For sale: Beautiful old rectory that was immortalised in David Hockney painting on the market for £895,000

Not long after moving into The Old Rectory in Sledmere, a friend sent them a postcard featuring David Hockney's painting The Road to York Through Sledmere. Tucked into the artwork, among the familiar village landmarks, was their home.

The couple had no idea about the connection when they bought the former rectory from the Church of England in 1998.

Their purchase of the house was far from straightforward. Formerly a church-owned parsonage, the property did not officially exist at the Land Registry when they agreed to buy it.

“There were no deeds,” recalls Simon. “It had previously been gifted by the Sledmere Estate to the church in the late 1800s to be used as a parsonage house forever.”

Instead, ownership rested on a single handwritten document dating back more than a century.

“Our lawyer was still uncomfortable with this piece of paper in his hand,” he says.

After a lengthy process involving research into legislation dating back to the 1930 Parsonages Act, the sale finally went through and the family spent six months renovating the empty property before moving in.

“It had been empty for about two years,” says Simon. “The main body of the house was sound. It was just a case of bringing it up to modern living standards.”

Built in red brick beneath a slate roof, The Old Rectory combines Georgian symmetry with later Victorian additions. Inside are generous reception rooms, six bedrooms and a layout that Simon says worked perfectly for family life while still allowing everyone their own space.

One of the home's most striking features is its entrance hall, where a Victorian tiled floor survives beneath exceptionally high ceilings.

“People walk into the hallway and just go 'wow',” he says. “The ceilings are extremely high compared to more modern houses and the light floods into the house.”

Elsewhere, original fireplaces, sash windows and period detailing remain alongside practical family spaces including a large kitchen with Aga, drawing room, sitting room, dining room and vaulted cellar.

Over the years the couple have carefully maintained the property. Recent work has included repointing all the exterior walls and the roadside wall in lime mortar, renovating the guttering and replacing all windows with hardwood sash windows.

Outside, the house sits in around 0.57 acres of gardens enclosed by traditional walls, hedging and fencing. Mature trees, lawns and a York stone terrace overlook the surrounding countryside, while garages and outbuildings provide useful storage.

For the couple, however, it is not just the house that makes the property special.

As a former rectory, generations of villagers have their own memories of the building. One local farmer told them he attended Sunday school there as a child while his parents were at church. Another remembered taking boxing lessons in the house. A woman visiting from Spain even arrived carrying a photograph of her grandfather, a former vicar of Sledmere, standing outside the property decades earlier.

“There obviously is a lot of history attached to the house,” says Simon.

The village itself remains a major draw. Surrounded by the rolling Yorkshire Wolds and close to Sledmere House, it offers countryside walks, a village pub, farm shop and easy access to York, Malton, Beverley and the coast.

Simon Dee, partner at Dee, Atkinson & Harrison, said: “It is always a privilege to be involved with a house of such standing, but this is particularly special given its unique position within Sledmere and its place in the surrounding Yorkshire Wolds landscape.

“The area's connection to David Hockney, notably through his work The Road to York Through Sledmere, only adds to the wider appeal.”

For Simon and Nicki, the decision to leave has not been easy but they are keen to move closer to family. “Our children keep asking why we're moving,” says Simon. “We count ourselves really lucky to have lived there and we hope the next owners will be as happy as we have been.”

It is on the market with offers in the region of £895,000 with Dee Atkinson and Harrison dee-atkinson-harrison.co.uk