See our news section for more expert interiors tips, product launches, and luxury travel and property updates The house was built circa 2001 and is inspired by the Arts-and–Crafts architecture of Edwin Lutyens and gardens of Gertrude Jekyll. The location of Chalk Dell House on the edge of Winchester adjacent to open countryside and bounded by a stream at the bottom of the garden, provides a setting that is convenient yet secure and private. Chalk Dell House is an exceptional family home of bespoke design. The accommodation is arranged over three floors with many notable rooms including a stunning reception all off which is a magnificent and large Orangery giving views of the garden. The property is situated next to Abbotts Barton water meadows which is known to be the birthplace of modern fly fishing. George Edward MacKenzie Skues, who fished the Itchen from 1887 to 1938, developed the modern Nymph fly in the ‘Highland Burn’ tributary a few hundred yards from Chalk Dell House. The water meadows were formed by the creation of a drainage system designed and implemented by Dutch engineers in the 17th century. They are now owned and managed by the Isle of Wight Trust and have a full triple SSSI rating. The future owner will be able to continue fishing on the waters through subscription to the Abbotts Barton Fishery. Adjacent to the Orangery is the dining room. The drawing room opens on to a terrace overlooking the formal raised lawn area. The kitchen/breakfast room is a welcoming hub to the house and gives a covered access to the outside and annexe accommodation. The annexe accommodation includes a small flat, games room and leisure complex including gymnasium, heated swimming pool with a fully retractable roof, sauna and steam room. See:Grade II listed Georgian property on prestigious street in Dulwich for sale The garden design makes extensive use of specimen trees and shrubs to create an environment that has matured to provide the property with screening in a peaceful, secluded setting. The house and gardens are bounded by trees and hedging on three sides with a small stream at the lower end. Around the house the garden is divided by mature yew hedging into a number of ‘rooms’ each with a unique design inspired by an existing design of Gertrude Jekyll taken from a number of National Trust properties around the south of England. The quarry where the property stands is many centuries old, demonstrated by the presence of Roman and Saxon relics unearthed during its construction. The quarry was actively worked into in the early 18th century, when two thatched cottages built with its chalk from the were used as staff accommodation for nearby Abbotts Barton House – they were then converted into a single house in the 1960s. The presence of chalk meant that the building remained damp, so when Chalk Dell House’s creator bought the property in 1998 he demolished the property to start again. In 2002 it was re-built on a raised ground level to reduce the risk of flooding. The house is on the market via Knight Frank for £4,295,000. You can view the property here (opens in new tab).
