Location

Upton Grange is situated in a private location and set well back from a small country lane. It is, however, highly accessible to the A442 and equidistant between Shrewsbury and Newport (Waitrose).

The village of Waters Upton offers excellent amenities with a general store and post office, butcher, a pub, community hall and nearby primary school at Crudgington.

The area has many well-regarded schools both in the state and private sector, including Haberdashers Adams Grammar School, Newport High School, Thomas Telford School, Wrekin College, and Shrewsbury School and High School.

There are excellent rail services at Stafford (London Euston 1 hour 17 minutes) and Telford. Regional airports include Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester.

Description

Upton Grange is an elegant and beautifully presented country house believed to be built in 1849. The front elevation is double fronted with two large wisteria-clad bays extending to the first floor which overlook a York stone terrace with steps down to a lawn; in the centre is a large copper beech tree, which is a beautiful feature of the gardens and grounds.

The house combines both elegance and the practicalities required for modern-day living. It is clear that enormous attention to detail has been given to both the restoration of the house and maintaining its current high standard whilst offering a wonderful family home. The sash windows to the front of the house have been fitted with a Ventrola System.

To the side of the house is the front door with a pedimented portico surrounding an attractive fan light over with gothic tracery. This opens into the welcoming entrance hall with decorative tiled flooring, providing access to the formal and informal reception rooms including the elegant morning room with a large bay with sash windows and views over the garden, a fireplace with marble hearth and carved wood, nineteenth century chimney piece, fitted bookshelves with cupboards and lattice doors behind and a French door to the terrace. Double doors, from the entrance hall, lead into the drawing room which is equally as elegant, with French doors and views towards the gardens, an open fire and built in units either side of the fireplace. The dining room overlooks the Greenhouse lawn and terrace and has a second door leading back to the entrance hall.

The kitchen breakfast has views over the gardens in all aspects and is a lovely light room. The floor is laid with quarry tiles and the kitchen was fitted by Roundhouse in 2015. The floor and base units are a beautiful duck egg blue and have deep drawers with soft closing. There is an integrated spice rack, a larder cupboard, Silestone worktops, a Miele integrated oven and separate steamer and a four oven gas fired AGA.

Steps lead down to a smaller utility room with a drying rack which leads into a larger utility room with beech worktops,a Belfast sink, wall and base units and space for white goods. There is a separate room used as a wine store. Beyond this is a spacious games room with parquet flooring, a wood burning stove and built in units with shelving. A separate boot room has a stable door out to an enclosed dog run and the gardens beyond. There is also a large cellar reached separately from the garden.

The staircase leads from the entrance hall to the first floor landing where the principal bedroom has views towards the garden and copper beech tree. This room has built in wardrobes and an en suite bathroom which connects through to a further bedroom which has built in wardrobes and is used as a dressing room. Bedroom two is a guest room with an en suite bathroom. There are a further two double bedrooms, both with en suite shower rooms, and a family bathroom with a linen cupboard. All of the bathrooms have power showers fitted. The second floor has been converted into a further spacious double bedroom with a Velux window and fitted units and cupboards.

Gardens

The gardens are a special feature of Upton Grange and combine both maturity of the original trees and shrubs with strategic planting to ensure there is colour and interest throughout the various seasons. They successfully combine both beauty and formality and also more informal areas.

The main garden area to the front of the house is principally lawned with a beautiful beech tree and shrubbery beyond. This leads on to a further compartment with a pleached lime avenue, which leads to a lavender walk and a bothy to enjoy the afternoon sun.

There are lawns to three sides with a vegetable garden protected by a natural hedge behind. A relatively new and well-stocked greenhouse with a peach tree is in the ‘greenhouse lawn’ and terrace, with a wonderful Choisya at one end. A wonderful feature is the cutting garden which provides an explosion of colour and scent with beautiful flowers including Delphiniums and Peonies and a circular area with a ‘white garden’. A fabulous outdoor area has been created offering relaxed summer entertaining overlooking the private lawned courtyard. Adjacent is an integral covered barbecue.

The property has the benefit of three access ways, these being the principal drive, a private back drive with electric gate and a further rear entrance to the outbuildings and field.

Outbuildings

Upton Grange has an extensive range of principally traditional outbuildings all of which are well maintained and have huge scope and potential. Further outbuildings include garaging/carport, a stable block with four stables, a open barn for hay store and three small commercial units all let on individual agreements. There is a paddock situated behind the stables for turnout.

Potential development

Whilst residential planning is unlikely to be achieved in the short term, Waters Upton is a village zoned for strategic development. It might be possible, in a few years, to obtain planning permission for land to either side of the rear driveway and, possibly, to redevelop some of the buildings. This would not impinge upon the privacy of the main house.

Field

The whole plot extends to about 17 acres, 5 acres of which is let on an annual tenancy to a local farmer.

Directions

The postcode is TF6 6PA.
From M54 (junction 6) (check) signpost for Whitchurch. Continue straight on. Proceed over the crossroads at Crudgington and take the first turning right into Waters Upton. Turn right into Catsbritch Lane and the entrance to Upton Grange is found on the left.

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