Link-detached house for sale in Church End, Biddenham, Bedfordshire MK40

Beautiful stone barn conversion in village conservation area on the edge of bedfordshire's county town

Watched over by the majestic Church of St James, The Old Granary stands out in a lovely spot at the end of a no-through lane in the sought-after village of Biddenham. Grade ii-listed and dripping with 17th and 18th century charm, with three double bedrooms, a south-facing garden that’s easy to look after, parking for three cars, and a barn linked to the house which was once a particularly fine coal shed.

The Old Granary was converted in 1986, along with two other homes, from former stables and barns, all once part of Church Farm and all set around a gravelled driveway with the original farmhouse – there’s one thing better than owning a beautiful home and that’s also having beautiful homes around you.

Biddenham is unusual for being an escape from urban bustle, yet with easy access to the M1 and within minutes of the County town of Bedford, its fast trains to London, the world-renowned Harpur Trust private schools and the outstanding Free School, as well as an array of shops and supermarkets, restaurants, and sporting and leisure facilities.

It’s an unusual village too for having so many facilities of its own. How nice for children, from nursery age to sixth form, to walk to their village school, or to the recreation ground for cricket and football, and to the village hall for all manner of events and activities. How lovely too to wander across the lane to Sunday service at St James’s, passing between two beautiful cedar trees grown from seed 150 years ago. And through the meadows to the village pond and perhaps, on to the C18th, thatched, Three Tuns pub. Enjoy the starlit sky unspoiled by street lighting on the way home. A lovely approach to a lovely home.

About the property

It takes something particularly striking to draw the eye away from the church but that’s exactly what The Old Granary is. Beautifully pointed stone and lovely, old clay pantiles contrast with hugely attractive weatherboarding and the old clay flat tiles of the former grain store, which flies over to your storage barn to form an impressive entrance through to the gravelled driveway and your front door.

And inside, downstairs floors contrast happily too, from porcelain to stone tiles, from real oak to porcelain wood planks – no need to panic if your dog escapes your clutches following a muddy winter walk across the fields and heads straight for his favourite spot in front of the sitting room fire - a fire that looks and feels like a cosy, coal burning stove, yet is ready in an instant, with no need to clean up after it.

And, in warmer times, throw open the French doors to your private outdoor space - perfect for summer parties, ideal for eating outside, pretty, weeping willow and Sweetgum trees, shrubs and flower borders a magnet for birds and bees; yet no lawn to cut.

Thick stone walls, deep sills and an amazing, stone arch, along with beautiful beams, not least in the dining room, never let you forget The Old Granary’s heritage. Yet not only has the home been lovingly looked after, it’s far from stuck in time. Up-to-the-minute Neff appliances are built into the granite-topped, Shaker-style kitchen. Radiators are traditional in style, but the heating and hot water system is new. And the beamed but contemporary bathroom will have every shower devotee allowing themselves the occasional wallow, too, in the stylish, freestanding bath.

Be prepared for friends to stay over. They’ll not only love the bathroom, they’ll adore the romantic guest bedroom. But all the bedrooms, not to mention the landing, are oozing character, with tall and sloping ceilings, and wonderful wall and ceiling timbers. The main bedroom is, simply, gorgeous.

While there’s nothing you must do with The Old Granary, it is a home you can make your own, both outside and in. It’s a home where downstairs rooms are flexible to fit your lifestyle. It’s a delightful home.