‘Brimming with character, a lovely period cottage.’ Country living. As you approach this lovely home on Brook Lane in the delightful village of Billesdon, the house and its surrounding create an immediate impression: English country charm, smothered with several centuries of character. This bespoke property is partially viewable from the roadside and then continues side-on behind secure wooden gates, nestled amongst other bespoke cottages and houses. It is complimented from the outset with appealing features: chimney pots, a combination of white rendering and red bricks, grey tiled roof and an abundance of flowering plants scaling the front garden and trellises. Originally, the property was two separate cottages built on a plot to the side of a hill. Indeed, the garden’s elevation acts as a complete shield, affording privacy and allowing the southeast facing garden to enjoy plentiful sunshine. The main cottages are believed to have been built between 1750 and 1760 and their original beams are a prominent feature throughout the cottage. There are three floors and merging the two dwellings into one became the core conversion for this bespoke four bedroom, detached property known as Woodham Cottage. Conservation and central location Woodham Cottage is situated in the centre of old Billesdon, at the heart of the Conservation Area; largely formed around Brook Lane and Church Street. The original village school, chapel and parish church are all within a short distance and in such a delightful location, it adds its own portion of charm to the surroundings. From the road side, a separate garage can be seen on the right hand side of the drive. This allows entry from the road via an up and over garage door. The tarmacadam drive has space for further parked cars. Woodham Cottage is presented with a well maintained front garden and is entered from the drive via a canopy over the wooden panelled front door. It is from here that our tour of this lovely home will begin: a tour that will discover over three floors, four reception rooms, a large kitchen, utility room, wet room, four bedrooms and three bathrooms, all enhanced by a delightful courtyard and tiered rear garden. Woodham Cottage is not listed and therefore opportunity exists for change. A warm welcome If we enter by the front door, the first large reception room presently serves as a formal dining room. It has been completely refurbished. A wooden floor was laid in March this year, the double glazed window in 2022 and the year before, the front door. It provides a lovely, light and warming entrance. The feature open fireplace has a marble hearth and back plate and gas fire, with a wooden mantel supported by corbels. From the outset the cottage character of the interior decoration is evident and identical qualities are repeated: white painted walls, wooden tongue and groove doors accessorised with black wrought ironmongery and exposed ceiling beams. In the sitting/dining room next door, a rustic brick fire place with tile hearth, has a solid fuel Morso burner and recessed cubbyhole. The room has a porch leading from it into the private courtyard. This permits the front room to be used for different purposes. It could easily serve as a study or office, overlooking the front and being close to the drive for unhindered access without interfering with the privacy of the remainder of the house. The carpeted switchback staircase begins in the middle room and is believed to have been built and installed by a local carpenter, who may have similarly crafted the internal doors. There is a cupboard under the stairs and above the front dining room, a shallow loft entrance off the first floor landing that opens into a large space currently used for storage. As with the front room, this charming room is multi-functional. Presently, it is used as a breakfast dining room and music room, combined. A character kitchen From one lovely room to another, we now view the kitchen, refurbished in late 2023. This room has ample wall and floor units on three sides, with grey Shaker style cabinetry and metal handles. On the fourth wall, there is a bespoke wooden display cabinet, with interior lighting. The neutral colour schemes of the worktop and tiles-walls and floor-combine with the natural texture of carved wooden beams, while a window above the sink unit allows a view into the conservatory and beyond into the courtyard. This kitchen is attractive and practical, providing ample storage space for integrated appliances including an electric cooker with hob, extractor hood and dishwasher. The utility room is accessible from the rear door leading outside from the kitchen or through the conservatory. It provides an additional sink, storage units, a very large airing cupboard with Gas boiler and appropriate plumbing for a washing machine and vented tumble drier. Garden access is gained through a stable door. In between the utility and kitchen, a wet room is presently being refurbished. Conservatory, Lounge and Courtyard Forming the linking space between the kitchen and lounge, the beautifully light conservatory is a half brick, half glass building with underfloor heating for extra cosiness and provides the cottage with an inside/outside room in any weather. It has a terracotta tiled floor, exposed brickwork and two pairs of double doors, one leading into the lounge and another into the courtyard. This practical arrangement allows ease of movement for larger scale entertaining, while maintaining the individual character and purpose of the separate rooms. The impressive lounge is understood to have been an extension added by previous owners during the 1980s and was designed to complement the eighteenth century cottages by repeating many of the original features. It has a recessed fireplace reminiscent of an inglenook with large cross beam mantel, exposed brick chimney breast and Morso log burner. Integrated shelving extenuates the curvature of the vaulted ceiling, giving height and character to a room with dual aspect windows, one of them being a box bow window. It is a totally private retreat and opens by double doors into the rear garden. Two floors of bedrooms and bathrooms If we now double back through the conservatory and dining room, the carpeted staircase leads to a long landing running along the first floor with bedrooms to front and back and a bathroom in the centre. The double bedroom has been completely refurbished and has dual aspect windows, a new carpet and large free standing natural wood wardrobes. Presently used as an upstairs sitting room, the single bedroom on this floor looks to the side of the house. The family bathroom was refurbished in March 2024 and the traditional white suite consists of an antique style shower over the bath, with gold plated taps and accessories, sink unit and toilet. Upstairs on the second floor, the bathing facility has been recently altered to become a luxurious shower room. It has a wooden floor, with grey wall tiles, double shower cubicle, wash basin and toilet. All bathing facilities in this property are similarly fitted to a high specification with quality sanitary ware. The second floor provides two more double bedrooms. The master bedroom is equipped with integral wardrobes and has dual aspect windows: the garden view is wonderful from here! The fourth double room, is presently used as a study. All the bedrooms are carpeted and have distinctive characteristics with regards to shape, storage and number of windows. Woodham Cottage patio and garden It has already been noted that this wonderful residence has been recently refurbished and improvements continue to be implemented. This is true of the outside too. The paved courtyard is a large, wonderfully private enclosure with a built in pagoda. It is accessible through the Middle room, Conservatory, Back gate atop of the driveway, the Garage rear door or from a side gate from the rear garden. It is accessible through the garage or from the gate atop the driveway. It is a haven for relaxation and has been planted with small flower borders. Benefitting from a security system including CCTV for viewing and recording, the cottage and grounds also have sensor operated floodlights as well as a self-operated electric lighting system on all walls of the cottage. The rear elevated tiered garden has graduated sets of steps with a rope handrail and is filled with mature shrubs, trees and plants of many varieties. There is a seated arbour, garden shed and pagoda. At its highest level the garden remains completely private from any nearby properties, with the exception of the view from the Cottages master bedroom. Billesdon LE7 Billesdon is a village in central England, a region referred to as the East Midlands. It is situated approximately 9 miles east of Leicester’s city centre and 29 miles south of Nottingham. It is in the LE7 postcode district and falls within the borough of Harborough. The A47 is predominantly the village’s link road via Uppingham Road. It is within a short distance to the A6. The M1 (junction 21, west towards Leicester Forest East) M6 and M69 maximise the potential for speedier travel by road from this central Midland location. There are railway stations in South Wigston and Leicester, where the Midland Main Railway Line runs trains to London – Leicester to St Pancras - regularly. There are normally 70 trains running daily, to London, the fastest taking only 1 hour and 12 minutes. Billesdon maintains all the charm and features associated with a rural location and several amenities including two public houses: the Queens Head, situated on Church Street, and The New Greyhound Inn, situated in the Market Place. There is also a village shop, a hairdresser, a doctors' surgery and a fire station. On Church Street there...
