minutes. Excellent bus links run from the university to the coast and the city

Directions

From Canterbury: From the ring road follow signs to Margate. At Northgate roundabout head North, (keeping the new Curzon Cinema to your right) and cross the next roundabout, passing Sainsbury's on the left. At a third roundabout, proceed over to St Stephen’s Road (signposted to the Gulbenkian Theatre) and the level crossing. After 0.5 mile at the mini roundabout, turn right onto St Stephen’s Hill. As you reach the top of the hill (with Kent University on your left), continue over the roundabout onto Canterbury Hill. Calais Hill is the first turning on the left. Join this road, and the unmarked entrance to Oakwell-in-the-Blean will be found on the left after about 0.25 mile.