A large house with plenty of peace and tranquillity. ANDREW HIRST reports

IT has been a loving family home for 30 years. But this imposing Victorian residence in Brighouse is now on the market as its current owners look to make the most of their retirement in North Yorkshire.

Standing in its own grounds – including woodland and a ravine – this semi-detached house is owned by retired civil engineer John Parker and his wife, Pauline, a retired GP.

John said: “It’s been a wonderful family home and a great place to bring up our three sons.

“It just has that warm family feeling the moment you walk in.

“It’s so large it’s great for family occasions, but with so many rooms there are many places you can seek quiet and privacy.

“It’s a house with a great sense of balance.”

This five-bedroomed home has been a place of learning for all three of the couple’s sons have gone on to academic success.

Peter, 28, is a solicitor in Leeds; Jonathon, 26, is a hospital doctor now working in the Midlands and 22-year-old Andrew is doing his Masters degree in Urban Planning and Development at University College in London after graduating from Durham University.

John said: “It will be a wrench for us all to leave the house, especially the boys who have been here all their lives.”

The house backs on to Ravenspring Park, home to Halifax Model Engineers Society – a favourite family haunt over the years.

John, 59, and 58-year-old Pauline – who is a member at St Martin’s Church in Brighouse – are now house-hunting in North Yorkshire and would love to find somewhere near to Richmond, possibly with an orchard and vegetable-growing plot.

Both like walking and are keen to get involved with somewhere that has a real sense of community.

“We are looking for that traditional village life with a shop, a church and a pub,” said John.’

Their current family home, Little Selborne, is less than a mile from Brighouse town centre yet gives a real feeling of being out in the countryside.

It was built in 1890 as home to the owner of a silk-spinning company and split into two houses at around the end of World War One.

It retains many original period features including window shutters, deep skirting boards and cornices.

The sitting-room features a real fire, yet modern has crept into the dining-room with a pebble and driftwood-effect fire inset into the wall.

It has a downstairs toilet with a main family bathroom on one landing and another bathroom right at the top of the house which has two further bedrooms.