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The plot beckons

Fairytale villa has planning permission for another home in huge garden

By Paul Drury

THERE’S something ‘otherworldly’ about the Old Parsonage, the kind of turreted property that you encounter down a bramble-covered path in a children’s fairytale.

And, just like a Hans Christian Andersen fable, this one comes with a pretty decent plot.

Here, that relates to the sizeable corner garden which carries planning permission for a five-bedroom house.

To show how big it is, when new owners moved in a few years back, five parachutists landed in the garden as a surprise.

Situated in the comfortable Edinburgh suburb of Barnton, the property package can be split between the Arts and Crafts masterpiece and the available land surrounding it. However, buying the whole lot means you remain in control of who your new neighbours might be.

Dating from 1901, as the name suggests the Old Parsonage would originally have been occupied by a member of the clergy. It retains quirky details wherever you look, from the lead in the windows to a hatch in one of the fireplaces, designed for warming your bottle of port.

Some fireplaces come with inlaid tiles of Art Nouveau nymphs, clutching garlands of flowers. The downstairs loo is enhanced by a lovely stained glass window depicting a rural scene from the Orient.

The dining room is a particular delight, thanks to the imposing fireplace standing around 8ft tall. It is inlaid with blue Delft tiles, boasts a copper overhang and is topped by images of what could be three Dutch Masters. With a fire going in this hearth, the fare on the table must seem a distraction.

The elegant drawing room and the bright and airy sun room lie at the far end of the house, benefiting from the light streaming from the south and west.

On the first floor, there are five bedrooms, one of which is currently used as a study. The main bedroom has an en-suite bath and shower room, with a south-facing balcony off.

Up another stair is the attic, which provides access to a roof terrace on top of the turret, offering fine views. Ben Fox, of selling agent Savills, said: ‘This house offers space and privacy in abundance and what makes it really special are the views and access to the wonderful open spaces of Davidson’s Mains Park.’

While Mr Fox suggests that the interior of the property could do with a little ‘modernising’, the fabric of the building appears to be as good as the day it was built. The house has been entirely re-roofed, and is now resplendent in red tiles which match three adjoining detached homes perfectly.

There can be few opportunities in many suburban settings as the one presented in the gardens of the Old Parsonage.

More than half of the garden has been devoted to the construction of a new home, thoughtfully sunk into the lower-lying section once used as a croquet lawn.

Plans have been drawn up by the acclaimed Lorn Macneal Architects to create a new one-and-ahalf-storey home in the northern end, which will have the appearance of a single-storey structure due to its recessed location.

This has been done to preserve the gorgeous views enjoyed by neighbours.

Anyone buying here can look forward to what children get once they have finished a fairytale – a happy ending.

Property

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2021-11-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

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