Sweeping past the gate lodge at Hunton Court, I was almost brought to a halt by dozens of baaing baby lambs crowding the drive. Don't worry, they needn't delay you as the house has north and south parks, each with its own drive.

For your £5.5 million you get not just 110 acres of mature parkland peppered with fine trees but the home of a Prime Minister - Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman - which retains the character of a Edwardian stately home. The service courts are highly picturesque, with the stables and coach house in lovely pink and black chequer brick. This is the ideal place for an extended family who want to live close together.

The present owners are downsizing after more than half a century of contentment in the house, which lies just southwest of Maidstone, Kent. It would be hard to fault the quality of the greenery in the immaculate grounds, but the interior - especially the bathrooms and electrics - could certainly benefit from some environmental attention. The grand 1848 front of the house is a touch quirky, as one of the matching bay windows has been pushed round the corner so that it catches the sun throughout the day. The pale oatmeal stone is set off by a golden stone balustrade running round the top. To distract the eye from the asymmetry, a porch with large sash windows has been added: just the kind of place you expect to be stocked with croquet mallets.

Inside, marbled columns add a flourish to the hall. On the right is a very pretty Victorian drawing room, with delicate wall paintings. Behind this is a beautifully proportioned morning room with an intricately carved Victorian white marble fireplace. Next door, a pretty garden hall opens on to a paved garden and swimming pool.

Your big decision is whether to continue the present kitchen-in-dining room arrangement, or revert to the Edwardian system of a rather distant kitchen serving the large bow-windowed dining room to the left of the hall.

The toplit staircase in the centre of the house opens on to a broad corridor with short flights of steps rising to bedrooms at different levels. The windows in the main bedroom touch the floor, so you can have breakfast in bed looking out over the lake with a view to distant hills.Though there is a slight shortage of bathrooms, the bedrooms all have exceptionally good outlooks over different parts of the garden.

The big surprise comes with the attic. Over the back of the house is the almost complete timber roof of a 14th-century great hall, a full 12m (40ft) long with four king posts rising from tie beams now hidden in the floor. With vision and flair, this could become the best room in the house, and the most secluded.

WHAT YOU GET: Grade II listed manor house with five reception rooms and eight bedrooms, extensive domestic offices, coach house and stables

WHERE IT IS: Four and a half miles from Maidstone, ten miles from Tunbridge Wells; 38 miles from London

PRICE: £5.5 million through Knight Frank (01732 744477)

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