The former watermill is a stone building that stands in the hollow of a small wooded valley. A stream flows beside it, giving structure to the grounds. You reach the property via a tarmacked country lane that slopes down to the valley. You enter the grounds across a little bridge suitable for motor vehicles. This bridge edged with fencing painted white. Just beyond it, there is a circular driveway for turning back around. First, an outbuilding comes into view. It stands out for its broad, arched, panelled double door, painted blue and set in an ashlar surround. A flight of front steps covered with terracotta tiles with a patina of time leads up to this entrance door, beside which there is an outdoor wall lamp. The main building has a ground floor, a first floor and a second floor in the roof space. It is crowned with a slate roof with three hipped dormers. The elevations are built of rubble stone and have plain windows. A stream and traces of a former millrace bear witness to the edifice’s original purpose as a watermill. Around the buildings, there are lawns, shrubs and tall trees, including oaks, beeches and a sequoia. This area leads to meadows and woods. Large parking areas have been created outside too. With its remarkable reception hall, professional kitchen and lavatory, the property used to be rented out as an events venue. Its facilities are ready to be used for special events again or they could be converted, for example to increase the liveable floor area or to build an indoor swimming pool.

The watermill

The ground floor
The ground floor is made up of a single room without any partition walls. Square terracotta tiles with red and brown tones cover the floor. Exposed beams run across the ceiling. A lounge is centred around a straight fireplace built into a wall of stone coated with pale beige plastering. At a lower level, there is a small dining room. It faces the watermill’s old mechanism, which has been preserved in its same place and is made up of metal and timber components. Above it, there is a round millstone kept in place by an adjustment system upon a timber structure. A fitted kitchen lies in an alcove with a work surface and units of pale wood. A window in the thick wall of exposed stonework brings natural light inside. There is a cast-iron wood-burning stove with an exposed vertical pipe. A timber staircase in the middle of the open space leads to the different levels. It is an openwork structure with vertical posts, straight steps and a quarter turn. The balustrade, also made of wood, mirrors this verticality with straight balusters creating space for natural light and views. A honey-tone door of solid wood with black metal hinge strips leads into a professional kitchen at the back.

The intermediate level
There is an intermediate level with a large room that has white-plastered walls and two wooden-framed windows beneath an exposed lintel. These windows offer beautiful views of the natural surroundings. Honey-toned wood strip flooring extends across the room. Exposed beams run across the ceiling, which is clad with strip panelling.

The first floor
The first floor has three bedrooms, two of which are in a roof space. It also has a bathroom and a lavatory. The rooms are clad with strip panelling. Exposed stonework forms some of the walls. They also have French-style beamed ceilings. The original wooden floors have been preserved, but they are today covered with unfixed squares of carpet. The bathroom, adorned with floral wallpaper, and the main bedroom both enjoy a south-facing position.

The second floor
The second floor is made up of two large spaces in the roof. The sloping attic ceilings up here are fully clad with warm-toned wooden strips. You can also see exposed roof beams here. The side walls are adorned with vertically striped wallpaper in pale tones. The flooring is made of melamine boards beneath a fabric covering. There are several beds – some are single beds and others are double beds. The facade-side windows bring natural light inside. The layout is open, with no noticeable partitioning and with the presence of a staircase and its wooden balustrade.

The outbuilding

The outbuilding is the entry point for reaching the watermill. It stands at the back and is crowned with a gabled slate roof. It has an elevation of granite rubble. At the front, the walls are almost windowless. There is just one tiny window. Clusters of hydrangeas and evergreen shrubs flourish at the foot of the walls. At the back, the appearance is contemporary. The rear looks out at a court paved with evenly sized slabs.

The garden-level floor
Inside, the reception hall has a capacity for around 180 seated guests. Its vast open-plan space is L-shaped and bathed in natural light from glazed walls of broad panes that take up the entire breadth of one elevation and extend the interior out onto the terrace. The indoor layout is simple and fluid, without any partition walls and with a slightly raised level. You can move around this reception hall very smoothly. Its floor is adorned with large terracotta tiles laid evenly. Their reddish tones contrast with the pale hues of the walls. The exposed beams of the roof frame punctuate the room up to the roof ridge and bring out the true spaciousness of the hall. The glazed walls offer clear views of the surrounding meadows and woods, which blend seamlessly into the plot of lawns and shrubs around the buildings. There is a monumental fireplace made of reused stone in the hall too. It is in working order. It adds to the hall’s character and can be used for supplementary heating. Near the entrance, there is a lavatory room with a washbasin and two toilets. Two doors lead into a professional kitchen, which vehicles such as catering vans can also reach from behind. This kitchen includes a range of equipment, including a triple-door refrigerating cupboard, a gas cooker with an in-built oven, a freezer and a refrigerator.