4 bedroom detached house

A splendid, Grade II Listed, Victorian, former vicarage with far reaching views, stands in a village almost equidistant between Spalding and Boston in a semi-rural area near nature reserves and The Wash, yet with excellent schools in catchment. In superb order, the beautifully proportioned, elegant home displays delightful, original decorative features and has a great sense of space and light. Surrounded by a mature, landscaped garden, attractive outbuildings provide a sizeable home office, a garage and plenty of storage.

Close to the A17, the A16, and the A52, there are very good road links to the A1 at Grantham, Newark and Peterborough, 40 minutes to the south, where fast trains to London take around 45 minutes.

“We came here about 18 years ago and it needed a great deal doing to it – it’s been a lot of work! We began by replacing the entire roof, and we had the rear garden landscaped to provide the large patio and the vegetable garden. Inside we fitted new bathrooms, had a new boiler, a new oil pipe, completely redid the drainage outside and extended the parking area to include a turning circle around the tree. The sash windows have been overhauled with some replaced - like for like - with new, and only recently, in 2021, we also fitted a new kitchen.”

“It was built in 1882 - there’s a date-brick indicating this – as the vicarage for the church next door. It is a beautiful, private setting with wonderful views over open fields, the church as a backdrop. We have been approached more than once, to let brides and grooms be photographed from within the garden with the church behind! The garden is bordered to the front by beautiful horse chestnut trees and we have a lot of fruit trees at the back – there are bramley apples, pears, plums and cherry trees. We have many flowering shrubs and from January, snowdrops, aconites and bluebells all herald the forthcoming spring.”

“The house is so spacious and flooded with natural light. The atrium hall is particularly spectacular. It is also full of original features and most rooms have fireplaces. We only use the one in the lounge but there is no reason why others couldn’t be used. The snug we think must have been the original kitchen as it retains the old range in the brick fireplace and has the servants’ stairs from the corner of the room.”

“It was an ideal family home. We arrived when our sons were around their early teens; they went to Boston Grammar but we are in catchment for a whole range of options including schools in Holbeach and the highly rated grammar schools in Spalding. School buses collect and drop off the children from the village both for primary and secondary schools.”

“The village is so friendly. We couldn’t believe how everyone said ‘hello’ when they walked past! It’s a thriving village with a really nice new community group who are planting bulbs and clearing boundaries, various activities go on in the village hall such as coffee mornings, pop-in lunches and exercise classes, and there’s a social and sports club where they hold quiz nights and live music, for instance, and a tractor rally in the summer.”

“It’s lovely for walking the dogs here. The pub, which is under refurbishment but due to be completed soon, is at Fosdyke Bridge where a footpath follows the riverbank through Moulton Marsh Nature Reserve - you can walk for miles. The pub is very popular and was a Godsend in lockdown as it provided take-away meals!”

Location

Fosdyke is a small village situated around 7 miles south of Boston, just off the A17, and 10 miles north of Spalding. Not far from the A17, the A16, and the A52, there are excellent road links to Grantham to the west (40 mins), the A1 North at Newark (45 mins), and the A1 South at Peterborough (40 mins) where fast trains to London take around 45 minutes.

The property stands next to All Saints’ Church which was rebuilt in the early 1870s on the site of an older church, the vicarage being constructed just 10 years later, possibly by the same architect, Edward Browning.

Although small, it is a lively community with a village hall round the corner from the property where a number of fitness classes and events take place. There is also a Social & Sports Club called Fozzy's, which has a playing field with football pitch and changing rooms, an enclosed multisport area used for five-a-side football, basketball and volleyball, and a bowling green. There is also a children's adventure playground. A little outside the village, next to Fosdyke Bridge, stands an excellent pub and restaurant, The Ship Inn, currently under refurbishment, and Fosdyke Yacht Haven, a pleasure boat marina and boatyard with dry land facilities for sailing craft. Lovely walks along the River Welland stretch to Moulton Marsh nature reserve beyond which the river meets the River Haven to flow into The Wash. In an area that is an ideal habitat for birds, Fosdyke Wash is another nature reserve even closer by, and Frampton Marsh is an extensive one with a visitor centre only about 5 minutes in the car.

Schools

In an area with a plethora of good state schools including sought after grammar schools, there is a choice of local primary schools with one in Sutterton 3 miles away and another in Kirton 4 miles away, the latter rated Good by Ofsted, with school buses collecting from the village. For secondary education, Thomas Middlecott Academy is in Kirton and the Cowley Academy in Donington, whilst Boston, 7 miles north, has popular grammar schools, The Boston Grammar School (for boys) and The Boston High School (for girls), both rated Good. The property is also in catchment for Holbeach Academy, 6 miles away, Ofsted rated Good, and Spalding’s excellent grammar schools, 10 miles south, with the Grammar (for boys) rated Good and the High (for girls) rated Outstanding.

Services: Mains electricity, water and drainage; oil-fired central heating
Local Authority: Boston Borough Council
Council Tax Band: E
Epc Rating: Exempt
Tenure: Freehold