Gorgeous Georgian home with a glorious garden for sale in one of Yorkshire's most sought after villages

What comes first in the order of merit in a property where all the boxes are ticked from the architecture, which is mid-18th century with gorgeous Georgian influences and a host of period features including ceiling roses, sash windows and cast iron fireplaces, along with a glorious garden and a prime location in sought-after Middleton Tyas village.

The property on a 0.63 acre plot and now for sale with GSC Grays, was bought by Patricia Bloom, better known as Tish, and her husband almost 20 years ago when they decided to move from their nearby farmhouse into the heart of the village.

“The children had left home and so it seemed ridiculous to keep the farmhouse plus we wanted to be in the village where we could walk to the shop and the pub,” she says.

“There wasn’t much that fit our bill until Galsworthy House came for sale. It was a family home that had been treasured and retained period features but it needed some remodelling and updating and the planning authority and the conservation officer were quite co-operative when we put plans in to renovate it.”

The work included creating an additional entrance, boot room and cloakroom along with joining the sitting room and snug.

As for the decor, Patricia planned it herself and says: “I did quite a lot of research into the ways the Georgians decorated and I used quite a lot of colour.”

The result is something influential Georgian architect and interior designer Robert Adam would surely have approved of.

The Blooms also added a conservatory that now has underfloor heating and this looks onto the large garden, which is a major feature of this property. It is well established and has benefitted from decades of love and attention from the previous and present owners.

“The lady who sold the house to us was a keen gardener, as am I, but we have changed the planting a little bit and took out the aged conifers and replaced them with birch trees.

“I also added some climbing Super Star roses and some more lavender,” says Patricia.

For those who fear they wouldn’t know where to start, she reminds us that an established garden like hers can be relatively low maintenance.

She will soon be saying goodbye to it as she and her husband are selling Galsworthy House to spend more time at their home in Portugal.

“This house is too nice to leave empty and that’s why we are selling,” she says, though she and her husband will miss it.

“The village is charming. It has a pub, the community run shop and a W.I. and every Christmas there’s a village supper.

“It’s also just off the A1, five miles from Richmond and seven miles from Darlington and Teeside International Airport is a 20 minute drive away.”

Galsworthy House is on the market with GSC Grays for £1.175m and has a drawing room, dining room, sitting room, kitchen and a walk-in pantry, along with a boot room, cloakroom, utility and wine store.

There’s also a garden room along with an attached barn that houses a family room, gym and mezzanine office.

Upstairs is a reading area overlooking the garden, three double bedrooms and a dressing room that could be a fourth bedroom.

The main bedroom has an ensuite with a free-standing bath and a shower. The guest suite has an en suite bathroom and there is an additional shower room.

The attic has potential for conversion and outside is an attached double garage and workshop and the gardens.

“Visitors often comment on the friendly feel of the house, something which is often absent in old houses. We have loved living here,” says Patricia, who adds: “The garden is a hidden gem and it has an irreplaceable, mature infrastructure and gives interest through all the seasons.”

Lizzie Tate of GSC Grays says that gardens, the way they look and their size is important when selling a home.

“It’s important that a garden is proportionate to the size of the house and that it is well established and presented well.

“Entertaining space is a selling point, so somewhere you can put a table and chairs and barbecue area or an outdoor kitchen.”

Gardens are also subject to changing trends and while the magnificent stalwart that is the RHS Chelsea Flower Show remains a key influencer, Instagrammers are also having a big effect, says Yorkshire based, multiple Gold award winning garden designer Lorna Batchelor of www.yorkshiregardendesigns.co.uk..

“There has been a big shift over the last five years of people looking at Instagram,particularly those with smaller gardens and with new-build properties,” says Lorna, who adds that there is much more interest in gardens since Covid, which prompted a working from home revolution.

“Those who work from home will use the garden more in their lunch break, they may be sitting at a desk looking at it and so they will be more likely to invest in it.”

For those who want to commission a garden designer, there are many benefits. They will they transform your outdoor space and leave instructions on how to care for the plants, which is helpful for those of us who admit they are clueless.