Lower Farm House

The Grand Tour

Set back from a quiet lane, the house forms a modest presence from the south-west elevation. Made from Cotswold stone, the elevations are punctuated with white-painted casement windows and a slated roof crowns the house. With the appearance of a longhouse, the home is separated from the lane by a wide stretch of lawn, with the driveway set to the side and opening to an expansive pea-gravel parking area sheltered by trees and with a double garage.

The main entranceway is to the side of the house from the parking area, leading immediately to a charming low-walled garden full of seasonal flowers and shrubs. The side elevation to the ground floor is wreathed in wisteria, and the front door opens to a generous hallway with terracotta tiles underfoot. A boot room/utility room is set to one side.

With an open-pitch roof, the spacious kitchen lies off the hallway, extending to what was, at one time the dairy, now a comfortable sitting room. The kitchen is a later addition that effortlessly connects the old dairy to the main house. French windows open to the courtyard garden from the kitchen and a stable door opens from the sitting room.

The kitchen has an oil-fired, three-plate cream enamel Aga oven, and there are panelled cupboards with oak worktops. Two glass-fronted dressers positioned along the opposite wall allow for further storage and there is space for a long refectory table in the centre of the room, allowing for intimate kitchen suppers. The adjacent sitting room is an immensely comfortable space with roof lights set into the open pitch above. Tall fitted bookcases in a classical design sit on either side of a wood burner within the open hearth, framed by a simple honed limestone chimneypiece.

To the south range of the house, just off the hallway, there is a study with huge inglenook fireplace with a working fire. This leads to the home’s original entrance hall, with aged flagstones underfoot, lime plaster walls and an antique stove set in the open hearth. The original hall opens to the drawing room, which has windows framing views of both aspects, and a further inglenook fireplace with an oak bressummer beam. At the rear of the room is a mezzanine gallery with space above for an additional study area; French windows here open to the garden from a double-height glazed dormer end.

A later addition forms the south-east range of the house and is brilliantly designed to either create a separate two-bedroom annexe, or otherwise can be connected to the main house as further additional living space and overflow bedrooms. The open-pitch living room is currently used as a library for the main house, with a wall of floor-to-ceiling bookcases providing a striking architectural feature. From here is a further study area, with French windows that open to the annexe’s private terrace, and a galley kitchen which can also be used as a further utility room. Positioned off the library along a passageway facing the garden are two bedrooms, a shower room and separate WC.

The first floor has two large bedrooms set at either end, each with its own spacious bathroom. Two further bedrooms are atmospherically set amongst the eaves on the uppermost storey, sharing an additional bathroom.

The Great Outdoors

The gardens at Lower Farm House have a feeling of great seclusion, surrounded by private woodland and forming a gently sloping vale. Formal gardens immediately surround the rear of the house and comprise a verdant lawn surrounded by an aged flagstone terrace and well-stocked flower beds, while climbing roses gently wind their way around the rear elevations. A pergola is positioned nearest the kitchen; enveloped in grape vines, it provides a shaded dining area for hot summer days.

Wide, freshly mown pathways lead through meadow grass and wildflower banks from the house, with mature trees including ash, sycamore, oak and willow, set above on the slopes either side and also in the garden’s centre. There are pear, greengauge, quince, apple and plum trees set on one bank, and the stream that runs through the centre of the gardens and fed by a natural spring at the very top of the garden, culminates in a large freshwater pond near the bottom. Although unused as such currently, this could make for an excellent bathing pond if required and is shaded by further trees on the perimeter. Moorhens reside in the pond, and further game and pheasants regularly visit the surrounding gardens, and various types of deer.

As the mown pathways wind their way through the garden, lying either side of the central stream, there is a rendered wood-framed shed with pitched pantile roof. Currently used as a wood store, there is electricity here, so alternative uses could be possible. Next to this is the kitchen garden, with raised beds cultivating chard, carrots, courgettes, beans, peas, lettuce and spring onions. There is also a small cuttings garden to supply fresh flowers for the house. Ascending the very top of the gardens nearest the spring, there is a seating bench that affords the best views of the gardens, the perfect spot for reading a book and to reflect in the incredible sense of peace and seclusion all around.

Out and About

While set amidst incredibly peaceful and bucolic scenery, Taston is conveniently just a mile and half from Charlbury town to the south, and around five miles from Chipping Norton to the north. Charlbury has become one of the most popular Cotswold destinations in recent years, home to Daylesford’s Bell pub while adjacent pub The Bull pub is run by the team from the famed Pelican in London’s Notting Hill. The town is also home to the Riverside Festival and renowned Wilderness Music Festival, which is held in the grounds of the stunning Cornbury Park. Chipping Norton has further excellent shops, pubs and amenities set it an idyllic market town, including a theatre and cinema.

The ever-popular organic Daylesford farm shop is minutes from Taston, as is Estelle Manor, Soho Farmhouse and Burford Garden Centre. Local visitor attractions include many historic properties, most notably Chastleton House, Upton House, Broughton Castle and Warwick Castle, in addition to countless scenic walks in this area of outstanding natural beauty.

There is an excellent choice of local independent schooling at both preparatory and senior levels in the area, including Burford, Abingdon, Bloxham, Kitebrook, Tudor Hall, Windrush Valley and Cokethorpe schools. The choice of local primary schools includes Enstone, Chadlington and Great Tew. The Oxford schools are also accessible and include The Dragon, Summerfields, St Edwards, Oxford High School, Radley College and Headington School. Further afield, Cheltenham also offers a range of excellent schools.

Transport links from Taston are incredibly convenient, with Charlbury Station just a five-minute drive away; regular train services reach London Paddington in around 70 minutes, while Oxford is around 30 minutes’ drive away.

Council Tax Band: G