Stour Coach House
DEDHAM, ESSEX
A Victorian treasure in the heart of Constable Country
Built after 1868, Stour Coach House once comprised part of the 800-acre Stour House estate.
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Stour Coach House, located in the heart of Constable Country, is set in over four acres of formal garden and natural meadow, and was part of a joint project to fully restore the original Stour House estate. McCabe & Abel purchased the Victorian coach house, transforming it from derelict outbuilding to a dramatic, well-appointed and comfortable family home. Despite being unlisted, the project was carried out with the same care for the building's heritage, for example, using the neighbouring Stour House as inspiration for the reinstated front doors.
The property, which encompasses over 7,000 square feet, includes five en-suite bedrooms, a substantial vaulted drawing room, bespoke Aga kitchen, spacious roof terrace, and showroom garage. The property combines its outstanding natural period features with the amenities of a modern and sympathetic conversion. Accessed via two electronic cast iron gates, Stour Coach House - with a bluebell woodland and considerable outdoor space - offers stunning views over the Dedham Vale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Stour Coach House is listed as a building of note in Bentley & Pevsner's The Buildings of England.
The original Stour House estate, named after Dedham's River Stour, was built in 1868 for landowner and seed merchant William Herbert Dunnett.
The Coach House, alongside a large orangery, was added after 1875. The full 800-acre estate was broken up in the 1920s, and when McCabe & Abel purchased the remaining property, Stour Coach House, previously used to store carriages and house staff, had been vacant for over five decades.
The Restoration
Prior to the restoration, the property had fallen into significant disrepair. The roof was replaced, but internal and external period features - such as the cast iron ceiling beams - were restored to maintain and enhance the original fabric of the building.
