Make hay in coach houses

By Sue Corbett
Posted: 2010/05/09

Built originally to accommodate horses, carriages and coachmen, these traditional buildings now offer a spectacular amount of space for the modern family, reports SUE CORBETT

A CENTURY ago the coach houses on this page would have been every bit as noisy, bustling and smelly as you would expect from buildings housing horses, carriages and coachmen. So it's no surprise that they were all built a little distance away from the local big house where the w ealthy owners of the coaches lived. It's no surprise either, given how spacious the coach houses are, that they have been converted for residential use.

Typically, former coach houses boast exposed internal brickwork, high ceilings and doors that are large enough for coaches to pass through. Some, including Giffen Coach House in Ayrshire, even have beautifully preserved stables.

Jack Hood, 72, and his wife Lilian have put Giffen on the market. Jack says: "Before our son and daughter left home, they kept their horses here in the original stalls.

"The stable is big at 41ft 8in by 19ft 8in, and since the children left we have preserved it to use as a games room."

Giffen Coach House was in a dire state when Jack and Lilian bought it in 1976. They restored it themselves, "a labour of love" they say, converting the arches through which the coaches once passed into two gloriously tall w indows for the drawing room.

GIFFEN COACH HOUSE
Dalry, Ayrshire
Converted Victorian coach house, listed by Historic Scotland, with six bedrooms, four reception rooms, two bathrooms, garage, garden, three acres of woodland and the option of 14.5 acres of grazing land.

Location: Dalry town, three miles away, has a chemist, Co-op, primary school and mainline railway station. Glasgow and Ayr are 30-minute drives away.
Price: £595,000 through Strutt & Parker (struttandparker.com, 0141 225 3880).

THE COACH HOUSE
Much Marcle, Herefordshire
Grade II listed converted coach house, dating from the 1760s with four bedrooms, three reception rooms, two bathrooms, garage, gardens and parking.
Appeal: Two arched coach doors: one now incorporates the front door to the house, the other opens into the garage. Plus, many exposed beams and an inglenook fireplace.

Location: Much Marcle has a village shop, primary school and public houses. The market town of Ledbury, four miles away, has schools, a health centre, theatre, supermarkets and a mainline railway station.

Price: £425,000 through Hayes Sales & Lettings (hayes.gb.com, 01531 630 030).

HAVERINGLAND HALL COACH HOUSE AND COTTAGES
Haveringland, Norfolk
Grade II listed Victorian complex, consisting of a large coach house (six bedrooms, three reception rooms, three bathrooms, garden and parking area), plus three cottages, an indoor swimming pool and grounds of 1.3 acres.

All four units are currently let as short-term holiday accommodation, producing a "cracking income", according to Chesterton Humberts.

Appeal: High ceilings and two original coach doors with their eye-catching brackets (the doors are now blocked off internally to create a spacious drawing room). The complex was designed by Edward Blore, who also worked on Buckingham Palace.

Location: Haveringland is three miles from the market town of Reepham, which has a high school (rated "outstanding" by Ofsted), a new sixth-form college, shops, dental and medical practices and pubs. Norwich, nine miles away, has a mainline station and international airport.

Price: £975,000 through Chesterton Humberts (chestertonhumberts.com, 01603 661 199).