Manor Holding Byre

Main

Manor Holding Byre is a sympathetically converted, Grade II Listed, small mixed stone and brick barn thought to have been rebuilt in brick on earlier stone foundations in the Victorian period and restored following a fire at the end of the last century. Whose historic charm is enhanced by traditional brick detailing to the walls, external stone stair, exposed King Post style oak roof beams, and brick paved floor. The Byre is elegantly proportioned and detailed with hand made brick of an almost glowing, naturally mottled warm orange colour. It forms an integral part of this Grade II Listed group of historic farm buildings and is fully protected under that designation.

The Byre is naturally warm and full of sunlight, as all the numerous windows have high performance double glazing, and walls and roof are well insulated. Seemingly randomly positioned windows punctuate the west gable, flooding the interior with light each evening. White painted walls, and invisible under-floor central heating reinforce the light and warmth.

It faces in two directions, south onto the parking yard, and north into an ancient orchard, with views over a small rural valley to the rear. The medieval parish boundary hedge follows the seasonal stream in the bottom of this valley.

Upstairs the Byre has one twin bedroom overlooking a, probably neolithic, ridgeway, now a long distance footpath (Abberley and Malvern Hills Geopark Way). This bedroom is accessed via an external stone stair.

Downstairs there is a full height living room, with kitchenette and wetroom shower/toilet off. It has been restored using appropriate materials including matched handmade brick, natural stone, green oak and old clay tiles, in keeping with it's original character. Handmade oak casement windows and doors complement the style of the original adjacent cottage windows. While the ‘upcycled' stripped pine shower room door is original to the cottage.

Smoking: We ask that guests refrain from smoking inside the Byre.

Main Living Room

This bright and airy room provides the spacious character of a small baronial hall, as it is open to rafter level and features traditional oak structural king post roof beams. The white walls reflect light from the many windows.

The dining table seats 6, while the leather sofabed and rocking chair provide after dinner comfort in front of the wall hung flat screen TV.

Overhead built in bookcases reach toward the high ceiling. (Ladder available on request for the more agile)

The living room looks over the top orchard, the fenced garden seating area, and your own private parking. More distant rural views can be glimpsed through the trees of the old medieval parish boundary in the bottom of the valley.

Living Room Character

The greater part of the byre is taken up by the full height living room, featuring traditional baronial hall style oak roof timbers, including principle rafters and king posts.

At night a black iron chandelier is supplemented by traditional iron wall bracket lighting. While the massive gable wall is punctuated by randomly distributed, and sized, deep window embrasures, between recessed bookcases disappearing into the gloom of the roof void, each lit by a swan necked picture lamp.

By day the room is brightly lit by the numerous but variously sized windows both north and south, including opening casements at a comfortable level, giving views over the upper orchard (SSSI), and ant hill field, whose mature far hedge marks the medieval parish boundary.

The floor is paved in robust, easy to clean, herringbone pattern clay brick, heated with invisible under floor central heating. A room thermostat / timer allows precise temperature control 24 hours a day (6 time zones per day).

A 2 seater leather sofa bed (makes a single person bed) faces the view over the orchard and the TV in the corner.

A sturdy dining table, with bench, window seating and two dining chairs, stands between kitchenette alcove and the main sitting area.

Character

Manor Holding Byre is an elegantly proportioned small barn, built of hand made brick of an almost glowing, naturally mottled warm orange colour, well over a century ago on the foundations of a previous stone building. It forms an integral part of this Grade II Listedgroup of historic farm buildings, and is fully protected under that designation.

Its historic charm is enhanced by traditional brick detailing to the walls, external stone stair, exposed King Post style oak roof beams, and brick paved floor. Seemingly randomly positioned windows punctuate the west gable, flooding the interior with light each evening.

Inside the Byre is bright and airy due to the numerous hand crafted oak framed windows and Velux skylights, the full height ceilings and white painted walls. Leather bound and more recent books fill large alcoves overhead, reaching up among the massive oak beams and rafters of the roof. Lower down wrought iron wall bracket lamps, and iron candelabra create a more intimate ambience at night.

Super insulated floor, walls, and roof together with high performance double glazed windows throughout; and invisible underfloor central heating ensure the Byre is always warm and welcoming in winter, but cool and comfortable at the height of summer. A south facing roof covered with self cleaning photovoltaic panels minimises its impact on the global climate.

Robust furniture and herringbone pattern brick flooring maintain the byre's practical character and make cleaning straight forward, even after muddy boots and dogs.

A single leather sofa bed in the living room is provided for wheelchair users, with level access to all facilities.

WiFi and boosted mobile phone signal are provided internally, via overhead cables from the main house, which enjoys a direct fibre optic connection(FTTP).

The main entrance faces south onto the compact farm yard carpark, but it has more windows facing out over the upper orchard behind, with glimpses across the valley, to the old parish boundary and fields beyond.

The Byre's twin bedroom is on a mezzanine floor overlooking the main living area and accessed separately up an external flight of stone steps. Outdoor mobile phone reception is usually available from the landing at the top of this stair, which overlooks the ancient long distance ridgeway footpath, now known as the "Abberley and Malvern Hills Geopark Way" and linking Roman Gloucester with Mercian Bridgnorth.

Rustic seclusion is the characteristic that strikes most people first about Manor Holding, as it is located 100m off a rough forest track (max recommended speed 10mph), half a kilometre from the nearest country lane.

Manor Holding Byre stands in 2ha (5 acres) of wild flower grassland and ancient orchard, won from the forest before the Roman invasion, and rich in wildlife including occasional Fallow Deer. It is covered by designations of archaeological interest, and is managed in accordance with a Higher Level Countryside Stewardship agreement in partnership with Natural England. The surrounding forest is home to England's largest Ancient Woodland National Nature Reserve (1455ha, about 3500 acres), and Site of Special Scientific Interest, the latter includes the two orchards by the Byre.

Manor Holding is situated in a scattered hamlet named after the royal forest of Wyre in whose centre it stands. During the Iron Age this hamlet was a thriving small town; and in Tudor times two of England's first blast furnaces stood in the valley below, but now little more than scattered small holding farms and traces of old earthworks can be seen in the neighbouring fields and forest.

This ancient oak forest of Wyre stands astride the River Severn, south of Ironbridge Gorge, subsequent cradle of the Industrial Revolution, and now a World Heritage Site. The beautiful countryside around the forest, much of it classified as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, is rich in other historic settlements and other places of interest.

The forest is laced with long and short distance cycling and horse riding trails as well as a comprehensive network of footpaths, abandoned "tushing ditches" (timber extraction routes), and other ancient hollow ways, connecting right to the door of the cottage.