Historic home in Dacre has a 21st century makeover

Menwith House, DacrePrice: £675,000www.dacres.co.ukWith a search area within a 30 mile radius of Leeds, Andy Clegg and his partner had plenty of properties to choose from when they began a search for the right home.“We were both working in Leeds but we wanted to live somewhere rural. After seeing this house and this area, we compared everything else to it and nothing matched it,” he says.The decision to buy Menwith House in 2008 turned out to be an excellent one. “This is such a beautiful part of the world. It is also a very friendly place to live and is very well served. It has everything you could want, including GP surgery, a village hall, a shop and a pub,” says Andy.

Since moving to the property, which was built in 1850, the couple have remodelled the entrance and added a two-storey extension, along with new windows. They are now selling to downsize but plan to stay in the area.Menwith House has almost 2,100 sq ft of accommodation, along with gardens and useful outbuildings. It retains period features but has been modernised with double glazed windows and gas-fired central heating.The living/dining kitchen is the heart of the home and has bi-folding doors to the garden and a kitchen by renowned cabinet makers Clarity Arts. The sitting room has a wood-burning stove, as does the dining room. The ground floor also has a study and a utility room.

The kitchen by Clarity Arts

On the first floor, there is a master bedroom with en-suite shower room and walk-in wardrobe, three further bedrooms and a house bathroom. The second floor has a bedroom with eaves storage cupboards and a further cupboard with potential for an en-suite, subject to the necessary consents.

Outside, there is a driveway with off-street parking, a double garage, gardener’s w.c. and a workshop/store. The gardens include a lawned area, along with a cottage garden adjoining the dining room and a vegetable garden to the side with raised beds.Dacre has easy access to the A59 and the nearby towns of Harrogate, Otley and Skipton. Dacre and nearby Summerbridge have a convenience store, petrol station, post office, hardware store, church, public houses and primary schools.A spokesman for Dacre, Son and Hartley says: “The property is nestled within some of the region’s most beautiful countryside with walks from the doorstep.”