A PIECE OF BILLERICAY HISTORY, A TRULY SPACIOUS APARTMENT & A LOCATION THAT IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO BEAT!
Dating back to 1840 and originally built as the Billericay Union Workhouse, this fascinating Grade II Listed building forms part of the beautifully converted Charles House, at the heart of the prestigious Stockfield Manor development.
Designed in the Tudor style by renowned Victorian architect George Gilbert Scott, the former workhouse later became St Andrew's Hospital before finally closing in 1998 and being sensitively converted by Laing Homes - and what a conversion it has become.
Set within beautifully maintained communal grounds, Stockfield Manor combines the character and history of the original buildings with attractive modern homes, all tucked away just moments from Billericay High Street.
This particularly spacious Two Bedroom Apartment occupies part of the south-west wing and offers around 1,000 sq ft (93 sq m) of accommodation, with a spectacular 24ft 6" x 16ft (7.5m x 4.8m) Living Room at its heart. Add the impressive 9ft (2.74m) high ceiling, huge windows and dual aspect, and it is a room that genuinely lives up to the word spacious'.
There is also a good-sized Kitchen with a built-in pantry cupboard, two bedrooms, a Bathroom (currently fitted as a Shower Room and the useful bonus of a separate WC.
Outside, there is an unusually private, hedged area immediately in front of the apartment which although technically part of the communal grounds, has been enjoyed by the current family as their 'own garden', and there is an allocated parking bay in the private Car Park just a few steps away from the front door.
Location-wise, it really doesn't get much better. A secure gate provides a handy shortcut onto Stock Road, making the Mainline Station only a 2-minute walk! While the High Street is similarly close, Lake Meadows Park is around 4 minutes on foot (down Lake Avenue), and Norsey Woods approximately 5 minutes in the opposite direction.
Character, space, history and convenience this really is a rare combination.
The Accommodation in more detail:
HALL 7ft 7" narrowing to 6ft " x 4ft 8" (2.31m > 1.88m x 1.42m)
The attractive herringbone-effect light wood vinyl flooring continues into the adjoining WC.
A large, full-width walk-in cupboard has natural light from a small window, provides excellent storage and houses the electrical consumer unit.
WC ROOM 6ft 5" x 2ft 10" (1.96m x 0.86m)
A useful separate 'cloakroom' fitted with a white suite and benefiting from natural light through a window.
LOUNGE/DINER 24ft 6" x 15ft 9" (7.47m x 4.80m)
Quite simply, a fabulous room and the real feature of the apartment.
The impressive 9ft (2.74m) ceiling height adds to the already substantial feeling of space, while the enormous 10ft x 8ft (3.05m x 2.44m) front-facing window overlooking the attractive Courtyard, floods the room with natural light.
A further rear-facing window and glazed external door provide additional light and create a lovely dual-aspect feel.
The generous floor area comfortably accommodates both a sizeable Lounge and Dining areas, with the current occupier also having a study area along the rear wall.
The glazed 'back door' also provides the option of a second front entrance, as it has direct access to the development's attractive courtyard.
At the far end of the room, a door leads through to the corridor serving the bedrooms and bathroom.
KITCHEN 11ft 6" x 7ft 6" (3.51m x 2.29m)
Fitted with a range of attractive Beechwood-effect Shaker-style units with Granite-effect worktops, incorporating a 1.5 -bowl ceramic sink, built-in Siemens Electric Hob with Oven below and a canopied extractor hood above.
There are spaces for a fridge/freezer and washing machine, together with a particularly useful 2ft 9" x 2ft (0.84m x 0.61m) built-in pantry cupboard, which also houses the tumble dryer.
A Worcester Greenstar 30i ErP 'MT10' condensing combination boiler is concealed within a matching kitchen cupboard and two windows overlook the private communal gardens to the rear.
CORRIDOR 16ft 4" x 3ft 3" (4.98m x 0.99m)
A surprisingly bright inner corridor with two windows and a useful 2ft 7" x 2ft 2" (0.79m x 0.66m) full-height built-in cupboard providing further storage.
MASTER BEDROOM 12ft 5" x 12ft 2" (3.78m x 3.71m)
A particularly good-sized dual-aspect double bedroom with windows overlooking both the front courtyard and private rear grounds.
BEDROOM TWO 8ft 6" x 7ft 8" (2.59m x 2.34m)
A versatile second bedroom with a window overlooking the courtyard and sufficient space to accommodate a double bed.
SHOWER ROOM 8ft 5" x 5ft 10" max (2.57m x 1.78m max)
Refitted as a shower room and fitted with an obscure-glazed window providing natural light, together with extractor fan and shaver/toothbrush socket.
OUTSIDE & LOCATION
One of the apartment's more unusual features is the particularly private area immediately outside the front door. Although technically forming part of the communal grounds, it is enclosed by hedging and has no practical access other than a small opening by the rear door of this apartment, making it an exceptionally private little outdoor space which the current family have enjoyed using as their own.
Stockfield Manor itself occupies a superb position just off Billericay High Street. A secure gate just a few steps from this apartment, provides a very handy shortcut onto Stock Road and from there it is only a couple of minutes' walk to Billericay Mainline Station, with trains providing regular services towards London Liverpool Street.
The High Street is equally convenient, while Lake Meadows Park is approximately a 4-minute walk away and Norsey Woods around 5 minutes in the opposite direction.
With its fascinating history, Grade II Listed character, exceptional living space and genuinely outstanding location, apartments of this type are rarely available and this one really does need to be viewed to fully appreciate its proportions and character.
Council Tax
Basildon Council, Band E
Service Charge
£260.00 Monthly
Lease Length
98 Years
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.
Billericay is a popular, historic market town just 30 miles from London.
The market at the top of Crown Road disappeared years ago and Billericay nowadays is more well-known as an excellent commuter town, with excellent rail links to the City (35 minutes by train), very good schools and a charming High Street, part of which is a conservation area.
It also has great access to the key main roads of the M25, A12 and A127.
The town lies on the edge of rural Essex, which makes it a very desirable place to live. This coupled with the City access goes some way to explain the high levels of Londoners we see looking to move here every year.
Since I moved here in 1973 and started as an estate agent in the mid 1990's, I have seen the town grow to where it is now, with some 14,000-15,000 homes and a population of over 40,000.
The Billericay you see today is economically and physically a thriving and attractive place to live and work. There are many open green spaces including the 40 acre Lake Meadows Park, a must in summer, and they throw a pretty impressive Fireworks Night too.
Norsey Woods is a great place for a walk or to exercise your dogs...or the kids! It dates back to the Bronze Age and covers about 165 acres with a visitor centre for the educational visits it has too.
I remember camping there as a cub scout back in the day and both Nick and myself have enjoyed many a afternoon there over the years with our families.
The High Street must be one of the prettiest in the county and dates back to Roman times. The shape we see now certainly hasn't changed much for over 500 years, our office itself is part of one of the 25 old coaching inns the town has seen over the years!
With well over 100 shops including some well known names and some boutique locally owned ones, the High Street also has some great pubs, bars and restaurants. The Chequers is probably the most popular, most people we know rate it as the best pub in town, with newer bars like Harrys Bar, Bar Zero and the Blue Boar, also very sought after, growing venues on friday and saturday nights.
There are too many great restaurants to name, suffice to say you don't need to travel out of Billericay to have a fantastic night out and there's a taxi rank by the station to get you home if you want to leave the car on the drive.
Waitrose is our local main supermarket with there also a very good Co-op over on Queens Park. Smaller supermarkets over in South Green, Sunnymede and along Stock Road also provide a super local service in their areas.
Billericay Christmas Market is a very popular annual event which sees the High Street completely shut to traffic for the day and then filled with stalls selling anything and everything Christmasy!
All the local schools, both Primary and Secondary have good OFSTED reports and there is a good choice of both State and Private. Please feel free to contact our office for more details although the OFSTED website is the ideal first port of call of course.
A BIT OF HISTORY
Billericay has an facinating history, much of which can be researched in our local museum, the Cater Museum on the High Street.
Billericay was first recorded as Byllerica in 1291 with notable events including a Peasants Revolt ending up in Norsey Woods in 1381 and some of Billericay residents, including Christopher Martin, the ship's victualler, sailing with the Pilgrim Fathers to the 'New World' of America on the Mayflower in 1620 - hence the many representartions of the Mayflower ship in numerous local businesses and the Mayflower High School.
In 1916 Billericay became famous as a result of a Zeppelin airship crashing in flames on the outskirts of the town, down what is now Greens Farm Lane.
A union workhouse was built in 1840 which later, together with additional later built buildings, became St. Andrew's Hospital in the 1930s. The regional plastic surgery and rehabilitation unit was opened here the same year I moved to Billericay, 1973. Many a local will still refer the estate there now to me, as 'one of the houses on the old Burns Unit', although it is in fact Stockfield Manor now.
Only the original workhouse building, including the chapel, and the main gatehouse, now survive, converted now into Grey Lady Place, a residential development of luxury apartments.
The railway came in 1889 and opened up opportunities for landowners to sell plots to Londoners looking to move out of 'The Smoke' into a cleaner rural environment. Both myself and Nick have sold many an old 'plot land' home over the years for redevelopment. A few still remain on the edge of Norsey Woods down Break Egg Hill.
With the housing shortage created by the war time bombing of London, pressure to build was great and the new town of Basildon was given the green light. The 'Green Belt' stopped expansion and the blurring of Basildon and Billericay, hence why lot of the Billericay housing estates were built on abandoned farmland around the town centre and Great Burstead/South Green, where permission was more easily granted.
