THERE’S a cheery log fire burning in the big brick hearth and the room feels warm and toasty, welcoming and comfortable.

To one side of the main area there is a large set-back spot, where among the shelves of books and CDs there is a handsome-looking piano.

Imagination runs riot, it’s easy to see how this could be a wonderful place to sit back in cosy comfort and listen while my host Tilly James-Hoyle plays a peaceful piece.

“Well, not quite,” Tilly says, laughing.

“I used to play the piano when I was younger but now I’m having to relearn.” Ah well, you can’t have everything all at once… And this is still a super, inviting room full of charm and character. It’s a big space, with a dining area to one end, leather sofa and chairs marking the start of the living area – and with that fire burning happily at the centre of an exposed brick wall and hearth under a large inset beam and with logs stored to either side.

There is smart wood flooring underfoot and more beams overhead. Two large windows to the side are inviting the light to dance in and brighten us up. “It is a bit of a wow room,” Tilly says.

“I like it very much. It’s very warm and inviting and I do like spending time in here.” Warm and inviting, character and style... words that very much fit the whole of this house, which sits on a bend in Church Road, overlooking the eponymous church and just a short stroll from the centre of Stamford Bridge.

The original property is believed to date back more than 200 years – though it has been considerably improved and extended over time – and there are various theories about its origin.

“We thought it might have been a brew house at one time,” Tilly says.

“But then I heard that there was an old man in the village, in his 90s, I think, who said he could remember coming to school here. Sadly, he has died now so I don’t know if that is right or not.”

Whatever its original purpose, this is certainly now a house, very much a home. Tilly has been here for 15 years and, you sense, is leaving only reluctantly.

“I have enjoyed it here,” she says.

“I think it will be hard to find somewhere with as much character.”

Indeed.

“Unique,” is how selling agents Stephensons describe this home and it is certainly very different. Let us explain.

You come into the house, after stepping up from the driveway and into the garden, to a delightful kitchen, another bright and cheery spot, overlooking a patio area of the house’s wraparound garden.

This room has a jaunty edge with crisp white-fronted base and wall units and plenty of space for a breakfast/dining area.

From here we move to one of the house’s quirky areas, a rear inner hallway with an exposed tread staircase up to the top floor and with steps down, and then, 15ft or so across to the other side, up again. This is actually a decentsized open area which would suit a variety of purposes from home office to another reception area.

But for now it is back up the second set of steps and into that wonderful wow factor living/dining/ music room.

Standing at the windows here you realise how the house sits in an elevated position, one from which you can stand on high and watch life go by.

“The name of the house is actually The Rise,” says Tilly, “while noone uses that name much now, you can see where it came from.

You get a good view from here, a feeling of being up high.”

But we are to go higher yet, trotting up the open staircase and onto the first floor. Here there is more character to be found, wooden flooring, overhead beams, big windows.

There is a good-sized master bedroom, a second bedroom, a house bathroom and a third bedroom which Tilly uses as her “messing about and making a mess” room, a nice spot for a study, den or child’s bedroom.

A home, then, not with just charm and character, but one which can be easily adapted to suit most needs. Tilly, as entertaining and welcoming as her house, completes the tour by taking me on a walk around the garden – after hushing her two big bouncing, bounding chocolate Labradors inside.

Tilly has deliberately – and not surprisingly as she leads a busy life – created an easily-managed, yet very pretty, garden.

Laid mostly to path and pebbling, it has plenty of raised plant beds and shrubberies and, thanks to a large, thick, and immaculatelytrimmed hedge to the front, is nice and private.

“It’s looking a bit sad at the moment,” Tilly says. “Winter’s not an easy time for gardens, but it will look quite beautiful once the weather changes.” (Later she sends me pictures of the garden taken in summer and you soon get the picture – it is a delightful arranged riot of colour, all purples and silvers and blacks and greens).

The final finishing touch is the house garage, tucked away at a lower level, which has room not just for a car, but bags of space for storage and workshop areas.

The Rise is, then, a property with a lot to offer. A top house as it were.

at a glance

The Rise, Church Road, Stamford Bridge

Reception rooms: 1. Large, living/dining/music room. Plus good-sized inner hallway area.

Bedrooms: 3.

Gardens: Pleasant, private and easilymaintained gardens wrapping around the house.

Garage: Large garage with storage/workshop area.

Wow factor: That brilliantly characterful, large yet cosy and welcoming living room.

Price: £339,995.

Contact: Stephensons.

Phone: 01904 625533.