The Green House, St Briavels

Why we love it

St Briavels is one of the loveliest villages on the English bank of the Wye, perched high above the river with a medieval castle at its heart. The Green House has been part of village life for around five hundred years. It began as a farmhouse in the early 1500s, and the current owners have restored it with obvious care, keeping the character that makes it special while bringing it comfortably into the present.

The result is a house full of stories. Ornate moulded beams from the 16th century still span the ceilings of the dining room and the principal bedroom. Old panelled doors keep their original ironwork, and there are open fireplaces, elm and oak floors, and a stone-vaulted cellar beneath it all. Even the attached barn has a history: it was once the village blacksmith's shop, and the chimney of the old forge still stands.

Inside

The house is arranged over three floors. On the ground floor, a drawing room and a dining room sit either side of the entrance hall, both looking over the front garden and both with fireplaces. A few steps lead up to a farmhouse-style kitchen with a range cooker set into a brick-arched recess and French doors to a sheltered, south-facing courtyard. A laundry room, a side hall with plenty of storage, a shower room and a small study complete the ground floor, and a door from the kitchen leads straight into the barn.

The first floor holds the principal bedroom, with its Tudor beams, en suite and views over the village and countryside, together with a second bedroom with a window seat, walk-in wardrobe and its own shower room, and a family bathroom with a freestanding bath. Under the roof on the top floor, two further bedrooms with exposed timber trusses, a bathroom and a galleried room that works well as an office or snug complete the picture.

Outside

The gardens wrap around three sides of the house and are laid out as a series of separate rooms, punctuated by clipped yew, holly, box and bay. A walled courtyard off the kitchen catches the sun and offers real privacy. Behind the house, a broad lawn with deep borders and specimen trees leads to a kitchen garden of raised beds, and a raised seating area at the far end looks west across farmland to the Wye Valley and the Black Mountains beyond. A wisteria clothes the front of the house in May, and a former pigsty now makes a charming sitting area. There is a generous driveway, a woodshed and room for cars in the barn.

The setting

St Briavels sits on high ground between the Wye Valley and the Forest of Dean, with its castle, church, village pub and a strong sense of community. Offa's Dyke Path passes close by, and the riverside at Bigsweir and Brockweir is a short drive down the hill. Monmouth and Chepstow are both within easy reach for shops, schools and stations.