Stockhill, Coleford, Coleford, BA3

***GUIDE PRICE £800,000 - £850,000***

Tucked away on the verdant outskirts of Coleford and just a short distance from Mells and Frome, Mendip Ho! is a truly rare and charming country residence set within approximately 1.3 acres of beautifully tended gardens. Designed and built in 1949 by celebrated local author W.M. Jones, best known for his “Jarge Balsh” stories, the house carries with it a unique literary and architectural provenance.

Offering a wonderful opportunity for making your own mark and with scope for future development (subject to planning approval), the property presents an enchanting blend of original period features, mature landscaping and spectacular views across the Somerset countryside. Approached via impressive stone gateposts, a sweeping gravel driveway curves gently towards the house, providing ample parking for numerous vehicles and access to a recently re-roofed single garage with electric door. The property is attractively set back from the road and enveloped by mature original hedging, ensuring a high degree of privacy and tranquillity.

Constructed in a distinctive 1930s-style design using local Reba blockwork, the house retains many of its original character features including high ceilings throughout. A welcoming porch, with space for coats and boots, opens into a bright and generous hallway with original staircase, picture rails, and original Lincrusta wallpaper detailing. A deep under-stairs cupboard provides practical storage. The dual-aspect dining room features an original fitted safe, while the sitting room enjoys expansive views and is centred around a Scan wood burner stove. The utility room with WC leads to a light-filled kitchen, benefiting from triple-aspect glazing and bi-fold doors that open directly onto a south-facing terrace, ideal for entertaining and alfresco dining. A true centrepiece of the home is the bespoke David Salisbury double-height oak-framed conservatory, flooded with light and complete with original balcony and automated Velux roof windows. This exceptional space opens onto a landscaped terrace bordered with colourful planting and offering multiple seating areas, and panoramic views of rolling Somerset hills.

Upstairs, the first floor offers two generous double bedrooms, one with a door to the sunroom balcony, both with built-in wardrobes. There is also a smaller double bedroom, family bathroom with airing cupboard, and separate WC. A notably wide landing offers an ideal gallery space for artwork displays. A paddle-flight staircase ascends to the second floor, where a versatile double bedroom suite features access to two balconies and a flat roof terrace. The views from here stretch to Cranmore Tower and Mells Park. This floor also comprises a bathroom, walk in cupboard and could be ideally suited as a home office, studio or teenager’s den.

The gardens at Mendip Ho! are a horticultural delight – lovingly curated, rich with structure and seasonal interest and the perfect place for children and grandchildren to play. Highlights include a perennial wildflower meadow, a fern quarry garden, vegetable patches, an orchard of apples, cherries and pears, and a peaceful pond garden adorned with waterlilies. Adjoining the formal gardens is a small woodland, managed for wildlife plus coppice for logs, where the current owners enjoy outdoor evenings on the veranda of a hut hidden in a secluded glade. In addition, the garden features a greenhouse, shed, and a charming log cabin with power – offering potential for conversion into a home office or holiday let (subject to necessary consents). The planting scheme showcases a considered mix of native and exotic species, including monkey puzzle and Korean cherry trees, an Atlas Mountain blue cedar, copper beech, and mature hazel. The gardens are largely south-facing and back directly onto open countryside.

While some elements of the interior would benefit from decorative modernisation, Mendip Ho! represents an extraordinary opportunity to acquire a Grand Designs style home of rare character, privacy, and natural beauty in one of Somerset’s most desirable pockets.

AGENT’S NOTE

This property is of a Non-Standard Construction.