Fantasy house of the month: converted granary, stratford-upon-avon

You really could be Shakespeare in love at Tryst House, in the village of Shottery near Stratford-upon- Avon, where Shakespeare courted his wife in the 16th century. Her childhood home, Anne

Hathaway’s Cottage, is also in the village.  Tryst House was converted into a modern home with enormous sensitivity, to preserve its character and among the period features are timbers, as

you can see from the picture, plus flagstone floors elsewhere.  The owners turned the main part of the old granary into a galleried drawing room with vaulted ceilings and stone fireplace.  A

circular stone staircase leads to a study and sitting room, with views over the acre of informal gardens and a lake surrounded by weeping willows.  There is a vaulted ceiling and fireplace

in the open-plan kitchen and dining room, which also has a handsome cast iron range.  The master bedroom has a dressing room and en suite bathroom, and it is on the ground floor with access

straight into the garden, so you can walk on the dew-covered lawns in the morning.  The second bedroom has its own sitting room and bathroom, and there is a separate cottage in the grounds

which was once a boathouse.  This has a vaulted sitting room, bedroom, dressing room, bathroom and kitchen. It is the perfect property for a fan of the Bard, and the village will celebrate

the 450th anniversary of his birth this month with pageants and processions.  * INFORMATION: Tryst House is on the market at £.1.4million with Knight Frank, Stratford-upon-Avon. 01789 297

735/knightfrank.co.uk