Georgian hall close to Howden is 'every country girl's dream'

When Mark and Lisa Horsley viewed Metham Hall it was empty and had languished on the market for seven years.

Fortunately, the couple, who lived nearby in a house they had self-built, saw past the dilapidation and visualised their forever home.

“I loved it as soon as I stepped inside. It’s a beautiful house in an idyllic rural setting. It’s every country girl’s dream,” says Lisa.

It sits in the middle of its own four acres of land overlooking fields. When it’s dark, you can see the lights of the big ships as they move down the Ouse, into the Humber Estuary and out to sea. Close to Howden, it is just a ten-minute drive to the M62 and the drive to Mark’s office in Leeds takes 40 minutes door-to-door.

Lisa and Mark bought the grade II listed Georgian house in May 2013 and after a major renovation project, they moved into it in August 2014.”

They replaced the roof, fully insulated the property, replaced every sliding sash window frame and added double glazed panes, installed a new central heating system, levelled floors, put in a new kitchen and bathrooms and replaced the conservatory with a new garden room. Outside, they re-gravelled the drive, built stables and tidied the garden. The spend was “significant”.

“We also had all the rooms re-plastered as we prefer paint to wallpaper and we wanted an even surface,” says Lisa, who is sad to be leaving the property.

“Mark is a serial mover and he has found another renovation, otherwise I would happily stay here. That was the idea when we bought it.”

Metham Hall has 4,300 sq ft of space and period features include open fires to all reception rooms, decorative plasterwork, floor-to-ceiling windows, panelled walls and window seats.

On the ground floor, there is an entrance hall and second staircase hall, a drawing room, sitting room, dining room, garden room, kitchen breakfast room with Aga and handmade cabinets by Maine of Green Hammerton, a shower room/w.c., utility room, laundry room, snug/boot room and boiler room.

On the first floor, there is a master bedroom with en -suite bathroom and dressing room, bedroom two with en-suite bathroom, two further bedrooms, a separate w.c. and a family bathroom. Outside, there is a carport, garaging, two stables, tack room, two stores, loggia, garden and grounds, woodland and two paddocks.

For details contact Blenkin and Co., tel: 01904 671672, www.blenkinandco.com.

*Howden is four miles away and York, Hull, Doncaster, Sheffield and Leeds are all within an hour’s drive. There are mainline railway stations at Goole, Gilberdyke and Howden, and trains run from Howden to London take just over two hours.