In an Oxford Country Garden
Oxford, a city steeped in tradition which runs deeper than its ancient walls, with history and heritage at every turn, attracts people from all walks of life, from all over the globe.
With a population of approximately 140,000, Oxford is certainly one of the most captivating cities in the UK and without a doubt the most intellectually charged, so it’s little surprise that 1 in every 5 people in Oxford is a student.
Living in Oxford however with the quaint streets swarming with tourists and students can be a tad frustrating at times which is why people looking to settle in the area lean towards the delightful villages that surround the city.
Philip Turner, Director of Thomas Merrifield, one of Oxfordshire´s largest independent estate agents with high profile offices across the county explains the wisdom of choosing a village rather than the city centre,
“We are seeing an increased demand for homes with large gardens as more buyers seek to move out of Oxford city centre in search of a quality lifestyle within which to bring up their families. For instance a new development built by luxury home builders, Millgate is attracting great interest at the moment. Each of the four country houses in the boutique Rothermere Place development benefit from gardens in the region of half an acre but each has individual characteristics.
“In Rushton House, the show home is set in mature gardens born out of the original grounds and contains stone Italianate balustrades. Kingsley House and Hertford House both have particularly extensive gardens to the rear that are ideally suited to family use and Latimer House has gardens to three sides to enable creative landscaping. All gardens have large patio areas for home entertaining, gazebos and are fully turfed and planted. With a woodland backdrop this is a stunning setting. Prospective buyers have been very impressed to find a brand new home with such generous gardens!”
So how important is having a garden today?
In 2007 Mind published a report on the benefits of gardening and being outside for assisting with mental health issues. Horticultural therapy is well-established in the UK across a variety of health and social care specialisms with more and more people picking up gardening as a hobby and reaping the benefits of improved ‘vigour’.
Working in your garden also builds strength, endurance and flexibility. Simple tasks such as edging, raking the lawn, pulling weeds and planting seeds all use major muscle groups. And finally there is stress reduction; Horticulture Therapy found that just viewing nature can have stress-reducing benefits. Gardens can be planted with stress reduction in mind using soothing colours and scents and studies have found that working the garden helps the recovery of sickly and ailing people.
Indeed a recent survey from the Yorkshire Building Society found that having a garden was a top priority for first time buyers. Owning your own patch of greenery ranked above all other drivers – even above transport links or proximity to restaurants.
Jonathan Cranley, Sales and Marketing Director at Millgate, comments on the important of gardens to each of their luxury new developments,
“All too often with new build homes, the developer will cram as many houses as possible on a piece of land. We take a view that we want our clients to live in a perfect house in a perfect environment and to achieve this goal we try and ensure our houses have some as much land as possible.
“We employ a Chelsea Flower Show award winner landscape. As we have done at the houses at our latest development at Hinksey Hill. With half acre gardens they are truly fabulous and offer a generous amount of space for all the family to enjoy.”
Accessed via a private Lane, Rushton House at Hinksey Hill is a superb three storey, five bedroom, arts and crafts style detached house set in half an acre plot of mature gardens.
Designed for modern family living, the perfectly balanced floor plan divides the formal rooms on one side with the more relaxed rooms on the other. There is an elegant drawing room with high ceiling, a limestone fireplace and French windows onto the garden terrace. Of note is the magnificent kitchen/family room that extends the full length of the house with an orangery flooded with light while an informal dining area off the kitchen offers views over the garden.
Upstairs the expansive master suite provides a serene sanctuary featuring a walk-in fitted dressing room and luxurious en-suite, along with a large private timber decked terrace. Also on this floor is the guest suite and a further two double bedrooms and family bathroom. On the second floor bedroom five has its own en-suite shower room, whilst the large media room offers flexibility of use.
Rushton House is priced at £2,300,000. For more information contact Millgate on 0118 934 3344 or visit their new look website at www.millgatehomes.co.uk.