Equestrian property forges a link with the past

The advice never to put your money on a horse has served many people well over the years. But putting your money on a house where you can keep a horse should be safer – horse ownership has doubled in the UK since 1999 and the price of land with paddock potential is soaring.

A property that has come onto the market at Stonymarsh, just to the north of Romsey, provides an excellent family home but has the advantage of equestrian facilities that include three paddocks, a sand school, and looseboxes.

At the heart of the property, Forge House, is a building that stands on a site depicted as The Smithy on a map dated 1792. Although the core of the existing building is ancient, with some fine beams and an inglenook, the house was extended in the 1980s to become what it is today.

The original thatched porch is still on one side of the house but the main entrance is now at the other side through an entrance hall with a sitting room to one side. An arch from the hall opens into the kitchen, where a separate arch opens into the breakfast room and adjoining utility.

The sitting room has French doors set in glass side panels that open onto the decked garden terrace while the kitchen has units arranged along all four sides. A separate door from the hall opens into the dining room where there is a door in one corner through to the large study that’s suitably insulated from the bustle of the main house to make it a very effective workspace.

A turning staircase from the entrance hall rises to the first floor and its five bedrooms, together with a family bathroom. The large master bedroom above the sitting room has an en-suite with an extended shower cubicle and, like three of the other bedrooms, there are built-in wardrobes.

The formal garden is next to the rear of the house and beyond the decked terrace adjoining the sitting room is a gravel and paved area featuring herbaceous and shrub borders together with a magnificent flowering cherry that shades part of the level lawn where there are fine views to one of the paddocks.

One half of the detached double garage currently houses a secure tack room and there is a further storage shed in the L-shaped stable block with its three loose boxes. There’s a further storage shed plus a hay barn.

“The house is set in some glorious countryside with the River Test close by,” explains Matthew Hallett, of the Winchester office of Dreweatt Neate. “There is a network of footpaths offering excellent walks and the old railway line along the valley has now been turned into a walking and cycling route with a spectacular outlook.

“The area offers some excellent state and private schooling that enhances the appeal of Forge House as a family home and the locality positively bristles with historic properties.”

Guide price for Forge House is £860,000. For more details, contact Dreweatt Neate in Winchester, email winchester@dnproperty.co.uk.