This former rectory for sale is “one of the most distinctive” houses in the village and has open countryside views. 

Church House, in St Arvans, was built in the 1880s as St Arvans Vicarage, funded by public subscription and Queen Anne’s Bounty, a scheme meant to assist the poorer clergy of the UK. 

The Church of Wales sold the vicarage in 1994, under the covenant that its name be changed from St Arvans Vicarage.

The property includes various “notable” architectural features, such as tall red brick chimney stacks and Bath stone dressings around the windows. 

Inside, there are further period features, including high ceilings, Victorian cornicing, traditional doors, picture rails, and original fireplaces. 

Entering the property, the porch leads into a hallway with a tessellated tile floor, a fireplace and an oak staircase. 

There are three reception rooms, including a formal dining room with a stone fireplace and French doors to a terrace. 

Next to the dining room is a drawing room, also featuring French doors and a stone fireplace, and a snug, which has a built-in bookshelf, a large sash window, and a cast iron fireplace. 

At the centre of the ground floor is a kitchen area which includes an electric AGA cooker, hand-built cupboards, and a walk-in larder, and is open plan to a family dining area, with a Victorian cast iron fireplace. 

Completing this level are two utility rooms, a conservatory with garden access, and steps down to a wine cellar with a barrel roof. 

Upstairs, there are five double bedrooms, including a principal suite with a built-in wardrobe and an en-suite bathroom. 

The other bedrooms offer River Severn or Itton Court views, plus Victorian cast iron fireplaces, and the smallest bedroom is thought to have once been the servants’ quarters. 

There is also a family bathroom, a separate WC, and a boarded attic, which could provide space for further accommodation. 

Outside, the grounds span more than an acre,with traditional gardens, an orchard, a vegetable patch and a terrace. 

There is also a hard surface tennis court, a paddock and a potting shed, plus original Victorian outhouses and a coach house. 

The property is for sale by Fine & Country for a guide price of £1,500,000. 

The agent said: “A quintessential Victorian vicarage, five-bedroom Church House sits in private, mature grounds of just over an acre on the edge of the Wye Valley village of St Arvans, enjoying uninterrupted views over open countryside to the rear.

“This handsome and substantial, stone-built former rectory is a rare find, particularly for those who love period properties with original features. A much-enjoyed and well-cared-for family home, it now comes to the market for the first time in 40 years and for only the second time as a private home.”