Location

Ellesmere 5 miles, Wrexham 8 miles, Chester 22 miles, Shrewsbury 24 miles, Crewe station 29 miles, Liverpool airport 46 miles

About 4.74 acres

Location

St Mary's House is located on the edge of the picturesque village of Overton which offers a range of local services including independent shops, a pub, a doctor's surgery, village hall, playing fields and places of worship. The Boat at nearby Erbistock is a hugely popular pub and restaurant on the banks of the River Dee.

Further amenities can be found in the nearby towns of Ellesmere, Wrexham and the city of Chester (about 22 miles) which provides a comprehensive range of shopping, schooling and leisure facilities.

The A483, which links Chester with South Wales, is 5 miles away and provides access to other major road networks. The stations at Chester and Crewe have rail services to London Euston, and there are international airports at Manchester (56 miles) and Liverpool (47 miles).

There are state and independent schools in the area including The Maelor School in Penley, Ellesmere College, Moreton Hall, Shrewsbury School and Packwood Haugh, as well as an 'outstanding' (Estyn, July 2014) primary school in Overton.

The numerous leisure opportunities in the area include walks in beautiful countryside, horse racing at Bangor-on-Dee, golf at Carden Park and fishing on the River Dee.

Description

St Mary's was built as a private house in the early 1800s and acquired by the church in 1867, when Overton received parochial status. At this time, W M Teulon (a well-known architect and landscape designer) was engaged to extend the house. It returned into private hands in the late 1900s and is attached to another dwelling which was previously the Bryn-y-Pys estate office. The combined property is Grade II Listed.

It is a house of elegant proportions with high ceilings, spacious rooms and large sash windows over two floors with attic rooms above. It is a much loved property now requiring modernisation. It stands in the most wonderful village centre position, high on a ridge with uninterrupted views across the Dee valley to the Welsh Hills beyond, with the extensive gardens arranged below and flowing into mature woodland on the valley floor. A delightful coach house is linked to the main house by a wall and offers potential for alternative uses, subject to the necessary consents being granted.

A gravel drive leads to extensive parking by both the front and side doors and the panelled oak front door opens into a spacious hall with a polished oak floor, stairs to the first floor, with storage beneath. The drawing room offers impressive entertaining space and retains many period elements including the oak floor, window seats, decorative cornicing and a chimney piece with a marble mantel. There is access to the drive via two pairs of French doors from the bay window.
There are two further reception rooms, both currently arranged as sitting rooms. Off the inner hall is a laundry room, shower room and wine cellar as well as a second staircase to the first floor. The breakfast room has a range of period fitted cupboards and links to the kitchen with a range of storage units, a gas Aga, an eye level oven and gas hob.

The main staircase has turned balusters and a swept moulded rail and rises to a landing serving the first floor bedrooms. They include a principal bedroom with a shower, two fireplaces and a door to a bathroom also serving the next door bedroom. There is a large store room and three further bedrooms and a family bathroom on the floor. An unusual historical feature is an old lead sink within a cupboard.

The attic floor would once have been occupied by servants and comprises a series of rooms, one of which has until recently been used as a bedroom. One has an ensuite, wc and there is further storage.

Outside

At the rear of the house is a small enclosed yard with a boiler shed and coal shed, linking to a delightful coach house with the old stables, a former tack room and gardeners wc on the ground floor with further rooms above. It would appear to offer potential for conversion to provide secondary accommodation or as a home office or for other ancillary uses.

On arriving at the house you are immediately struck by the sensational views. A paved terrace with a stone balustrade provides a wonderful viewing platform and there are steps and a path down to the beautiful, well-stocked mature gardens, which flow in a series of terraces down the hillside, eventually leading into woodland. They encapsulate a wonderful range of plants, shrubs and specimen trees, offering year round colour and structure. The previous owners love of gardening is clear.

In the valley bottom is a separate entrance served by a right of way to allow tractors and machinery into the gardens. Adjacent to the entrance to St Mary's House is a pubic right of way leading down to the valley and along footpaths forming one of the most beautiful walks in the area, adjacent to the meandering River Dee.