Norwich Road, Holt

The Property

5 Norwich Road is a stunning detached Grade II Listed six bedroom Georgian family home, located in the centre of the popular market town of Holt and a short walk from the town's excellent amenities. With accommodation extending to over 3,000 square feet, this very special property has been creatively and beautifully restored by the current owner, retaining many of the original features with wooden floor boards, original fireplaces, wood panelling, exposed beams, flint and brickwork, solid panel wooden shutters and sash windows and outstanding joinery.  The property offers flexible accommodation, which could either be used as one or divided, separating the main part of the house and the adjoining cart shed.  The main part of the house offers well-proportioned rooms throughout, set over three floors. The ground floor comprises a drawing room, a sitting room, a kitchen, a second sitting/dining room in the cottage, a utility room and a cloakroom.  On the first floor are two double bedrooms with a family bathroom.  On the second floor, in the eaves are three interlinking rooms, with a staircase at either end.   The cart shed, has its own front door to the side and leads off the kitchen, with a dining/sitting room on the ground floor and two double bedrooms and a bathroom on the first floor.  

As you step through the front door, you enter an impressive entrance hall with floor to ceiling wooden bookcases on the right and a glass door at the far end, leading out to the garden.  The dining room on the right is a perfect room for entertaining, with a window to the front, a magnificent original fireplace and mantle adorned with "witch marks" from the 17th Century, a wood burning stove, and a staircase that leads up to the first floor.   Opposite the dining room, the drawing room is similarly spacious, with a window facing the front, a woodburning stove and a staircase leading up to the first floor.  

On the ground floor, there is a utility room, with a handy lift designed to bring washing down from upstairs.  There is also a cloakroom, with a hand wash basin and loo.   

The kitchen is full of character with brick flooring, an exposed brick and flint wall, bespoke wooden cabinets, a butler sink, an integrated dishwasher, Rangemaster five burner gas cooker, oak worktops and bespoke full height built-in cupboards with an integrated fridge freezer and shelving.  This leads into the cart shed dining / sitting room, which is flooded with light coming through the bifold doors looking over the garden and has painted wooden floorboards and plenty of space for a large dining table at one end and sofas each side of the woodburning stove at the other.  This splendid room has its own front door, accessed from the side of the building.  A staircase leads up to the first floor with two fabulous double bedrooms, each beautifully styled, with windows overlooking the garden and a stunning bathroom with a free standing bath, large walk-in shower, hand wash basin and loo. 

The first floor of the main house can be accessed from either end of the landing, from staircases leading up from the dining and the sitting room.   On the first floor the landing radiates elegance, with beautiful wooden floorboards, bespoke built-in cupboards and a dressing area, accessed through stunning Indian doors.  At the far end of the landing is the elegant Principal Bedroom, with a window facing the front, a built-in wardrobe, fire place with a woodburning stove and a staircase leading up to the attic.  Bedroom Two is also beautifully styled with an original fireplace, a built-in cupboard and window facing the front.  The family bathroom has wood panelling, a rolltop bath, hand wash basin, loo and large walk-in shower.  

The third floor has three interlinking rooms, in the eaves, with original beams and staircases at each end leading down to the first floor.  These would work perfectly as two bedrooms with a snug in the middle to relax in.  

The building was, for many years, known as The Carpenter’s Arms public house. The earliest records record the name of the landlord as Jonathan Loynes in 1836 although it is almost certain that the building had been an ale house long before this date. The main house is predominantly Georgian although likely to comprise an earlier core. Originally the building may have been much lower with a ground floor and rooms in the roofspace similar to the adjacent cottage. The house has evolved over time with the upper floor, kitchen, stable and cartlodge being added at various points in the life of the building. There are records stating a cellar existed in the 1849 but was absent in the sales particulars dated 1878. To date no cellar has been found but it may well be beneath the dining room.

Several elderly local residents fondly recall drinking in the Carpenter’s Arms and have summed up the place as ‘A rare ol’ drinkin’ hole’!

Outside 

Bifold doors from the Cart shed go out to the lovely garden, which is entirely walled and features a brick and flint wall on one side, mature raised beds, and a pond and pergola in the centre. The garden has double gates at the back that lead out to the side. The additional outbuildings include a coal shed and a stable, which are now being used to store garden equipment and tools.  

The current owner has permits for the church carpark opposite.