St Catherines Road, SO23 0PS

THE PROPERTY Occupying an elevated position in St Catherine's Road, with far reaching views, in Winchester's popular Highcliffe area, this handsome Victorian townhouse is a wonderfully inviting home, combining generous and flexible accommodation with a relaxed contemporary style and some lovely original character.

The current owners have decorated and refreshed the house with considerable care, including repainting the lower front elevation and external steps, creating interiors that feel light, fresh and immediately welcoming. Period fireplaces and other original details remain an important part of the house, sitting comfortably alongside the cleaner, more contemporary finish. The result is a home that has evolved for modern life without losing the character that makes a Victorian townhouse so appealing.

Steps rise up to the ground floor entrance, which opens into a charming sitting room at the front of the house, where a feature fireplace provides an attractive focal point. With the principal family living space situated on the floor below, this room offers something increasingly valuable in a busy household - a comfortable place to retreat, read or relax away from the kitchen. To the rear of this floor is a further room, with double doors, presently providing flexible accommodation as either a bedroom or study, together with the family bathroom.

Downstairs, the lower ground floor has a particularly relaxed and sociable feel. A generous reception room, currently configured as a Dining room, retains another attractive period fireplace and attractive wood flooring, while the kitchen/breakfast room beyond forms the natural heart of the house. Bright and well appointed, there is plenty of storage and preparation space, a range cooker and room for a small table - somewhere equally suited to hurried weekday breakfasts and small informal suppers with friends.

A useful utility room lies beyond the kitchen, accessed via a refurbished Garden room with doors opening directly onto the garden and creating an easy connection between the house and outside space during the warmer months. There is also separate external access to this level from the front. Planning permission has previously been granted to extend the lower ground floor, offering interesting potential for anyone wishing to create still more space, subject to confirming the current status of the consent.

Upstairs are two comfortable double bedrooms, both with built-in wardrobes, with one also benefitting from an en-suite WC, with plans drawn up but not actioned by the current owners to convert into an ensuite shower room.

Outside, the south-facing rear garden is private and fully enclosed, making it particularly well suited to children as well as summer entertaining. A paved terrace provides space for outdoor dining, with established shrub borders, lawn and a useful garden shed beyond.

There is another side to St Catherine's Road that is rather harder to capture in photographs. It is a street with a genuine sense of community, popular with young professionals and those starting or raising a family. Neighbours regularly come together and, during the summer, the road is occasionally closed to traffic for street gatherings and celebrations - a lovely reflection of the friendly neighbourhood atmosphere that exists here.

Combining Victorian character with a fresh contemporary feel, flexible accommodation, a sunny private garden and a notably welcoming community, this is the sort of house that should appeal particularly to anyone looking for a home in which to put down roots in Winchester.

THE PROPERTY: Construction: A late Victorian terraced property over three floors, Lower Ground, Ground and First Floor, and believed to date from around 1880 to 1910 and therefore construction is believed to be of traditional red brick, with painted front elevations, under a tile roof. Overall plot size 0.03 acres. Planning permission was obtained in 2022 for a single storey rear extension and the relocation of existing rear facing windows to rear elevation (Ref: 22/01263/HOU) - the works were not carried out and the PP has since expired. Local Authorities: Hampshire County Council and Winchester City Council

Parking: Permit parking, available via Hampshire County Council, allows for parking on-street in the immediate area. We understand that there is an allocation of two resident and two visitor permits, at c£75pa each, and a book of additional scratch cards.

Services: All main services connected.

Tenure: Freehold

EPC: Band D Council Tax Band: D

Broadband: (Data via Ofcom) Standard Max 16 Mbps Download speed Superfast Max 80 Mbps Download speed Ultrafast Max 1000 Mbps Download speed

Flood Risk: Surface Water - tba; Rivers and Seas - very low. Schooling: The property falls within catchment for All Saints C of E Primary School, The Westgate School, and Peter Symonds 6th Form College, each of which are within walking distance. Nearby independent schools include Winchester College, St Swithun's, King Edward VI and preparatory schools such as The Pilgrims' School, Twyford School and Prince's Mead.

Location: St Catherine's Road is one of the most popular and sought after roads within the Highcliffe district of Winchester, with the highly regarded All Saints CofE Primary school being just along the road Residents and families gather together several times a year when the road is closed and all come out to socialise.

Highcliffe is a popular family location, being ideally situated for access to the town centre, as well as having Winchester's main line station within good walking distance. The historic town centre with its wide range of shops, boutiques, cafés and eateries and public houses are nearby. Further entertainment and interest can be found in the river walks, St. Catherine's Hill (for which there is an enviable roof top view from the top floor bedroom). Winchester's Theatre Royal, Everyman cinema, many museums and the city's stunning Cathedral.