A FORMER officers' mess and lodgings in York has gone on the market for £1.5 million.

Ousefield House, just across the road from Imphal Barracks in Fulford Road, is Grade II- listed and was previously owned by the Ministry of Defence and operated as part of the nearby Imphal Barracks, which is due to close in 2031.

The agents, Carter Jonas, say that when restored the building, designed by famous York architect Walter Brierley and built in 1899, is set to be one of York’s most desirable properties.

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The house is set back from the main road behind a walled garden and there's a turning area to the front of the house and a large garden to the side and rear, with established trees, hedging and shrubs providing privacy.

The property is subject to a covenant stating it must remain as a single residential dwelling.

The Victorian building offers an appealing symmetrical façade with wooden framed sash windows arranged over three storeys. 

It retains many original features including the main staircase, fireplaces, alcoves and coving and boasts eight bedrooms on the first floor and what were five servants’ bedrooms on the floor above.

For much of its life it was a private home, but the MOD took it over late last century, building a large rear extension in the 1970s, which included kitchens, to accommodate their needs.

The upper floors contained bedrooms, bathrooms and sitting room spaces, with the MOD using Ousefield House as officers lodging accommodation until 2018.

The MoD announced in November 2016 that the barracks - home to 2 Signal Regiment, HQ 1st (United Kingdom) Division, 12 Military Intelligence Company, 1 Military Intelligence Battalion, HQ 1 Investigation Company and Special Investigation Branch Regiment Royal Military Police - was to close by 2031 as part of the Government’s Better Defence Estate plan, aimed at reducing its landholdings by about 30 per cent.

York Central Labour MP Rachael Maskell said then that the Imphal closure would have a massive impact on York and its economy, with ministers having told her that 365 civilian jobs were at risk.