A five-bedroom cottage situated on the outskirts of one of Suffolk’s most famous seaside resorts has come up for sale at a guide price of £675,000.

The property, located on the outskirts of Thorpeness, is one of several terraces known as Shellpit Cottages, which were built in the 1870s on the instructions of Margaret Ogilvie.

They were originally built as a TB recuperation hospital, after Margaret Ogilvie and her husband, railway engineer Alexander Ogilvie, lost a son to the disease.

East Anglian Daily Times: A five-bedroom cottage has come up for sale on the outskirts of Thorpeness in Suffolk at a guide price of ?675,000A five-bedroom cottage has come up for sale on the outskirts of Thorpeness in Suffolk at a guide price of ?675,000 (Image: Bedfords)

East Anglian Daily Times: The sitting roomThe sitting room (Image: Bedfords)

The couple, who lived in London, bought Sizewell House as their holiday home before extending its reach to over thousands of acres, from Dunwich to just outside Aldeburgh. They later renamed it Sizewell Hall.

Their son, Glencairn Stuart Ogilvie, inherited the estate on their death and set about turning the area into unique holiday village, complete with the Meare, which comprises 60-odd acres of shallow waters and ornamental gardens, a selection of mock-Tudor and Jacobean-style homes and the famous 'House in the Clouds'.

To this day, Thorpeness remains one of only two purpose-built holiday villages in the UK.

It’s thought that the buildings forming Shellpit Cottages were once part of a laundry used by the estate. By the 1930s, the village had become a resort and the cottages partitioned off to create seven separate homes - including one occupied by the estate’s groundskeeper and his family.

East Anglian Daily Times: The kitchen/breakfast room is modern and well-fittedThe kitchen/breakfast room is modern and well-fitted (Image: Bedfords)

East Anglian Daily Times: The kitchen features a fireplace with a woodburner and plenty of room for diningThe kitchen features a fireplace with a woodburner and plenty of room for dining (Image: Bedfords)

Today, the cottages are still tucked away at the end of a long sandy lane and surrounded by heath and woodland. While they are still under ownership of the Ogilvie estate, the land is managed by the RSPB and all is just a short walk or bike ride from the centre of the village.

Many of the cottages are let out as holiday lets – which seems particularly fitting, given the location and history – and this five-bedroom cottage, for sale with Bedfords, offers the potential for that, too.

It’s constructed of traditional brick and flint and is arranged over two floors, including a sitting room with an open fireplace and a well-fitted kitchen/breakfast room, complete with its own walk-in pantry and a fireplace housing a woodburner.

East Anglian Daily Times: The study area has a mezzanine level above it, which is accessed by a ladder-style staircaseThe study area has a mezzanine level above it, which is accessed by a ladder-style staircase (Image: Bedfords)

To the rear of the property there is a back hall with a door to the garden, as well as a utility area, shower room and a family bathroom.

Beyond this, there is a study which has doors to the garden and a vaulted ceiling, which allows it to have a unique mezzanine level, accessed by a ladder, and two distinctive bunk bedrooms.

East Anglian Daily Times: The property has a walled garden at the rear, with patio doors leading into the library/studyThe property has a walled garden at the rear, with patio doors leading into the library/study (Image: Bedfords)

East Anglian Daily Times: The garden is enclosed by a traditional brick and flint wall with woodland and heath beyond itThe garden is enclosed by a traditional brick and flint wall with woodland and heath beyond it (Image: Bedfords)

Elsewhere, the first floor offers three double bedrooms and an en suite shower room.

To the front of the property there is an allocated parking space and to the rear a private walled garden with a lawn, terrace and herbaceous borders. Amenity land is shared with neighbouring homes.

For more information, contact Bedfords.

PROPERTY FACTS
Thorpeness, Suffolk
Guide price: £675,000
Bedfords, 01728 454505
www.bedfords.co.uk

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