Manor house steeped in history
Eudon George Manor in the hamlet of Eudon George near Bridgnorth is a magnificent Grade II listed manor house which is steeped in history, writes Cathy Stanworth.
Eudon George Manor in the hamlet of Eudon George near Bridgnorth is a magnificent Grade II listed manor house which is steeped in history.
The current home of Stuart Lapper and his wife Angela Vint, it dates back to around 1550 and boasts five star equestrian facilities, including yard, stables, paddocks and manage.
It also has beautiful gardens and lies in a private picture-perfect setting just three miles from Bridgnorth and is surrounded by open countryside. It has around 7.69 acres.
Eudon George was painstakingly restored to its former glory before the couple bought it seven years ago.
As Stuart and Angela now wish to downsize, they have put their home up for sale with Lane Fox of Bridgnorth for £975,000.
This grand, yet welcoming home is packed with surviving original features, including huge original front door, a dog wheel (which would have had a terrier running in it in order to operate a spit in the inglenook), stunning fireplaces, ceiling beams, staircases and mullioned and leaded windows.
The house has an entrance porch, entrance hall, study, sitting room, dining room, kitchen, breakfast room, utility room, cellar, four bedrooms, two second-floor rooms and three bathrooms.
Stuart, who is a retired businessman, and Angela, who owns her own management consultancy business, feel privileged to have owned the house and feel it would be ideal for a family.
Stuart said: "It is a fantastic piece of history and we certainly treat it as if were were just custodians for the next people to own it."
Stuart said that Eudon George Manor was mentioned in the Doomsday book in 1089.
He said: "In 1550 there would have been just two rooms and no first floor. They would have had stock living with them. In 1618 there was an extension and there are, in fact, about three parts to the house."
Stuart explained that as the owner grew wealthier it was the practice to make the house bigger and more ornate. Signs of wealth included mouldings in doorframes.
He said: "In the dining room the (mullioned) window frames actually form part of the structure."
Stuart explained that in the 1950s an architect from Bridgnorth owned the house and farmed cattle there.
The house was then bought in 1984 and sympathetically restored to its former glory.
Stuart said: "It was gutted. They ripped out all the timbers and replaced them and then set about the gardens."
Interesting features in the house include the carpenter's marks in the beams, which showed the craftsmen how to put the frame together.
A doorframe down to the cellars has been cut into in order to allow barrels to fit through.
Stuart said: "The bathroom used to be the strong room and when they pulled the floor up they found old coins."
Stuart added that the property was ideal for people with horses, because of all the facilities. The area is also good riding country and home of the Wheatland Hunt.
Since living there, Stuart and Angela have created the stables and menage. In the house they changed the boiler and put in a new kitchen.
Original oak doors open into the principal reception rooms.
Both rooms have a wealth of exposed beams, and original beautiful, deep inglenook fireplaces with stone surrounds incorporating log burners.
The recently refitted kitchen leads off the sitting room with a range of oak units underneath an Italian stone composite work surface.
A four-oven Aga forms the focal point of the kitchen with an opening off into the breakfast room.
A large utility/boot room and study are located to the rear of the property with a door from the rear hall descending to the cellar.
The old spiral staircase ascends from the rear hall to the first floor landing which gives access to the fourth bedroom and steps down to the adjoining bathroom.
The master bedroom is also off this landing and has a stone inglenook fireplace and door to adjoining bathroom with a traditional white suite and large freestanding cast iron roll top bath with claw feet.
The staircase continues to the second floor where there are two further rooms which could provide further accommodation if required.
A second staircase from the rear of the kitchen leads to a landing with second bedroom and its bathroom off. A further door leads into the third bedroom which also has access to the master bathroom.
The house has its own website to help promote the sale at www.eudongeorge.co.uk. Further details are available from Lane Fox of Whitburn Street, Bridgnorth on 01746 766626.
By Cathy Stanworth
