Dating from the 17th century and altered in the early 20th century by F C Eden and the Reverend A C de Bourbel, The Old Vicarage is a glorious family home offering almost 5,000 sq ft of flexible accommodation. Retained character features include some large sash and casement windows, exposed beams and original fireplaces and the house enjoys a superb suite of entertaining rooms.

The ground floor accommodation flows from a welcoming reception hall with a black and white marble floor, reputedly laid by an Italian craftsman, and comprises a generous study, a large drawing room with an open fireplace, an inter-connected conservatory and sun room with double doors to the garden/terrace, and a spacious dining room with an open fireplace with wooden overmantle. There is also a play room with wooden flooring, window seating and a corner fireplace with wood-burning stove and useful en suite cloakroom.

The extensive kitchen/breakfast room presents a range of wall and base units including a large central island with breakfast bar, a four-oven Aga, modern integrated appliances, a vaulted breakfast area and French doors to a covered sitting and dining area. Adjacent is a boot room with a door to the garden and to a fitted utility room. A covered staircase from the hall leads to a generous wine cellar; a separate stairway below the drawing room leads to a fitted and ventilated basement room. At the rear of the house is the loggia, a gracious room overlooking the formal gardens.

The first floor provides a large principal bedroom with built-in storage, a fitted dressing room and a contemporary en suite bathroom, a double bedroom with en suite bathroom, an additional double bedroom with spacious en suite shower room, one further well-proportioned bedroom with built-in storage, and a spacious family bathroom. A second staircase off the landing gives access to the property’s two remaining bedrooms, one with walk-in storage and the other with a dressing room.

THE COTTAGE Set within the grounds is the cottage, with an adjacent double open garage. The cottage is very spacious, with a large sitting room, kitchen/breakfast room and three bedrooms each with its own bathroom.

PLANNING POTENTIAL The current owner considered building an additional home in the garden, and successfully sought pre planning advice from the Local Authority. There seems to be significant potential here, subject to obtaining the necessary consents and dealing with the overage payment that would be required – the requirement to make this payment falls away in 2031. Further information is available from the agents.

This property has 3.7 acres of land.

Outside

The Old Vicarage is approached from the village through a feature stone arch with double wooden gates set into high-level walling over a gravelled driveway providing parking for multiple vehicles and giving access to the detached double garage

The well-maintained garden surrounding the property is laid mainly to level lawn bordered by mature shrubs and topiary and to the rear features numerous seating areas, a parterre-style formal garden, a reed-edged natural swimming pool with paved and decked terraces, a covered open-sided loggia and a generous paved terrace, all ideal for entertaining and al fresco dining, the whole screened by mature hedging and trees. There is rear access to Lickpot Hill at the foot of the garden.

Situation

The Old Vicarage is in the Elham Valley, deep in the heart of the North Downs within the Kent Downs AONB. Elham benefits from a good selection of day-to-day amenities including local farm shops, a farmers’ market, public houses, tea rooms and restaurants together with a church, vineyard, museum, GP surgery and well-regarded primary school. Canterbury offers a wide range of independent retailers and major stores, together with excellent dining and cultural amenities including theatres and a cinema.

Communications links are excellent: Sandling station offers regular services to Ashford International and central London. The nearby M20 and A2 provide direct access to the motorway network. The area has good access to the Continent.

The area offers a good selection of state primary and secondary schooling including: The Harvey Grammar School and The Beacon Folkestone (both rated Ofsted Outstanding), together with an array of independent schools including Dover College, The King’s School, St. Edmund’s School and Northbourne Park.

Directions

From Strutt & Parker’s Canterbury office: Follow signs to Dover and merge onto A2. After 1.6 miles take the exit signposted Kingston, Barham and Bishopsbourne. Turn right at the first T-junction and then left, following this road towards and through Barham. After about 5.3 miles you will reach Elham. Continue through the village and turn left onto Vicarage Lane and The Old Vicarage can be found on the right-hand side.