Agent’s Details

Barlaston Boatyard is undoubtedly one of the most outstanding canalside homes on the entire canal network, and its private dock is a much admired landmark on the Trent and Mersey Canal. The property has been in the hands of the current owners for 26 years. No effort has been spared in creating their perfect home, carefully planned for comfort and lifestyle. The house is wonderfully presented, and many of the rooms feature hand built bespoke units, locally made from ash and oak. The owners are now looking to hand the Boatyard on to new owners who will respect its heritage as they have and cherish and care for it for decades to come. The oldest part of the building at the front was erected as a joinery workshop and smithy for the boatyard. It was converted to form a substantial cottage in 1926. The rooms throughout the house are pleasingly spacious with good ceiling heights and large windows. The property has been substantially extended to the rear by the present owners, creating a comfortable and elegant home perfect for canal enthusiasts and narrowboat owners.

All measurements are approximate and provided for guidance only.

Hallway

The front door opens into a wide and welcoming hallway with stairs rising to the first floor. To the left is the study, to the right is the kitchen, and straight ahead is the sitting room. The staircase leads up to the first floor landing with a view over the canal.

Study

4.10m x 3.96m

To the left of the hallway is the study, an excellent home working space fitted with a substantial bespoke oak desk, with matching storage and shelving. There are views to the front towards the canal.

Kitchen / Breakfast Room 

5.64m x 4.26m

To the right of the hallway is the kitchen breakfast room, the heart of this delightful home. The beautiful deep blue Stanley range is powered by gas and is used for cooking, to heat water, and to supply heating. The kitchen is beautifully fitted with polished ash units and a huge corner larder fridge. In the bay window is a practical bespoke hand built table surrounded by matching bench seating. This is the perfect place to enjoy a leisurely breakfast, taking in the views over the front terrace and the canal. A door leads on to the fabulous garden room.

Garden Room

6.55m x 4.60m

The magnificent garden room was completed in December 2017. It is usually kept open plan to the sitting room, but optionally it can be separated off by closing the concealed sliding doors. The garden room is framed in green oak, vaulted, and extensively glazed. It enjoys impressive views of the private dock and the canal beyond. A door leads out to the walled garden. Remote controlled venetian blinds are built into the double glazing providing fine control of light and shade. Solar powered electric Velux windows add to the light bathing the room and provide ventilation. They even close automatically when it rains. The owners pair the bespoke table and chairs in the garden room with the matching set in the kitchen, to enjoy some really special meals here with family and friends.

Sitting Room

6.87m x 6.02m

Passing through the hallway you come to the gorgeous sitting room which is usually kept open plan to the garden room, creating a wonderful spacious area for relaxing and entertaining. The focal point is a large inglenook fireplace and stunning wood burning stove with an Ecoboiler back boiler which can heat the whole house. A huge window seat beneath large picture windows looks out over the walled garden and the lawns beyond. The ceiling beams were rescued from the original blacksmith’s workshop and restored to their present beauty.

Cloakroom

A small lobby off the hallway leads to the cloakroom and the utility room. The cloakroom benefits from a toilet and a matching basin with a light-hearted fishy theme.

Utility Room 3.43m x 2.54m

The large utility room is a practical space for laundry, featuring a butler’s sink, and space for a washing machine and a tumble drier. It also provides an extraordinary amount of storage with bespoke floor to ceiling ash units. The walls are half tiled in bright pastel colours. A door leads out to the private courtyard driveway.

Boot Room

Beyond the utility room is a large boot room, ideal for washing muddy dogs and wellington boots. This room also benefits from a wonderful array of storage units.

Principal Bedroom

4.35m x 4.20m

The principal double bedroom is to the rear of the house with views over the garden. It benefits from a large walk-in dressing room with plenty of hanging space.

Bedroom Two

5.65m x 3.14m

Bedroom 2 is a large double bedroom looking out over the canal to the front and side. This bedroom features built-in fitted wardrobes and a dressing table, with pastel canal themed paintwork.

Bedrooms Three 4.29m x 3.13m and Four 3.83m x 3.11m 

(Guest Suite)

Bedroom 3 is a large double bedroom, looking out over the canal to the front. This room also features built-in wardrobes and dressing table. A door leads on Bedroom 4, currently a large twin bedroom. The present owners use these two rooms as a guest suite for visiting families, using the separate upstairs shower room to provide private washing facilities. The additional bedroom could be used in many other ways, for example as a nursery, a craft room, or a second home office space.

Bathroom

The spacious bathroom is beautifully fitted with a bath, built-in basin, toilet, and tall built-in storage units. An airing cupboard houses a Dunsley Neutraliser, which connects the three heating systems in the house, i.e. the Stanley back boiler, the wood burning stove in the inglenook, and the solar panels on the south facing roof which provide an additional source of hot water.

Shower Room

The separate shower room enjoys a walk-in shower, a built-in basin, and a toilet.

Parking

Approaching the house from Boatyard Lane, remote controlled bespoke wooden gates open into the property. To the front there is an extensive York stone parking area. 

Gates to the right lead around to the rear of the property and the large workshop, which provides potential for additional parking and garaging.

Covered Area

3.70m x 3.24m

On the left of the house the large arched double doors once led to a blacksmith’s smithy. This entrance now provides a useful covered area.

Courtyard

The arched entrance leads on to a private enclosed courtyard driveway paved with York stone, and beyond that a fantastic garage and workshop.

Water Gardens

Outside the sitting room there is a manicured walled garden enhanced by unique water features and a beautiful brick moon gate. 

Lawned Gardens

Beyond the water gardens the extensive law wraps around two sides of the house, extending to almost 3/4 acre. The garden extends up a gentle slope, with original reclaimed lock gates provide decorative features. In the spring the dock area and the lock gates are surrounded by a sea of flowering bulbs.

Garage 

6.28m x 3.89m

The garage was built by the present owners. There is an independent gas boiler to heat the garage, controlled by a thermostat. 

Studio 6.15m x 3.90m

Stairs lead up to a versatile first floor studio. There is potential to convert the garage into an annexe subject to planning permission.

Workshop

6.07m x 2.01m

A workshop to the side of the garage offers a practical working space with an extremely well organised separate workshop to the side.

Workshop / Barn / Stable 

11.05m x 5.93m

Behind the garage, entered via a connecting door, the owners have built a 700 square foot drive-in building, which is currently equipped as a joinery workshop and a three bay timber store. This building is steel framed and well insulated, with automatic roller shutter doors. Vehicles can drive round to this entrance via a disguised reinforced driveway at the edge of the lawn. Sixteen solar panels on the roof of this building provide a good electricity supply. This workshop would be ideal for any private use, such as restoring vintage vehicles. It could easily be adapted to create a fantastic barn or stable. As with the moorings there is currently no planning permission for any commercial activity at the property, and you should make your own enquiries in this regard.

The Moorings

The spectacular brick-lined private dock is accessed via a gate from the driveway to the front of the property or via the garden. This dock provides generous mooring space for two narrowboats. It was rediscovered and excavated by the owners, and was restored to contemporary standards with piling and armco edges, surrounded by brick paving and secure mooring bollards. The dock is perfect for narrowboat owners, with a mains water supply, an electricity supply, and a dedicated tank nearby for boat fuel. The water in the dock is controlled by a set of stop planks with a bespoke crane to raise the stop planks as required. Note that the Canal & River Trust does not require a mooring fee for boats moored in the dock, representing a substantial saving over waterside or marina moorings. A valid boat licence would be required to cruise on the canal. There are also strong piled in-line moorings all along the frontage of the property with space for two or three boats, ideal for visitors or temporary stays to load and unload boats, or to launch canoes and rowing boats. A single permanent mooring here for a powered boat would require an application to the Canal & River Trust and if granted would be subject to payment of an end of garden mooring fee. There is currently no planning permission or CRT permission for any commercial activity at the property, and you should make your own enquiries in this regard.