Dry run at Cross Guns

A pretty Grade II listed Warwickshire cottage, where a huge effort has gone in to address flooding problems, is for sale through Bigwood Country Homes with a price tag of around £595,000.

Cross Guns Cottage and Heron View, Mill Lane, Oversley Green, near Alcester, is a property where astute buyers will see an opportunity after all the work that has taken place.

The main three bedroom timber frame building dates from around 1540 has a thatched roof and views over fields. The separate one-bedroom Heron View is a guest cottage with offices on the first floor.

The complex, set in about 0.33 acres with a 48ft river frontage to the River Arrow, has been flooded twice in recent times – in 1998 and 2007.

And, perhaps unsurprisingly, that has put off potential buyers.

“Since then a huge amount of work has been undertaken to deal with the issue including installing a discreet floodwall, lifting all the floors and relaying flagstones and tiled floors, lifting the plug points, laying all electrical cables inside waterproof ducts, fitting one-way valves – and on top of all that they’ve done a fabulous job with refurbishing the house to a very high standard with high quality kitchen, surround sound in the sitting room and many other features,” stressedTom Dennes, head of Bigwood Country Homes, based in Stratford-upon-Avon.

“And it is not just a pretty cottage – it also has a one-bedroom guest cottage with two first floor offices above, a large garden room ideal for alfresco entertaining, it is on a large plot, and there are well stocked garden, lawns, workshop and summer house.

“Finally, there are riparian rights on the Arrow for the keen fisherman.”

“And all that for just £595,000. I believe buyers may have overlooked it.”

Cross Guns Cottage retains many period features including a magnificent inglenook fireplace, exposed beams and elm board doors. There are three bedrooms, two bathrooms, fitted kitchen and breakfast room, sitting room, dining room, conservatory, garage, workshop and summer house.

Built in 1999, Heron View (which never flooded) features a double bedroom, bathroom, sitting room open plan to a quality fitted kitchen, laundry room, first floor offices and large garden room. It is currently used for weekly holiday lets.

Mr Dennes said: “It is an absolutely top class property and well placed for shopping and leisure facilities as well as the motorway network.

“Hopefully its flooding issues are now behind it and its wonderful location, high quality refurbishment and conservative price make it highly attractive.

“Many buyers will be, perfectly reasonably, worried about insuring a house which has flooded; NFU not only paid out a considerable sum to renovate the cottage after the last flood, but they also continue to insure the house on normal premiums based on the rectification works carried out”

“I believe interested parties will view it in a new light.”

Bigwood is merging with Birmingham chartered surveyors Curry & Partners on September 1 to create CP Bigwood, the largest independent agency in the Midlands, with more than £2.5 billion of property under management.