Champion of poor gives his name to village home

POLITICIAN and champion of the poor William Cobbett rode a horse through the village of North Moreton in the early 1800s for his book Rural Rides.

But he would never have guessed one of the houses would be named in his honour 200 years later.

Cobbetts is a stylish five-bedroom detached property, built in 1995 by Berkeley Homes, and was named by Susannah Stobart when she bought it in 2001.

“I had been living in Wallingford for 10 years before spotting this house and I decided to name it after Cobbett because of his link to this village,” she says.

North Moreton is an historic village with farming origins and is filled with charming old cottages and some fine brick houses along its winding main street.

Situated between Wallingford and Didcot in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the edge of the Berkshire Downs, it is south of Wittenham Clumps and the River Thames. Mrs Stobart, a speech and language therapist, says: “I love the light and the space here, which is perfect for a large family. With a zero crime rate, it is very safe.

“There is a strong community in North Moreton with a lot going on and the locals are very welcoming.

“There is a safari supper coming up involving 70 to 80 people and we have Moreton Cricket Club, known as the MCC!

“We also have an active bellringing group and, of course, the Bear pub, which is renowned for its annual beer and cricket festival. ”

Cobbetts is approached via a gravel drive, part of which is shared with its neighbour.

“It is no way a problem as I can get up to six cars on my drive alone,” says Mrs Stobart. Inside the house there is wooden flooring throughout most of the ground floor. The large dual aspect sitting room has a feature convection open fireplace and French doors to the garden.

The kitchen is fully fitted and leads into the breakfast room.

Both rooms overlook the garden and there are French doors from the breakfast room on to the terrace. There is separate utility room.

There is also a study on the ground floor and a cloakroom off the hall.

On the first floor are four bedrooms, three doubles and one single, and a family bathroom.

The main bedroom occupies the entire second floor and has an en suite shower room and views across the countryside.

Outside there is a detached double garage with two doors and heating and a secure lock-up with its own door to the side.

It is made of brick with timber boarding and a pitched roof and would make an ideal studio. In total, Cobbetts covers 2,400 sq ft and Mrs Stobart says: “There is still scope to build a conservatory on the back.”

She likes to spend time in the south-facing back garden.

“It blooms magnificently from April to June and then again from September,” says Mrs Stobart.

“This area is dog-friendly and there are so many lovely walks. There is also no light pollution, so the stars are very visible at night.”

She is selling up because her children are older and she wants to downsize to Goring.

Mrs Stobart says: “This has been a happy family home for 23 years and it has been great for local schools but now it has become too big for me.

“I won’t be moving far as I love this area of Oxfordshire.”

• Cobbetts is on the market with a guide price of £990,000. For more information or to arrange a viewing, call Warmingham & Co in Goring on (01491) 874144.