For sale: house where the three Bronte sisters once played

Dating back to 1742, Greenacres is steeped in local history but its best claim to fame is that the Bronte sisters used to play in the garden.

Charlotte was a pupil then a teacher at nearby Roe Head School and her sisters Charlotte and Anne also studied there.

“They used to jump over the wall and play in the fields, which are part of our grounds,” says retired GP, Dr Abdul Hamid, who bought the house in 1988.

The detached property has recently been treated to a major makeover, though it retains many of its original features, including stone flagged flooring, exposed beams, decorative plasterwork, a butler’s bell and a 18th century cast iron safe.

The property has also been extended into the adjoining coach house and stables and now has 3,125 sq. ft of living space.

It boasts a grand entrance hall, with a Gothic display cabinet and fireplace, leading to a sitting room with full-height bay windows and French doors opening out onto the patio. The dining room has an exposed brick fireplace with timber mantle, while the dining kitchen has bespoke solid wood units and a red gas Aga. Just off the kitchen in the adjoining hallway is a pantry cupboard offering more storage.

The ground floor also has a cloakroom, a utility room and a keeping cellar with original stone slab table, meat hooks and stone shelving.

A split-level staircase leading to the first floor is lit by an arched, stained glass window. Upstairs, there is a master bedroom with en-suite bathroom. There are three further bedrooms and a house bathroom with slipper bath and built-in sauna.

The house also has an annexe with a sitting room and bedroom.

Beneath the annexe accommodation is a single garage with mechanics pit.

Outside, there is a stone-flagged patio and parking area, along with a further parking area for at least seven cars.

A path leads through woodland to the old tennis lawns and a wild flower area. The grounds also have a brick gazebo and a fruit and vegetable garden.

Dr Hamid and his wife, Helen, are selling to move to Costa Rica.

He says: “We want to move somewhere warm and sunny with a good health service and a good road network. Costa Rica ticks all those boxes and it’s a very relaxing place, which I am looking forward to after all those years working as a GP.”

For further details contact Yorkshire’s Finest, tel: 01484 432773, www.yorkshiresfinest.org

Greenacres is close to the centre of Mirfield, where there are shops, supermarkets and a train station linking to Leeds. The M62 is a short drive away.