Torpoint, CornwallSold

Wilcove Lane

A romantic window seat, picked out in green, follows the curve of a bay window

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This handsome Grade II*-listed home sits in the middle of the picturesque National Trust-managed Antony Estate, amid the rural countryside of the Devon/Cornwall border. It unfolds over 6,000 sq ft, with six bedrooms, a series of striking living areas and additional outbuildings. The estate’s striking church sits at the foot of the house’s pretty gardens, which encompass terraced areas well-positioned for the sun and an outdoor heated pool. The owners have a paddock on a long lease with the National Trust and an adjoining field on a rolling lease with the Anthony Estate, both of which could be passed on to the house’s future owner. To the rear of the house, a path leads down to the banks of the River Tamar.

Setting the Scene

The house was originally built as a school in 1847 by the owners of neighbouring Antony House, the Carew-Pole family, to commemorate the birth of their first child. It was rebuilt as a vicarage for the Church of St Philip and St James opposite before being remodelled by architect William White, who, in 1849, divided it into a Gothic-style residence.

In recent years, the house has been thoughtfully renovated and restored. A plethora of original features have been preserved, including the staircase with its quatrefoil carvings, substantial fireplaces with pointed arch detailing, and a screen in the study set on marble columns. For more information, see the History section.

The Grand Tour

The house, constructed from sandstone rubble with granite dressings, is punctuated with pointed arch windows and is complete with a bell-cote, spire, finial and weathervane. Entry is straight into the heart of the home via a terracotta-tiled entrance hall. To one side is a sitting room; painted calming ‘Jonquil’ by Edward Bulmer, the space is wonderfully peaceful and light-filled care of its tall stone mullion windows. A stone fireplace with a wooden surround is fitted with a warming wood-burning stove.

The drawing room has been decorated with incredible mural-like wallpaper by designer Kit Kemp. Here, a romantic window seat picked out in green follows the curve of a bay window, with stone mullion windows framing views over the pretty garden. The room has another fireplace which mirrors that of the sitting room.

Set beneath high beamed and vaulted ceilings, the kitchen is grounded by an original checkerboard tile floor. Fitted with a bright red electric Aga as well as another wood-burning stove, the room is wonderfully cosy in the winter months while remaining cool, bright and airy in the summer. A DeVol kitchen comprises blue-painted cabinetry, marble worktops and open shelves, all built to surround a brilliant freestanding counter in the centre. Crittall windows lead through to a generous dining room, with carved beams overhead, a fireplace with a pointed arch and a mounted shelf on brackets.

Also on this floor is a lovely study, delineated by a stone arch mounted on marble columns as well as windows decorated with stained glass. A separate games room leads into a serene sunroom, with doors that can be flung open onto the terrace and seating area beyond. A boot room, utility room and laundry sit next to each other along a corridor leading to a smaller snug. This part of the house makes for a fantastic guest suite, with a spiral staircase leads to a sitting room, bedroom and en suite bathroom on the first floor. A cellar beneath is perfect for storing wine.

The blue-painted staircase, with its pierced balustrade and decorative finials, leads to the first floor, where there are four generous double bedrooms. The principal bedroom has a dressing room and a luxurious en suite bathroom with a freestanding bath and a separate shower. An additional guest suite at the head of the staircase is lined with chinoiserie wallpaper, with all woodwork painted complementary ‘French Grey’ from Farrow and Ball. There is also a large family bathroom and another bedroom with en suite. The second floor is home to a further bedroom and a bathroom.

The Great Outdoors

The expansive grounds span just under four-and-a-half acres and comprise a picturesque garden to the front of the house, a more sheltered suntrap seating area to the side (with ample space for long, lazy afternoon lunches), and an outdoor heated swimming pool framed by decking. The lawned garden is surrounded by mature trees and is wonderfully private as a result. At the foot of the garden sits the picture-pretty church visible from the house’s windows. There is also a double garage on a lane tucked behind the house.

A delightful paddock is currently on a long lease from the National Trust, and a field that adjoins the house is currently on a rolling lease from the Anthony Estate; both could be passed on to Maryfield House’s future ownership.

Out and About

The house stands at the end of a country lane, surrounded by the historic grounds of Antony House. Perfect for rambles, these expansive gardens were designed by Humphrey Reyton, an 18th-century landscape architect and disciple of Capability Brown. Antony Woodland Garden & Woodland Walk is at the end of the lane with its lovely tea room in the summer months.

Maryfield is a small rural hamlet, and the house shares the lane with the local church. The site is two miles west of Torpoint, a town on the River Tamar with a butcher, supermarket and pharmacy.

The house is just a 20-minute drive from the delightfully preserved twin seaside towns of Cawsand and Kingsand. They adjoin the Mount Edgcumbe Country Park, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, of the Rame Peninsula, and are both on the South West Coast Path.

The house is ideally placed for easy access to local village shops, pubs, cafés and restaurants, such as Wilcove Inn, a short stroll down the lane. Nearby Cawsand Beach is a sheltered bay of sand and shingle that looks out to to
Plymouth Sound and offers a great location for swimming, rockpooling, kayaking, paddle boarding and sailing. Girt Beach and Kingsand Beach are a few minutes’ walk from Cawsand and boat trips around the bay leave from the slipway, where there have even been the occasional dolphin sighting.

Whistand Bay is 10 minutes away and is a secluded part of Cornwall, self-styled as that county’s “Forgotten Corner”. Its sandy beaches and colourful beach houses are replete with cheerful, seaside charm. The 14th-century chapel at nearby Rame Head is infamous for its austere frontage, designed to keep the fear of G-d in sailors, as it was the last they saw of England as they left Plymouth Sound.

The house is within a half an hour’s drive of Plymouth’s station, with direct trains to London Paddington in three hours and 15 minutes. There is also easy access from the house to the M5, via Exeter.

Council Tax Band: A

Please note that all areas, measurements and distances given in these particulars are approximate and rounded. The text, photographs and floor plans are for general guidance only. Inigo has not tested any services, appliances or specific fittings — prospective purchasers are advised to inspect the property themselves. All fixtures, fittings and furniture not specifically itemised within these particulars are deemed removable by the vendor.

History

Anthony House is an astonishing Grade I-listed 18th-century country house set within magnificent landscaped gardens. To this day, it remains the family home of the Carew Pole family.

The National Trust described it as the following:

“A house of silver grey stone, Antony is a beguiling mixture of the formal and informal. It’s believed to be one of the finest surviving Queen Anne buildings in the West Country.”

Leading landscape designer Humphry Repton (1772-1818) first designed the garden at Antony. He was invited to the house by Sir Reginald Pole Carew, who was the then MP for Fowey, as well as Privy Councillor under Pitt. Repton has long been considered one of the greatest English landscape designers to follow ‘Capability’ Brown, and his prominent landscaped parks surrounding English country houses.