The Old Farm House
Willow Lane | Paddock Wood | Tonbridge | Kent | TN12 6PF
Seller Insight
This extremely attractive Grade II Listed former farmhouse enjoys
a wonderfully picturesque location in the heart of the glorious Kent
countryside. The property dates back to the early 18th Century, but over the
years it has been enlarged and more recently beautifully renovated by the
current owners.
“I’d say that it was definitely the location that initially attracted us to this house,” says
the owner. “It sits within a peaceful little hamlet which is surrounded by nothing but open
countryside, and yet everything we could possibly want or need is close at hand. It takes
just a few minutes to get into nearby Paddock Wood, which, as well as a mainline station,
has a superb array of shops and amenities, and if you can’t find what you’re looking for
there, Tunbridge Wells and Maidstone are both only around twenty minutes away by car.
For us the location has been ideal.”
“Unfortunately, before we purchased The Old Farm House twenty seven years ago it’s fair
to say that the property as a whole had suffered considerable neglect. Consequently, not
only the house but also the gardens were in need of complete renovation, and so over a
four-year period we slowly and extremely sympathetically breathed new life into both.”
“The original landscaping of the grounds was undertaken by a local garden designer in the
early 1990s and the result is a low maintenance garden with mixed mature borders, trees
and shrubs,” continues the owner. “Wisteria climbs up the south side of the house and
mature yew bushes offer shelter to the birds throughout the year – there are over twenty
species of birds that reside in or visit the garden. The walled garden allows for a longer
growing season for the vegetables, and the pond is stunning feature, alive with wildlife; the
large decked area that juts out over it is one of our favourite outside entertaining areas.”
“Each room has its own character,” says the owner, “but if I had to choose a favourite it
would be between the very cosy front room with the wood burner and large inglenook, and
the sunroom with its beautiful view out to the pond on one side and the horse paddock
and garden on the other.”
Favourite aspect of the grounds or surrounding area: “The house sits on a quiet lane, but
we’ve never felt isolated as we’re surrounded by some wonderful neighbours,” says the
owner, “however the nearest is around one hundred yards away, so we enjoy a very good
degree of privacy.”
“The grounds have enabled us to hold many large outdoor events, and on a number of
occasions we’ve erected a huge marque,” says the owner. “We’ve hosted charity events,
fancy dress balls and numerous family parties. One memorable celebration featured a
string quartet to start the evening and finished with a DJ and dancing!”
“We’ll miss our good neighbours, the beautiful house and garden, and the complete and
utter peace and tranquility of the setting,” says the owner. “It’s been a wonderful place to
live.”
* These comments are the personal views of the current owner and are included as an
insight into life at the property. They have not been independently verified, should not be
relied on without verification and do not necessarily reflect the views of the agent.
Step inside
The Old Farm House
MAIN DESCRIPTION
This beautiful traditional Kentish brick and weatherboard
farmhouse sits in around two acres and is located within a
very pretty and quiet rural enclave just 2.5 miles from
Paddock Wood mainline rail station which affords journey
times to the city in around 55 minutes.
The property itself is a traditional Kentish farmhouse that
retains much of its period character. Later enhancements
include a large sun room and contemporary fittings making
the home truly remarkable.
Externally, the home enjoys a superb plot including very
attractive gardens and large spring fed pond with its own
jetty. Beyond the gardens are further generous grassed areas
with a wooden chalet style garden room/ home office and a
horse paddock that benefits from its own separate gated
access.
Adjacent to the house and served by its own driveway and
parking area is a sympathetically converted stable block that
serves as a detached two storey office. This attractive
building has been a fully functioning office for a successful
business for several years. To aide the sale of the property,
planning permission has been sought and granted for the
office building to be converted into a three bedroom
annexe. Further alternative usages would require planning
permission.
The main house is approached via a driveway that provides
generous levels of parking ( up to six cars) plus a spacious
detached double garage building with storage rooms above
and an internal W.C.
GROUND FLOOR W.C. / UTILITY Window to side. Low
level close coupled W.C. Rectangular wash hand basin with
counter top and storage below. Concealed oil fired boiler.
Cabinets housing space for washing machine and tumble
dryer. Additional storage. Exposed floorboards.
LOUNGE Windows to front and side. Beamed ceiling.
Inglenook fireplace with wood burning stove. Additional
Victorian fireplace (at opposite end). Covered radiators.
Oak flooring.
DINING ROOM Beamed walls and ceiling. Fitted oak ‘china
cabinet’. Covered radiator. Oak flooring.
KITCHEN Double glazed windows to sides. Split ‘stable’
door to sun room. Beamed ceiling. Central island with
ceramic sink unit and mixer taps into into marble work
surfaces. Range of cupboards and drawer base units with
integrated dishwasher and bin. Further range of cupboards
and drawer base units with matching work surfaces. Inset
five zone electric hob plus electric oven and basket storage.
Upright cabinets concealing space for fridge freezer and
microwave. Range of eye level wall cabinets. Wide extractor
hood. Additional dresser style unit. Radiator. Exposed
floorboards.
SUN ROOM Windows to side and rear. Double glazed
french doors to side and rear. Twin pitched vaulted ceiling
with four double glazed Velux roof windows . Covered
radiators. Wooden flooring.
STAIRS TO FIRST FLOOR Wooden staircase with hand rail
and balustrade.
Interested parties may benefit from planning permission that
has been granted to add additional accommodation to the
first and second floors of the farmhouse plus internal
alterations.
LANDING Beamed ceiling. Oak floor.
FARMHOUSE ACCOMMODATION and GROUNDS
EN-SUITE Double glazed window to side. Low level close
coupled W.C. Double glazed Velux window to rear. Pedestal
wash hand basin. Tiled shower enclosure. Radiator/towel rail.
Full wall tiling. Tiled floor with underfloor heating.
ENTRANCE Part glazed entrance door opening into:
ENTRANCE PORCH Double glazed window to side.
Covered radiator. Quarry tiled floor.
HALLWAY Beamed ceiling. Covered radiator. Oak floor.
Understairs storage cupboard.
MASTER BEDROOM Windows to front and side. Beamed
ceiling. Built in closets. Radiators. Exposed floorboards.
BEDROOM Windows to front and side. Victorian style
fireplace. Radiator. Exposed floorboards.
FAMILY BATHROOM Window to side. Double glazed Velux window to rear. Low
level close coupled W.C. Rectangular wash hand basin. L shaped shower bath with
hand shower and screen. Radiator/towel rail. Full wall tiling. Tiled floor.
STAIRS TO SECOND FLOOR Wooden staircase with hand rail and balustrade.
BEDROOM Window to front. Sloping beamed ceiling. Radiator. Exposed
floorboards.
BEDROOM Currently open plan from staircase. Window to front. Sloping
beamed ceiling. Radiator. Exposed floorboards.
GARDENS The front garden is arranged with flat lawn, hedging, flower beds and
block paved pathways to rear gardens via an arched gateway. The rear garden has
lawns with yew hedging plus privet edged rose beds and block paved pathways
leading to a gated walled vegetable garden. An arched walk way leads to large an
open grassed area.
NATURAL POND A large natural fed pond is located to the south of the
property with a small island and duck house. A wooden jetty has been installed to
facilitate the easy launching of a rowing boat or to simply provide a seating area
to enjoy the surroundings.
HORSE PADDOCK To the rear of the ground is a horse paddock secured with
post and rail fencing. The paddock can be accessed by vehicles (via a right of way)
by its own separate gate located at its northeastern corner.
DRIVEWAY A spacious concrete driveway provides extensive off road parking for
up to six vehicles.
DOUBLE GARAGE With two up and over doors (one being powered). Personal
door to side. Enclosed W.C. at rear. Fixed staircase to two first floor storage room
(one with window to rear).
OFFICE BUILDING / POTENTIAL ANNEXE A large detached office building
arranged over two storeys. Currently arranged with open plan offices on the
ground floor served by central heating, a kitchen, a shower room with W.C. plus a
further W.C. The upper floor is accessed via a spiral staircase leading to two
separate offices each served by their own store room. Planning permission has
been granted under appeal for this building to be converted (with alterations)
into a three bedroom residential building.
OFFICE / ANNEXE PARKING
A generous driveway/parking area adjoins the existing building. It should be noted
that a proportion of this area will be given over to gardens should the properties
conversion to residential accommodation be fulfilled.
EPC Exempt
Agents notes: All measurements are approximate and for general guidance only and whilst every attempt has been made to ensure accuracy, they must not be relied on. The fixtures, fittings and appliances referred to have not been tested and therefore no guarantee can be given that they
are in working order. Internal photographs are reproduced for general information and it must not be inferred that any item shown is included with the property. For a free valuation, contact the numbers listed on the brochure. Copyright © 2017 Fine & Country Ltd. Registered in England and
Wales. Company Reg No. 06959315 Registered Office: Morgan Alexander Kent Ltd (formerly Fine & Country Kent Ltd.) 36 King Street, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 1BS. Printed
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