A wonderful country life

5:10pm Wednesday 2nd July 2008

FAMILIES looking for a magnificent period home and summer activities for the children can find the perfect place just 11 miles from the commercial bustle of Basingstoke.

An indoor swimming pool, stables, paddocks, an all-weather manege and a snooker room are all part of The Manor House, at Padworth Common, which is marketing through Knight Frank with a price guide of £1.95million.

Gardens stretching to more than five acres give endless places to play hide and seek when not splashing in the swimming pool - built by specialist Basingstoke-based builder Armstrong.

The Manor House dates back to the 1700s. It was extended in Edwardian times and again by the present owners in the 1990s.

South-facing reception rooms have open fires, as does a sitting room that opens to a conservatory, beyond which are the gardens and a terrace.

A family-sized kitchen-breakfast room has painted cupboards with granite work surfaces fitted around a four-oven Aga.

There is also a study, two cloakrooms, a utility room and a walk-in larder.

Upstairs, the master bedroom has a bay window overlooking the garden and an archway through to a dressing area and bathroom. There is an additional dressing room next to the master suite.

Six further bedrooms and three bathrooms, as well as a snooker room, are on the first floor.

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