Old Vicarage

This beautiful Grade II-listed, 19th-century house is quietly situated in the picturesque village of Bourn, Cambridgeshire. Exemplifying the elegance of the transition between the Georgian and Victorian periods, its double-fronted façade handsomely guards an internal footprint of over 3,750 sq ft, with six bedrooms, five reception rooms and a cellar. Its refined interiors are filled with original features, including marble fireplaces, sash windows, flagstones and floorboards. Well-tended grounds just shy of three quarters of an acre surrounds the house and encompass a walled garden, raised beds, lawns and a perimeter of mature trees and orchards. The house also has several outbuildings that include a store, workshop and garage providing plenty of additional storage.

Setting the Scene

Originally the vicar’s residence for St Helena and St Mary’s Church, the house was constructed in the mid-19th century and retains its private connection to the churchyard.

A wide, gated driveway leads from Bourn High Street to a courtyard between the main house and ancillary buildings/garage, or to a large turning circle in front of the house. The façade is redolent of the period: a balanced, symmetrical fenestration over two storeys, with, at its centre, a grand Tuscan portico lifted on either side by pillars in a simplified Doric style.

The Grand Tour

The formal entrance leads through the centre of the plan and is flanked by two receptions. The house is orientated to receive morning light through the large sash windows of these two front-facing rooms, and the southerly afternoon light in the secondary aspects of the living and dining rooms.

Original stained-pine flooring extends through much of the ground level and is met with limestone slabs in the kitchen and its various supporting rooms. These are separated from the main of the house by a corridor and include a pantry, separate store, access to the cellar, and a utility room with access to the flagstone courtyard. There is also a study situated beside the morning room.

Two-over-two sashes in the principal rooms retain their original shutters and the rooms have a combination of open fireplaces and the more recent intervention of log-burning stoves. In the kitchen, there is an electric Aga.

The main of the two adjacent staircases rises to the upper floors alongside a delicately spindled balustrade, topped with a beautiful hardwood handrail. This turns past a guest WC at half level to a large landing around which five of the six bedroom are arranged.

The secondary staircase leads up to the former servants quarters, which is cordoned off by its own hall. The space has a private large bathroom and WC. This section of the upper level also has independent access via the kitchen corridor, enabling it to operate separately from the main house.

The Great Outdoors

Around 0.74 acres of landscaped gardens cocoon the house. Much of the garden is laid to lawn with borders of mature trees and high hedging. A view from the eight-over-eight sash window in the kitchen frames a wonderful vine-covered dining area in the north-western section of the garden. Elsewhere, there are growing beds and fruit trees.

Across a courtyard of flagstone slabs lie several connected ancillary workshops, a garage and stores which could be repurposed for further accommodation subject to relevant permissions. A workshop and stores are also situated within an added north-eastern wing of the main house.

Out and About

Recently voted by the Sunday Times as the best place to live in Cambridgeshire, Bourn is a charming village with a wealth of amenities including a post office, independent shops and the highly respected Wysing Arts Centre. The local pub, The Willow Tree, serves seasonal fare, made from locally sourced produce. Sporting and recreational facilities are well catered for at the Cambridge Country Club as well as Paus, a hilltop hot tub and ice bath retreat which also has a barefoot walking track and rewilded meadow.

Nearby Cambridge offers some of the country’s best shops, dining opportunities and cultural events. Its striking historic architecture and world-class university have established its international reputation, and newer additions have all helped to prove it to be a city perfect for visits. Local food favourites include Fitzbillies, The Garden Kitchen and Fancett’s, while the exceptional house-gallery Kettle’s Yard is always worth a visit.

There are plenty of excellent school options nearby including the highly regarded Comberton Village College, Cambourne Village College, The Vine Inter-Church Primary School, Bourn CofE Primary Academy and Monkfield Primary School. Cambridge also has some of the best schools, private and state, in the country.

Royston train station is approximately 20 minutes from the house and offers fast trains to London, some taking under 40 minutes. Cambridge station is approximately eight miles away from the house, where direct trains to London St Pancras take just over an hour. Central London can be reached by car via the M11 in well under two hours.

Council Tax Band: G