With grounds of one acre, Apsley House is certainly in a very generous plot for its location, which is tucked away in Edgbaston, in Wellington Road.

But it is believed that the house was surrounded by even more land and was a small-holding before the gentrification of the Calthorpe Estate.

Although the date of the house is uncertain, the architecture is principally Georgian.

Grade II-listed, it has many splendid features, with the rear sections of the property being mellow brick and more obviously Georgian. The front has stucco elevations in the Regency style.

It is beautifully proportioned with large sash windows surrounding a dramatic portico with four square columns and two impressive fluted Ionic columns.

Crowned by a deep cornice and classical balustrading, this entrance was designed in the mid-19th century by well known Birmingham architect Charles Edge.

In addition to the main residence, the property includes a coach house which provides garaging in addition to a useful cottage above.

This would be ideal for dependant relatives, staff or guests, or it could be used as a home office or leisure suite.

Rooms are set out over two floors inside the house.

It has a reception hall with moulded ceiling cornice and a diamond patterned original floor of slate and Bath stone.

Radiating off it are three reception rooms, all of them with attractive moulded ceiling cornices and fine fireplaces.

The drawing room is situated on the south west corner of the house and has a French door to the side terrace.

The library has a wide projecting bay window to the front, while the dining room features two large recessed archways and has a glazed door opening into the orangery, which is also accessed through a study. This orangery was built by Amdega in 2008 and is more than 20ft in length.

It has a tiled floor and windows that give a panoramic outlook over the grounds. Bi-folding doors open out to the west terrace.

Off an inner hall is a traditional butler’s pantry housing original cupboards, drawers, shelves and glass fronted china cabinets together with oak work surfaces and a wonderful copper sink.

Next to it is a cloak room with toilet and storage for coats and boots.

There is a cosy family/sitting room off the kitchen which makes an ideal playroom or TV/games room.

Formerly part of the servants’ quarters, it still has the original butler’s bell board. Built into the recesses by the chimney are original pine storage cupboards and drawers. The kitchen has a quarry tile floor and painted purpose- made kitchen furniture including glass-fronted cabinets and solid beech work surfaces.

A tiled inglenook houses the dual fuel AGA Range with twin electric ovens, grill, slow cook oven and six-ring gas hob with griddle.

There is a Neff integrated fridge and freezer and a Siemens integrated dishwasher.

In the generous cellars, there is a central hall and an interesting semi-circular room underneath the portico. Two large principal rooms feature cold slabs and a large number of wine bins.

At the heart of the house is the first floor central landing with moulded ceiling cornice and a substantial central lantern that has an ornate leaded window and provides an abundance of natural light.

The master bedroom is on the south side overlooking the front gardens. Its fine ceiling has two central beams and deep moulded cornices. The room also has a pretty cast iron fireplace with polished slate hearth.

Off this is a smartly refitted en suite shower room and a dressing room with a range of fitted wardrobes and storage cupboards.

There are four further bedrooms, three of which have fitted wardrobes.

They are served by a modern shower room and a large family bathroom.

Outside there is a brick herringbone patterned courtyard with tall garden walls draped with a number of well established climbing plants including hydrangea, ivy and winter jasmine. Electronic gates separate the courtyard from the main drive.

The courtyard offers access to The Coach House. On the ground floor it has a good- sized reception hall. The rest of the accommodation is on the first floor and includes a living/dining room, a fitted kitchen, a double bedroom and a bathroom.

Also in the courtyard are a range of outbuildings.

The first of these is a storage area/dog kennel which leads through to the laundry/boiler room. Next door is a gardener’s toilet and a workshop with storeroom over.

The main coach house building includes a single garage with arched timber doors, a good-sized garden store and a second garage area that can take three cars.

Apsley House is set well back from Wellington Road behind a tall brick garden wall capped with stone copings.

There are two entrances to the plot, the first one through electrically-operated wrought iron gates with intercom system set between two impressive pillars.

A driveway leads up towards the house flanked by deep areas of shrubbery with laurels and rhododendrons and a wide variety of trees including yew, cherry and pine.

It splits into a section leading into the courtyard and another to a parking and turning area.

The principal lawn leads away from the front of the house and is surrounded by deep shrubberies and trees including two large beech trees.

There is another formal lawn on the west side of the house, and a York stone terrace providing a lovely seating area which can be reached from the orangery, drawing room and study. This part of the garden is enclosed by tall walls.

On the south side of this lawn there is another seating area on a small York stone terrace with a rose trellis backdrop and borders planted with heathers, lavender and other shrubs.

Adjacent to here is a small orchard where the lawn is interspersed with wild spring flowers and a number of fruit trees.

A productive kitchen garden has a large fruit cage and further areas of lawn.

There is an excellent utility area with a brick built compost bins and a second vehicular entrance leading to a skip bay set behind large timber doors. This unusual feature allows access for a lorry to drop a garden skip which can be collected when necessary while otherwise being tucked away in a sunken area of the grounds and hidden from the road behind doors.

Numerous gravel paths wind through the acre of grounds.

VIEWING INFORMATION

AGENT: ROBERT POWELL

TEL: 0121 454 6930

WEB: www.robertpowell.com

GUIDE PRICE: £1,995,000