Victorian style on three floors : Shropshire Star:

The open-plan reception, living and dining room makes the most of exposed oak flooring and timbers Although Dr Chris Harrison’s Much Wenlock home has bags of space as well as character, he spent his first year there restricted to the top bedroom while he worked on the rest of the house.

Walton House on Barrow Street, Much Wenlock, is a chocolate-box dream of a home.

Although Victorian, it was actually built on the site of a medieval dwelling, the cellar of which forms part of the house. An adjoining garage - which could be converted (subject to planning permission), is also medieval and it still has its original inglenook fireplace and range.

These days Chris can enjoy every inch of the house as it has been renovated, reconfigured and improved to a high standard.

Chris ensured that all his painstaking improvement works did not interfere with the home’s original period features, which include cabinets, exposed oak flooring and timbers. Its original doors have been stripped and polished.

As he now wishes to downsize to another property in the town, he has put the three-storey Walton House up for sale through Lane Fox of Bridgnorth for £495,000. (Details correct at time of publication - November 2006).

The picturesque house has an open-plan reception and family living room and dining room, sitting room, breakfast/living kitchen, four bedrooms, four bath/shower rooms and a cellar.

There is parking along the side of the property for three small cars, a garage which could be converted, an outside wc and shower and large rear garden.

The Victorian Walton House in Barrow Street, Much Wenlock Outside, a door from the kitchen leads out into the rear garden and to the outside wc/shower. Near the house is a paved seating area and the remainder of the large garden is predominantly lawned.

There is a vegetable patch at the top of the garden. The garden, which also has apple and pear trees, is protected by a brick wall and mature hedgerows.

Chris, who has a PhD in Healthcare and Information Technology and is originally from Hereford, bought Walton House two-and-a-half years ago. Its last owner had been an older person. Chris said the house was wallpapered throughout and “very tired” and he was keen to quickly stamp his own mark on the place.

Chris knocked down a wall between two front rooms to create the attractive open-plan front family living/dining space . He replaced a gas fire with a reclaimed Victorian fireplace and replaced a further fireplace with shelving.

Behind this room is the main sitting room. Here Chris again has replaced a fireplace with a reclaimed Victorian fireplace. Behind this room is the family living breakfast/kitchen. Chris knocked down a wall in this area to open it up.

It also has an exposed feature brick wall and high ceiling. The kitchen has an electric Aga range, Aga cooker hood and Aga boiler, freestanding and oak units with granite worktops, plus a Belfast sink.

Upstairs in a front bedroom Chris painstakingly removed paint from its original oak floorboards by hand. He also found its original Victorian fireplace which had been boarded up. Next to this is a single bedroom at the front and at the rear is another double bedroom, (with en suite added by Chris) and a family bathroom.

The family kitchen/living room has an electric Aga cooking range Chris took some of the space from the original family bathroom in order to make way for the new en-suite bathroom. He also lost a fifth bedroom in order to allow for the extra en-suite room, but the house still has lots of space.

Another staircase leads up to an attic double bedroom, from which great rooftop views can be seen. Next to this is a spacious en-suite shower room/dressing room.

Chris has improved the property, including the garden, one stage at a time. He has decorated it in warm period colours, which help give it its wonderful warm and welcoming atmosphere.

He said: “It’s a lovely friendly house. It’s very comfortable to live in and work from home. It is a lifestyle house - lovely at night, because it is so cosy. Much Wenlock has a good community and the neighbours are friendly.

“I personally think it is an ideal town house without being a town house, because you’ve got parking and the garden. I’ll very much miss living in the house but it’s too big for me.”