Walden Road, Thaxted

The Accommodation

Approached via a gravelled driveway with a parterre-planted turning circle, the house immediately presents as a classic and handsome period home, offering privacy, presence and a strong sense of arrival. The property provides almost 3,400 sqft of flexible accommodation, arranged over two floors and thoughtfully evolved to suit modern family life, while retaining a remarkable array of original features, exposed timbers, historic joinery and fireplaces — that speak to the property’s long and fascinating history. At the heart of the home is a welcoming through reception hall, centred around an impressive solid oak block staircase. Generous in scale, the hall comfortably accommodates a reading area and showcases a 14th-century door, alongside a discreet cloakroom with shower facilities. A secondary rear hallway provides direct access to the gardens, driveway and outdoor dining terrace. 

The kitchen is both practical and characterful, fitted with wooden cabinetry, tiled work surfaces and surrounds, quarry tiled flooring and a traditional Aga set within a chimney stack. An adjoining utility and pantry area offers extensive storage, boiler and boot room facilities, with a further external door — ideal for country living. From the entrance hall, a small lobby leads to a study and a secondary staircase, while the dining room, overlooking the front garden, is rich in original beams and features a concealed fireplace with Georgian panelled doors and a charming window seat.

The principal sitting room is a particularly fine room: light-filled and spacious, with windows to three aspects, a wood-burning fireplace, a generous seating bay and two inter-connecting reception areas. Adjacent to the fireplace are two wine cellars — the “red wine” cellar and, beyond an original door, the “white wine” cellar — adding further character and charm. 

The accommodation upstairs is served by both staircases, offering flexibility and privacy. The secondary staircase leads to a landing serving five bedrooms (the principle bedroom and bedrooms four to seven), while the principle staircase serves the remaining bedrooms and a further bathroom. The principal bedroom enjoys a vaulted ceiling and connects through to a landing with built-in storage, leading to bedroom two and the family bathroom, which also links to a dressing room/bedroom. Bedrooms two and three are served by a shared bathroom, notable for its wall featuring 17th-century pargetting, a rare and striking historic detail.

Outside 

The formal gardens extend around the front and side of the house and are partly walled, laid mainly to lawn and bordered by mature planting. A working borehole feeds a stream, crossed by a charming footbridge, adding to the sense of tranquillity and seclusion.

The annex provides highly versatile accommodation, ideal for use as a home office, nanny or guest suite, or as an income-producing rental currently achieving approximately £1,250 per calendar month. Arranged over two floors, the space comprises a sitting room, fitted kitchen and private terrace, together with a ground-floor principal bedroom served by a modern shower room. A striking vaulted first-floor mezzanine bedroom completes the accommodation, adding both character and flexibility.

A substantial outbuilding serves the heated swimming pool, providing two storage rooms and a separate vaulted games room. The games room is a superb entertaining space, with full-height glazing and French doors opening onto a terrace that overlooks the pool — ideal for summer gatherings and family celebrations. Further features include a former Brew House, an all-weather tennis court (currently requiring some refurbishment), a productive vegetable garden with raised beds, two open-sided barns and a series of terraces perfectly positioned for outdoor dining and entertaining. The gardens are screened by mature trees and lead into woodland walks, opening out into pastureland beyond. The remaining land is currently under an informal arrangement with a local farmer, offering both openness and ease of management. In total, the grounds extend to approximately 10.95 acres.