Michael Goodall has lived at the Old Post Office in Great Whittington for the past 10 years and shares the property with his partner, Cathy Ede, and three year old son.
“I was living in Newcastle and didn’t know this area before moving here,” he said. “It was a lucky chance find to come across this property for sale.
“I liked it at once. It has a quirky layout, large room sizes and generous gardens and, of course, it is in this lovely, quiet village setting with great countryside all around.”
The Old Post Office was originally built in the 1700s, extended in the 1800s and then extended further again in the 1990s.
Michael and Cathy have carried out a range of improvements since they moved in, including exposing the original inglenook fireplace lintel and installing a wood-burning stove in the living room, putting in a new bathroom and en-suite and replacing the windows with timber, double-glazed windows.
They also sanded the timber floors upstairs, redecorated throughout, put in a new outside boiler, and extensively redesigned and remodelled the back garden.
The property is now a comfortable family home with a spacious living room, garden room, breakfasting kitchen and downstairs cloakroom. The entrance hall has a useful storage cupboard and quality tiled floor which runs through to the kitchen.
This large room has a range of contemporary units with solid wood worktops and integrated appliances and has an attractive inglenook fireplace.
The garden room has a wooden floor, French doors to the outside terrace and an unusual spiral staircase rising to the first floor.
Here there are three double bedrooms, one at the front of the house and the other two on the opposite side of the landing.
The second en-suite bedroom is at the back of the house and accessed either via the middle bedroom or the spiral staircase leading down to the garden room.
The three-piece bathroom, accessed via an inner hallway with built-in storage cupboard, has contemporary fittings and extensive wall tiling.
Michael is the director of a landscape architectural practice so it’s not surprising that the garden is his favourite place to be.
“It’s a family-friendly rear garden which is a generous size and divided into a series of spaces, from patio area and open lawn to tightly-planted herbaceous borders and raised vegetable beds. There are lovely views out over open countryside.
“We get great views from the house too. From the window seat in the main bedroom you have views over open fields towards Whittington Mill.”
The front garden has a gravelled parking area with a single garage.
He and Cathy will miss the generous room sizes in the Old Post Office and how the accommodation flows through the property, and think viewers will be attracted by this space and the quirkiness of the house.
“It’s full of character and would suit a variety of viewers,” Michael said. “It’s in a quiet village location with a great pub, the Queen’s Head, which is also an excellent Chinese restaurant.
“We’re moving as the 10 years we’ve been here have been the longest either of us have lived anywhere and we fancy a new challenge.”
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