- Beautifully presented Grade II Listed Elizabethan Cottage dating back to 1585
- Large 3/4 Acre plot with the Main House, Two large Ancillary Buildings and a bespoke Treehouse!
- Set back nearly 40m from the road, hidden by a coppice of trees to the front - a very private Home
- Planning granted in 2017) to replace one of the Outbuildings with a new 2-storey extension
- (The new 2 storey extension to be linked with the Main Cottage - now creating a 4 Bedroom House)
- Additional 2-Storey Building with a 3-Room Studio over a ground floor Garage/Workshop
- Main Cottage: 3 Living Rooms, Kitchen/Breakfast Room, Bathroom, sep WC Room & 3 Double Bedrooms
- (New extension comprises new Kit/Brek Rm, Study, Utility, New Master Bedroom Suite & 3 bathrooms
- Also Swimming Pool with large paved surround & Bespoke custom made Treehouse - a proper bonus 'room'
- Local Pub/Restaurant 2 min walk, Danbury 3 miles & Miles of open countryside surrounds
Dating back to 1585, Forge Cottage is a historic 3 Bedroom Detached Grade II Listed Elizabethan Cottage occupying a large 3/4 acre plot with two other ancillary buildings and a fabulous Treehouse, set back nearly 40 meters from the road, and hidden by a coppice of trees to the front.
The property is surrounded by trees and backs onto fields too, with neighbouring properties a significant enough distance away to prevent any overlooking, making it a very private Home.
The current owner received Planning Permission and Listed Building Consent back in 2017 to demolish one of the outbuildings to construct single and two storey extensions to the rear with associated internal alterations. The work was never done in the end, but it would be fair to assume that permission could be granted again. This would then create a home with 4 Bedrooms, 3 Bathrooms (Bathroom & 2 Shower Rooms), 4 Living Rooms, a Study, and a superb open plan Kitchen/Diner with an adjacent Utility Room.
The existing property also comes with a 2 storey Building with a Garage/Workshop to the Ground Floor and Three rooms upstairs as well as the unique feature Treehouse, which has been converted into a playroom, complete with lights and electric. The perfect escape away from the main residence.
The Cottage was first built as a timber-framed Tudor ‘Hall' house, the property you see today largely the result of alterations in the Georgian period and then in more recent years. The present day accommodation briefly comprising a Hall, Living Room, Sitting Room, Dining Room, Kitchen/Breakfast Room, Bathroom with separate WC Room and three large double bedrooms.
Hackmans Lane is a rural road winding its way from Cold Norton to Danbury, passing through Cock Clarks en route. The local village Pub (the Fox & Hounds) is a mere 2-minute stroll, serving a traditional English menu and Sunday roasts.
Chelmsford City is an easy 9 mile drive with the nearest neighbouring villages being Purleigh (1.5 miles) and Danbury (3 miles) and the surrounding countryside offers an abundance of footpaths for country walks .
Just a 9-minute (4 mile) drive away is RHS Hyde Hall - 360 acres of some of the finest Gardens in the East of England and nearby you will also find Hanningfield Reservoir with its discovery centre, waterside park, café, fishing lake and scenic walks.
Rail services are readily available at South Woodham and Chelmsford, with South Woodham Ferrers the closest at just 2.8 miles away - London Liverpool Street Station a 44 minute ride.
The Accommodation
A remote controlled 5-bar Gate gently swings open to a long private shingled Drive running up to the Detached Garage, with the property on the right.
An antique, 3-panel wooden Front Door leads through to:
ENTRANCE HALL 15ft 10' x 7ft 5' (2.3m x 4.8m)
A great first impression, radiating character and with Oak panelling, a stone flagstone floor and latched ledge & brace internal doors.
A large full height built-in cupboard provides a super storage facility.
LIVING ROOM 14ft 10' x 14ft (4.5m x 4.3m)
Well lit by three windows and featuring beautiful ‘Herringbone' design wood flooring (lovingly laid by the previous owner who lived here for over 50 years), exposed timbers and the focal point, the Inglenook Fireplace, with its central Wood Burning Stove.
SITTING ROOM 11ft 7' x 11ft 4' (3.5m x 3.5m)
Perfect as a second lounge, this charming additional reception room also features exposed beamwork, gorgeous wood flooring and a pleasant outlook over the manicured front garden.
DINING ROOM 14ft 10' x 10ft (4.5m x 3m)
Another charming room featuring an ornate cast iron Fireplace with a tiled inlay.
The Georgian style window also overlooks the front garden.
KITCHEN 12ft 8' x 11ft 6' (3.9m x 3.5m)
Homely and charming and with a stable door opening straight out onto the Rear Garden, the kitchen boasts a good range of Oak effect Shaker style kitchen units topped with Granite worktops and featuring a Butler Sink.
Sitting proudly with the old Chimney recess is the Cream Range Cooker, which is to remain.
BATHROOM
Fitted with both a large Bath and a separate Shower.
There's also a Vanity Unit, floor to ceiling tiling and a rear window for natural daylight.
SEPARATE WC ROOM
Fully tiled and with a rear window, low-level WC and wall mounted basin.
1st FLOOR LANDING
With a rear window inset within the handmade clay tiled roof and doors off to:
MASTER BEDROOM 14ft 10' x 13ft 8' (4.5m x 4.2m)
The soaring vaulted ceiling gives an even greater impression of space.
Three built-in wardrobes provide plenty of storage and beautiful wood flooring incorporates a raised platform area for the bed - a nice feature.
BEDROOM TWO 14ft x 11ft 7' (4.3m x 3.5m)
Another generous front facing double bedroom, this one with attractive wood flooring and a built-in cupboard in the corner.
BEDROOM THREE 11ft 7' x 11ft 4' (3.5m x 3.5m)
This pretty double bedroom with its feature Flamingo wallpaper and built-in cupboard enjoys a dual aspect, having windows to both the front and side.
EXTERIOR
The property sits fairly central within the plot with the 2-Storey Garage/Studio at the end of the long-shingled Drive and a further Outbuilding (a Garden Store/Coal Bunker built over the original privies using bricks reclaimed from the original Forge) just behind the main house.
Landscaped grounds feature a Swimming Pool with Lounging area, a large Patio perfect for family dinners, woodchip play area and the Custom Made Treehouse.
BESPOKE CUSTOM MADE TREEHOUSE 15ft 6' x 8ft 4' (4.7m x 2.5m)
This cosy hangout is finished with pinewood wall panelling, wood laminate flooring and has plenty of light flowing in through several feature-stained glass windows.
It also comes complete with lighting and power points.
GARDEN STORE 13ft 5' x 9ft (4.1m x 2.7m)
One of the past owners was a blacksmith called Frank Brand who bought the house in 1923 and where the name derives. This building was built in the 1950's using reclaimed bricks from the old forge, itself knocked down and rebuilt as the Garage.
It is brick built with stone flooring and a vaulted ceiling. A handy storeroom close to the main residence.
2-STOREY GARAGE/STUDIO:
Built on the site of the old Forge.
. Ground Floor Garage/Workshop 29ft 3' x 12ft 3' (8.9m x 3.7m) Featuring an electric roller shutter door, power, and lights.
As well as the main garage door, an internal door leads through to a Lobby with an External Door and a set of stairs rising up to:
. 1st Floor Central Room 12ft 3' x 10ft (3.7m x 3m) With a vaulted roof (as found in all three rooms), power and lighting and doors through to the other two rooms:
. Room Two 12ft 3' x 10ft 2' (3.7m x 3.1m) With a rear facing window and an air conditioning unit.
. Store Room 8ft 6' x 6ft 9' (2.6m x 2.1m) With fitted wardrobes with sliding doors.
SWIMMING POOL
The large, heated swimming pool measures 40ft x 20ft (12.2m x 6m) and has a retractable safety pool cover, neatly laid block paved surround and the boiler is housed in a timber shed.
FURTHER NOTE: A stile at the back of the property's grounds goes into a field belonging to the local Farm which has Stabling and a Livery Yard. The Vendors daughter used to keep a horse there so this easy access was perfect!
Council Tax
Chelmsford Council, Band F
Notice
Please note we have not tested any apparatus, fixtures, fittings, or services. Interested parties must undertake their own investigation into the working order of these items. All measurements are approximate and photographs provided for guidance only.
Chelmsford has a long and interesting history starting in the pre-historic period (widespread 8,000 BC flint tools evidence), although it was the Roman period when the first proper roots were laid down in AD61, as it was a fortified staging post on the London (30 miles) to Colchester (22 miles) Road - the modern A12, situated at the meeting of the rivers Can and Chelmer where they were crossed by the old Roman Road.
It developed further as a medieval market town when in 1199 King John granted a Royal Charter for Chelmsford to hold a market (still here 800+ years later), eventually becoming the County Town and centre of local administration in 1218 and a City in 2012.
Industry has always flourished here as in the early days, materials were bought in by water from the sea at Heybridge along the ‘Navigation', the Canalisation of the rivers Chelmer and Blackwater in 1797 - now a largely unspoilt part of rural Essex with a footpath along its full length and beautifully maintained. Summer sees many a narrowboat, river craft or canoe cruising along it, with Papermill Lock a lovely place to visit halfway along the Canal.
The main part of Chelmsford is the merging of 21 parishes (Moulsham, Springfield and the surrounding villages like Danbury and Writtle, etc) to form one continuous developed area.
