Billions Luxury Portal | Chanters House
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CHANTERS HOUSE

OTTERY STREET. MARY, DEVON

SOLD

AN IMMACULATELY RESTORED GRADE II LISTED HOUSE

 An immaculately restored Grade II* Listed house of national historic importance.

The entire west wing is taken up at ground floor level by a huge library, the largest west of Salisbury and designed for Lord Coleridge’s 18,000 books.

The current owner has carried out extensive restorations to the house with huge attention to detail. The property now offers all expected modern day facilities.

The Chanters House: The Chanters House enjoys an enviable position on the edge of the village of Ottery St Mary adjacent to St Mary’s church. There are wonderful views over the parkland to the deciduous woodland beyond. The house is approached by a sweeping drive which runs up through the parkland around the walled garden and rear of the house to the cobbled courtyard at the front.

The house has been refurbished by the present owners including all the sash windows and roofs. The property has been re-wired and re-plumbed with the pipes going to external mains also having been replaced. The house is finished to a high standard and boasts exceptional character features including; decorative tiles, timber floors, wooden panelling, stone, wooden and marble fireplaces, along with ornate plaster work.

Ground Floor: The principal reception rooms are of breath-taking proportions and comprise the outer hall, accessed from the main entrance to the house via the porch, with vaulted ceiling and hand painted flower motif together with exposed beams with painted inset panels, decorative tiled floor and a large oak mullion window.

The inner hall is a double storey room with a full height stone mullion gothic window. There is oak panelling to half room height with red painted panels above. This room has a large family crest of the Coleridge family with an otter and lion either side of the coat of arms.

The reception hall with its oak flooring and panelling has an impressive staircase with a large carved oak banister, believed to be imported from another house, with the initials BJFC and date 1907-1923 carved on the post, below a carved hunting otter.

The principal reception rooms lead off this hall and include the Cromwell Fairfax room, which is the dining room. The ceiling is of painted carved wood in a hexagonal pattern. The elm panelling is believed to date from the 1930’s and the stained fireplace at the end of the room commemorating the name of the room which reads as follows: ‘In this convention room Oliver Cromwell in the fall of the year 1645 convened the people of the town and neighbourhood and demanded of them men and money for the Civil War. Here also on October 29th Members of Parliament on behalf of both houses presented Sir Thomas Fairfax with a fair jewel and hung it about his neck in honour of his skill and valour at Naseby fight.’

The sitting room or gun room has exposed elm panelling and enjoys views out to the gardens to the south.

The drawing room is a twin aspect room enjoying views over the gardens to the south and west. This room comprises a large square bay window and half height oak panelling. The impressive proportions of this room are accentuated by the hand painted vaulted ceiling with inlaid gold leaf and intricate painted plasterwork.

The great library was added to the house in around 1890 by Coleridge, the Lord Chief Justice, and William Butterfield. The library is over 70ft in length, 30ft in height and remains home to the Coleridge library collection which now extends to around 22,000 books all housed in a range of oak carved bookcases. There is a gallery overlooking the room which feature 17 coats of arms, representing all the ladies who married into the Coleridge family. To the rear of the gallery, there is a small chapel built in memory of Lady Jane Seymour Fortesque Coleridge. Two large full height bay windows provide outstanding views across the gardens and parkland and at the northern end of the library there is a large ornate marble fireplace with a carved marble fresco by Frederik Thrupp.

The Victorian conservatory has a terracotta tiled floor and large carved painted windows. There are exposed brick walls and on one side a metal mesh fronted aviary. The palm house is a large room with Thai teak floor and a new glazed roof, which once had a myrtle tree growing in the middle of the room.

The billiard room has a large cupola in the roof providing light to the room. There is a large open fireplace along with a raised seating area. The chapel is an outstanding party room with a bar and DJ booth along with washroom facilities.

Off the main hall reception, the corridor leads to two separate cloakrooms beyond which there is a separate former gentleman’s smoking room with original bench seating and two wash hand basins.

The large kitchen / breakfast room has black stone tiled and oak floors comprising a central island with an extraction unit over the cooker. There is also an AGA and extensive kitchen units with doors leading through to the larders and cold room as well as a fully equipped secondary / commercial kitchen.

A door leads out through to a rear hall and kitchen store providing further kitchen appliances for more extensive cooking.

Other rooms adjacent to the kitchen include the china room, office and gymnasium with a sauna and shower. Steps lead down to a cellar comprising rooms for wine storage along with a backup gas boiler, water softener and water pumps.

First Floor: The principal staircase leads up past a large glazed picture window to a half landing which splits in two directions with the staircase continuing on the left hand side to the galleried landing. Principal rooms are named, with the Great Parlour Chamber being the room where Cromwell slept. A step down through an open screen leads to a sitting area with twin sash windows and window seats together with a cast iron fireplace. A door leads through to the ensuite shower room, the former Little Chamber, leading on to the Blue Chamber, a further bedroom with a fireplace. A door through to the Hone, now used as a dressing room, provides access to an ensuite bathroom.

Also on this floor there are two further bedroom suites (one with ensuite shower and one with ensuite bathroom), laundry room, linen room and maid’s living room. From the first floor, two staircases lead to the principal bedroom suite of the house comprising the Reynell bedroom with tall vaulted ceiling with painted detail. A room of exceptional proportions with a large bay window enjoying views over the parkland towards the woods. It also has a large wooden fireplace and a door which leads from the bedroom to the Periam ensuite. A further door provides access to the Mulstone ensuite with bath with a door to the Power dressing room with fitted wardrobes.

Further bedroom suites include the Heath bedroom with Taylor ensuite bathrooms and fitted wardrobes. From the suite, a door leads through the Collins ensuite with a shower to the Duke bedroom. Two further bedroom suites include the Buchanan and Mackarness both with ensuite bathrooms. Also on this floor there is access, via a separate staircase from the landing, to the maid’s bedroom with ensuite shower room. There is also a further bedroom, Seymour, with a separate family bathroom.

Coach House: Within the old Coach House the ground floor presently comprises a fully fitted catering kitchen along with stores. On the first floor, with separate access from the walled garden, there is a two bedroom guest/staff flat comprising sitting/dining room, kitchen, two bedrooms and a shower room. Adjacent to the Coach House there are former stables and stores with two loose boxes and extensive storage / garaging.

The Lodge: To the south west of the house, at the head of the former drive, is the rendered gate lodge. The accommodation comprises a sitting room, dining room, kitchen and bathroom on the ground floor with three bedrooms, one with an ensuite shower room on the first floor. The house is surrounded by its own gardens and also has ample parking.

from  22,211 sq ft  / 21.43 Acres

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PRICED FROM £7,000,000

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