One of the most important houses and gardens situated in the heart of Orford. The Great House, built in the early 1800s, is a Grade II listed property. With views of both the castle and the coast, the house is believed to have been built as a shooting lodge for the Sudbourne estate and was restored in 2017. All the bedrooms are named after East Anglian boats.
The Great House, with the fantastic facilities of Orford on the doorstep, is ideal for memorable extended family gatherings, celebrations with friends, or corporate use for board meetings with a maximum of 12 adults (stipulated by the insurance). With six en-suites (4 x emperor beds with two splitting to twins if requested, and 2 king size) as well as a separate cloakroom downstairs, this premium holiday home would work equally well for six couples. Youngsters and babies are very welcome, the house has both a cot and high chair but please bring your own cot linen. There are loads of indoor and outdoor games to choose fro and a large selection of books for all ages, plus plenty of choice for evening viewing with the Smart TV and Freeview, Netflix and Amazon.
KITCHEN/BREAKFAST ROOM
You’re welcomed into this wonderfully sociable room, ideal for family gatherings with the kitchen opening into the dining area and doors folding back to give access to the patio for indoor/outdoor living in summer months. There’s a farmhouse style table with eight chairs (more can be brought through from the dining room if needed) for more relaxed mealtimes, dressers and shelves heaving with pots, pans, crockery etc., and a writing desk with wicker chair for those wanting to be creative.
The ‘chef’ in the group is sure to enjoy preparing meals in the kitchen with a Fisher and Paykel electric oven with five gas rings and an extractor above, as well as an electric AGA. (If you’d like to hire the services of a private chef please ask for recommendations). Other appliances include a massive American style fridge/freezer, a dishwasher, a Magimix coffee machine (taking standard Nespresso pods), kettle, toaster and Magimix mixer. There’s an additional dishwasher and a chest freezer.
WC
Conveniently off the kitchen/breakfast room, simply with a WC and wash basin.
DINING ROOM
Enjoy celebration dinners in this superb dining room which is conveniently accessed from the kitchen through an arch or through doors from the front and back halls. The expansive dining table with 12 chairs (+ 3 spares) sits in the centre surrounded by antique dressers full of cutlery, mats, napkins etc.
GAMES ROOM
Guests of all ages are sure to have fun playing at the full-sized snooker table or on the slot machine (bring 10p pieces with you!). Beginners can find instructions in one of the drawers which also hold a superb selection of games, cards, a fascinating library of books and, for the musicians, there’s even a guitar and an electric keyboard.
RECEPTION ROOM
The ideal place for memorable times with friends and family - this large light room with its large open fireplace (logs provided) is elegantly decorated and furnished with an eclectic mix of sofas, chairs, tables and dressers, as well as equipped a hifi sound system cross connected from here to the Snug and an interesting selection of CDs to choose from.
SNUG
Sun streams into this more relaxed reception room through floor to ceiling windows to the garden, and has a wood burner for cosy evenings in the winter months. Comfy sofas invite you to sit back and watch the TV (please note that Sky is not provided but DVDs are) and the dresser is stacked with glassware just waiting for bottles to be opened!
UTILITY ROOM
Sitting by the back door giving easy access when you come in with wet beach/sailing gear or a wet dog which you can rinse off in the dog bath! There’s also a double butlers’ sink, a top loading washing machine, a dryer, an extra dishwasher, a fridge, a microwave, and a big chest freezer.
UPSTAIRS
Two staircases rise to the first floor, one from the kitchen/breakfast room to the Loch Long bedroom, the other from the main hallway with a half landing where a desk and little library invites you to sit for some quiet time.
FIRST FLOOR
The main staircase takes you to a landing which wraps around the house, giving access to all bedrooms and the family room through bedroom Merlin Rocket.
WAYFARER
Overlooking the garden with a glimpse of the castle, this room has a king size sleigh bed with chairs either side and storage in a chest of drawers and a large wardrobe. There’s also an armchair and a dressing table with wicker stool.
EN-SUITE JACK AND JILL BATHROOM
Accessed from Wayfarer and from the landing with locks on both doors for privacy. The luxurious free-standing roll top bath is positioned so that you can looking out to the woodland, and there’s a wash basin, a WC and a chair.
FLYING FIFTEEN
At the front of The Great House, this double aspect room overlooks the drive to the front and the orchard to the side. An Emperor sized bed takes pride of place and you can unpack and settle in with a generous chest of drawers, a wardrobe, a dressing table and a couple of chairs.
EN-SUITE SHOWER ROOM
Cleverly designed as an extension off the bedroom, the shower cubicle has both a hand-held and fixed shower heads and there’s a wash basin with a separate door to the toilet giving more privacy.
FIREFLY
The smallest of the bedrooms but equally pretty and original with its quaint desk and chair in a recess. The bed is king size and sits between a chair and a wicker table with space for your clothes in a chest of drawers and a rail with a couple of hangers.
EN-SUITE SHOWER ROOM
The basin sits in the bedroom and the en-suite houses a shower cubicle with hand-held and fixed shower heads, plus a WC.
DRAGON
The magnificent Austrian emperor-sized bed here can be made into twins if you prefer, so please be sure to ask when you book. Due to the weight of the beds they will still be close together. There’s ample storage in a handsome wardrobe with drawers beneath, a dressing table with chair, and a couple of extra chairs to relax in with a good book.
EN-SUITE SHOWER ROOM
Again, the basin is in the bedroom with the WC and the shower cubicle in the en-suite with both a rain and hand-held shower heads.
MERLIN ROCKET
Beautifully furnished and equipped, this grand double aspect room also has an emperor bed with a chaise longue by the window, an ornamental fire-place, a dressing table, antique wardrobe with drawers in the middle, and a seating area by the window – perfect for morning coffee and the newspaper!
ENSUITE BATHROOM
There are steps down and up to this en-suite where the bath sits under the window with a view of the grounds and there’s a washbasin, WC, and shower cubicle with fixed and hand-held shower heads.
FAMILY ROOM
Down two steps from the main bedroom, little guests can escape to this family room with space to play; puzzles, games and books to explore, or the TV for some time-out.
LOCH LONG
An antique French Emperor size bed takes pride of place and can be split into twin beds if requested in advance, however (due to the style of the beds they will be close together). You can unpack and settle in with an armoire, a dressing table and a chair. Sash windows overlook the garden and an open staircase leads down to the lobby off the kitchen/breakfast room.
EN-SUITE SHOWER ROOM
The shower cubicle has a rain and hand-held shower and there’s a wash basin, WC and heated towel rail.
THE GROUNDS
The elegant formal and informal gardens are an important adjunct to the house and can be enjoyed and accessed from the hall, sitting room, and the breakfast room. From the kitchen/breakfast room t there’s a spacious patio area with tables, benches, chairs, and a huge BBQ area which leads to the surrounding garden which includes a wonderful old orchard, an expansive and charmingly planted lawned area with Croquet, Table Tennis or Kubb.
There’s ample parking on the gravel driveway at the front of the house for six cars and a Zappi EV car charging point wall mounted and requiring your own power cable connection. The cost per car for a long weekend stay is £25 and for a week £40.
TESTIMONIAL - Just to let you know we had a fabulous time this weekend. The Great House was wonderful and fulfilled all of our expectations. The group were very impressed.
PLEASE NOTE THAT ONLY ONE DOG IS ALLOWED TO STAY
The property is very much a family home, wonderful for family gatherings and memorable occasions but not suitable for wild parties due to its location in a residential area.
No music is to be played in the garden.
There is a security deposit of £1,000 which will be returned a week after your stay.
Strictly only one well behaved dog is welcome for an additional fee of £25.
You'll find the BBQ clean when you arrive, please leave it as you find it to avoid an additional cleaning fee of £30.
