Important - for 2 bedrooms book 3-4 guests, for 3 beds book 5-6. This comfy, welcoming and well-equipped two-storey side wing of an Adam-style Regency mansion is an easy level walk to the cobbled heart of the town. With riverside walks, the garden centre, abbey, many churches, pubs, award-winning shops plus great choice of daytime and evening dining it’s perfect for exploring, walking, cycling, fishing, golf, the racecourse, sports fixtures, festivals, attending weddings or visiting relatives.
The space
1 or 2 guest booking = king size room only. For 2 guests in 2 rooms, book 3 guests. A 4 guest booking will be two bedrooms by default. For 3 or 4 guests in 3 rooms, book 5 guests. For 5 or 6 guests, simply book as you would expect.
Renovated 2022 with an eclectic mix of mid-century, antique and new furnishings for your comfort, relaxing natural decoration catches the sun and shows off paintings, photographs and needlecraft pictures in the West Wing of Maxwell Place. It has a comfortable living room, one King and one Double bedrooms plus a downstairs garden snug room double sofa bed which can be made up, spacious bathroom with freestanding tub, a unique downstairs WC, garden door, private two-car parking right outside, central heating, Freesat/Smart TV & WiFi broadband.
The south-south-east facing front living room is below the larger bedroom, both 12 x 16ft (4 x 5m). Both these rooms and the second bedroom have working wooden shutters and the bedrooms have full curtains, the living room a sun curtain. The living room has a three-seater sofa and two classic Ercol chairs, a dining table with 4 stowaway chairs and tables ideal for informal eating and games, 2 additional dining chairs.
Next to the living room, with french doors into the sunny private side garden with picnic bench, is the garden snug. It's a lovely quiet room with privacy from the main space. If you look you'll find my personal touch - a small classical guitar, perfect for youngsters as well as adults. If you book for 5 or 6 guests, the sofa will be made up as a 130cm double bed.
The bathroom gets glorious evening sun and is spacious, in a mixture of original vintage and modern repro Victorian, with a freestanding double ended clawfoot tub with shower over, pedestal basin, WC, CH hot towel rail, LED mirror/shaver socket and ventilation through a real fireplace (not for use!).
The main bedroom has its own wash-hand basin and mirror, pine chest of drawers and bedside tables, antique arm chair, antique French wardrobe and terrestrial TV.
The second double bedroom is a cosy traditional room with Stag Minstrel mahogany suite, chest of drawers, bedside tables and a rocking chair. Terrestrial/smart TV with DVD player.
The kitchen is a solid wood white Shaker-style with ash peninsula worktops installed in 1989, refitted in 2022 with new oven and induction hob, new dishwasher and very quiet Bosch washing machine. There is a Miele fridge-freezer, and a breakfast worktop extension with two high bar stools.
The downstairs WC has been given a boutique makeover designed by Ailsa (my daughter) who did all the other redecoration over the top of some colourful but dark 1989 papering. It's next to the downstairs sitting/bedroom and its neat cistern top wash basin makes it ideal for downstairs guests.
There is a traditional kitchen-maid clothes rack, and a warm drying space in the boiler and tank cupboard if clothes need to be washed or dried off (care must be taken not to hang fabrics close to the boiler).
Guest access
The garden door from the snug opens into a wildflower garden which gets shelter and afternoon/evening light - it's the former side garden of the wing, with ferns and wildflowers. The garden does wrap round in front but a net fence to the side garden keeps my hens out and your pet in, and children away from the frog pond and rockery.
Other things to note
West Wing is connected to the main house with a high degree of privacy. A (locked) downstairs passage through remains for my use when servicing the wing. There are two presses in the wing which are locked, they contain cleaning and DIY essentials. The cupboard on the stairs houses the boiler and tank, and may be used for drying coats (avoid the boiler). There is a vacuum cleaner in there if needed. There is a cellar which is locked during your stay, the key is provided for emergency use only (past emergencies have included hiding birthday flowers from a guest's mother!). The main water stoptap for the property is in the cellar and if I need access, I will ask (I do not enter the wing during your stay).
The West Wing door opens directly into the carpeted space with a large door mat and the inside space is not suitable for bikes but I can provide secure storage next door, accessed from the courtyard.
West Wing has direct normally locked access to the large drawing/music room of Maxwell Place. This can be made available for meetings (not parties) of up to 16 people, for a fee by prior arrangement.
