A farmhouse with potential at Skirpenbeck (From York Press)

A farmhouse with potential at Skirpenbeck

2:00pm Thursday 3rd May 2012

IT’S one of those mornings. The sun decides to make a brief appearance, dashing out to bring a quick touch of Spring warmth before retreating back behind sulky grey clouds.

For a short moment you can see just how glorious the countryside here must be on lovely, sunny days. By the paddock at the foot of the hill, weeping willows weave in the wind, peeping up over the tall trees at the end of the drive you can see the hills meandering into the distance. The only sound is that of birds chirping merrily away...

If property really is all about location, location, location, then this must be one of the best spots to be had in this part of Yorkshire.

Skirpenbeck Grange, a grandlooking farmhouse on the edge of Skirpenbeck village, from which it is named, stands in an elevated position with wonderful views across open countryside.

Dating back to the 1830s, it has been in Lynne’s family for the last 30 of those years, farmed by her late father, Dave Dixon. Lynne and husband Simon have been in residence here for six years, and while Dave’s memory is always honoured, Lynne long ago decided that a farming life was not for her.

What she and Simon have been doing is preparing the house for a complete refurbishment – at present it is two homes in one, Lynne and Simon living in one side while the other is tenanted.

But the potential is very much there to bring it back into single family use, with natural “knock through” areas on both of the first two floors.

“There’s a bit of work to be done,” Lynne says. “Whoever takes it on will be taking on a project.”

Masses of potential, we believe is the phrase.

And that’s certainly true here. You come into the house from a covered area which contains a number of useful outbuildings – including one which has been converted into a bathroom.

The kitchen has already been refurbished but skilfully retaining the appearance of a farmhouse kitchen, a lovely big space with first evidence of what is a feature throughout the house – windows placed to make the most of the countryside views.

In this case they are to the front and side, letting light in to shine over an impressive range of wall and base units with solid oak doors and a Belfast sink unit. A cast-iron multi-fuel burner sits in a brick hearth, and there is a range of integral units including dishwasher, fridge and freezer.

This cosy kitchen gives you an idea of what could be achieved here, but you will need a degree of imagination to see what could be done with the rest of the ground floor. There’s a large living room area and another room set off, both well lit and with those countryside views – but both in need of full refurbishment.

There’s a similar story on the first floor which has two bedrooms and a bathroom (one of the bedrooms has a large dressing area and there is potential for an en-suite).

The top floor is another cosy spot – and one where all the work has been done – with two bedrooms, one of which has an en-suite shower room.

And then there is the other side of the house – which has sitting and dining rooms and a kitchen on the first floor and two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs.

That side of the house (technically the front) has a big garden, enclosed by tall mature trees and also has, again, great views.

Set as it is in wonderful countryside, affording super open views and with three quarters of an acre of land, this is a house which, while there is certainly work to be done, could be simply stunning.

Interested parties with imagination and an eye for potential should contact Hudson Moody’s Dunnington office on 01904 489906. Offers are invited in the region of £590,000.