Five-bedroom home that looks like fairy-tale gingerbread house goes up for sale for £1.25million
- Firbank House in Tilford, Surrey, was once a coachhouse and stables before it was turned into a home in 1950s
- The Grade II listed property boasts a cupola and a decorative slate roof with a fleur-de-lys ridge cresting
- The house has 2,485 sq ft of accommodation with a kitchen, breakfast room, dining room and sitting room
A fairy-tale home that looks like it could be made out of gingerbread has gone on the market for £1.25million.
The quaint and quirky Firbank House in Tilford, Surrey, was once the coachhouse and stables for a country mansion before it was turned into a home in the 1950s.
The Grade II listed period property boasts ornate decorative touches, including a cupola and a decorative slate roof with a fleur-de-lys ridge cresting, reminiscent of a gingerbread house.
The five-bedroom house Victorian Gothic style house is now on the market with estate agents Strutt & Parker.
Firbank House in Tilford, Surrey, has just gone on the market for a staggering £1.25million. It was once the coachhouse and stables for a country mansion before it was transformed into a home
The period property, built of brick and local ironstone, is situated three miles to the east of Farnham and boasts a decorative slate roof with a fleur-de-lys ridge cresting
Inside the Grade II listed property is a warm and inviting living room complete with wooden flooring. At the centre of the room sits a fireplace with a woodburning stove and exposed brickwork surrounding it
The spacious room inside the fairtale-style house allows natural light to flood through the windows and the wooden beams offers a warm finish to the country decor
The dining room, with its wooden floors and centrally placed fireplace, provides guests with an calming space to relax and unwind
The impressive property, built with brick and local ironstone, sits in a secluded position in beautiful countryside with tiered gardens.
It was built in the 1870s as the stables and grooms' quarters for Turners, a listed country house owned by Sir William Henry and Dame Emma Octavia Salt.
Turners, which was also the home of polar explorer Sir Vivian Fuchs in the 1920s and 30s, is one of the largest ironstone buildings in the country. Firbank House has a similar grandeur but on a smaller scale. It has pretty decorative features, including a cupola, which would have ventilated the horses' hay to prevent it from combusting.
The house has 2,485 sq ft of accommodation with a kitchen, breakfast room, dining room, sitting room, family room, five bedrooms and three bathrooms.
The property lies in an idyllic semi-rural setting, within a small group of ten houses, a few miles from Farnham.
The breakfast room inside the five-bedroom house comes complete with wooden furnishings, white doors and tiled floors. The stunning ceiling, which is made of glass, allows natural light to come flooding through the spacious room and provides a greenhouse-esque feel
The kitchen inside the Grade II listed property is equipped with a wide range of storage space and a large range cooker. The fitted spotlights in the ceiling allow for extra light to enter the entire kitchen while also providing a modern feel to the Victorian Gothic style property
Sitting on slightly higher ground is this spacious bedroom which allows natural daylight to flood through its windows. There are five bedrooms in total inside the property, with four sitting on the first floor and one sat on the second floor
A spacious bathroom inside the £1.25million property comes complete with a shower and a storage cabinet. The quirky house was once the coachhouse and stables for a country mansion before it was transformed into a home
A step outside the gingerbread style house shows an old water pump (right) which would have been used by the occupants of the property to collect water
The surrounding countryside allows the lucky buyer access to walks in stunning natural beauty and hundreds of acres of protected woodland, with Crooksbury Common being on the house's doorstep.
Richard Banes-Walker from Strutt & Parker said: 'It's a really romantic setting, up this track, and it's a former stables and grooms' quarters, cut into the bank.
'The house is a high Victorian Gothic style and has really elaborate gables and scalloped tiles, a bit like a gingerbread house.
'It has this cupola tower, which is an architectural folly really but originally it would have allowed the hayloft to ventilate, because damp hay could overheat easily so it prevented the hay catching fire.
Those wishing to indulge in a bit of Al fresco dining can do so at this wooden table which comes complete with an umbrella on top. While outside, the lucky buyer can also take a stroll though the tiered garden with a paved terrace area and also access the lawn area outside the property
At the top of the property sits a fairy-tale white and grey cupola (pictured left outside and right inside). The cupola provides natural light to enter the property and can also be used as lookout
A floor plan of the property shows the multitude of rooms spread across its three floors. The house underwent a big refurbishment just before the current owners bought it in 2005
'It might seem a bit extravagant for a stables, but it dated back to a time when often they valued their horses more than their wives. To spend money on a stables like that, you would have been very proud of it.
'Firbank was converted into its own house in the 1950s and underwent a big refurbishment just before the current owners bought it in 2005.
'They liked the quirkiness of it and that it offered something different but now they are moving further north to be closer to family.
'I think it will be bought by somebody who likes that romantic look. People tend to buy houses that remind them of their childhood or set a little spark burning.
'I think it's going to be a family looking for something which is a bit outside the box, something with a bit of a twist.
'I could see it appealing to a writer or someone who loves the outdoors as you've got lots of woodland and lovely walks around you. The owners say the clear skies are amazing, especially in the summer, as you have no light pollution there.'
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