This is a home where music is played, where children grow up and where, visiting as a guest, you will sit on the sofa and lose the thread of a conversation as you gaze out of the window watching the sun setting behind rooftops on the other side of the green.
'To escape Canterbury and have a rural life' was the reason for the owners coming here; 'with a young child village life was something we wanted'.
Leave Canterbury by car and you feel as if Chartham is upon you before you've gone anywhere, yet, perched on a sofa in this sitting room, Canterbury feels like it is a million miles away.
It is that sense of escape from everything yet connection to it all we love.
A beautiful City full of history is on the doorstep, a train station to Charing Cross moments away and you can change train at Ashford to join the High Speed to St Pancras for a total journey of just one hour. Head East and one stop brings you into Canterbury West Station.
Footpaths meander through glorious countryside on the edge of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, walks and popular cyclepath take you along the river Stour, jump in a car and you can be walking West Parade in Hythe around thirty minutes later.
Looking toward the playing field and Chartham Village Hall, The Shop on The Green is a simple walk away from this home. There is a bus service that connects you to Ashford and Canterbury. A primary School is located at Shalmsford Street where a newsagent and a Premier Stores manage to be both close enough if needed and far enough away if not. Doctors surgeries are on hand.
On Rattington Street, within a seven hundred year old timbered building you will find The Artichoke. Back in the 1650's one Richard Marsh turned it into a brew house before going on to found Shepherd Neame, our country's oldest brewer.
By The Green stands the Grade I Listed Church of St Mary, with thirteenth century origins. It is understood to have some stained glass dating back to 1294! The church also houses one of the oldest brasses in the country, that of Sir Robert de Septvans.
Nearby, this cottage sits within a conservation area, the garden facing the green was once allotments for these former millworkers' cottages. Those of a certain age may remember the name of Wiggins Teape, tracing paper was made here in Chartham for many years.
163 feet (49.68m) of garden leads from the sitting room door to the boundary wall by the green. Many an evening has drawn the owners, drink in hand, outside to enjoy the evening sun. The open-plan gardens foster a sense of community here, village life is very much that, so much so, this move will keep the owners within the village, somewhere they love.
Inside the home this cottage is all that you expect, lovely rooms, a simple layout and a feeling of having been cared for. That top room is a fun one, the temporary partition easily removed if you want a more open feel.
There are surprises outside. The rear garden, from where you will approach the home, is approximately 68' (20.73m) and provides tandem parking for two cars. The owners love the hot tub (available by separate negotiation (the hot tub, not the owners)) and its proximity to the back door means it gets used more often than many do.
Working from home is a part of life for many people so the office in the garden is a huge bonus as is a great selection of storage sheds. Private access to the side of the house means you can move items and people from front to rear without going through the cottage.
You will enjoy discovering this home and you will love finding all the things this area has to offer, so much that will 'Make Life Special'.

Get in touch if you like this home.