Poetic idylls of English country life rarely come sweeter than at Garmelow Manor, in Staffordshire. This is a modest manor house, upon which imagination has been lavished by three outstanding artists: Arnold Machin, the sculptor who fashioned the Queen's head on our postage stamps; his wife Patricia, a flower painter; and their architect son, Francis. It is after Francis Machin's sudden death, aged 57, last year that the property is being sold by his executors. For the sum of £1.75 million you can acquire 30 acres that are well on the way to becoming a little kingdom of their own, utterly peaceful and secluded in rich farming country where hedgerows are thick with fine trees.

Arnold Machin created a magical garden full of intriguing vistas and sculpture behind his cottage at Offley Rock, Stafford, but the family was attracted to Garmelow by the handsome redbrick farm buildings that form an enclosed courtyard behind the early 19th-century house. On one side is a large millpond, now an ornamental lake overlooked by a boathouse with a pavilion and veranda.

Francis Machin was a brilliant designer of garden buildings. He also had an unerring eye for place-making. Delightful garden seats overlook the water, including one with a trellis front like the ace of spades. Machin father and son created an astonishing fountain with water bubbling out of a pebble dome and racing in rivulets down a series of giant scallop shells and boulders. In front, a lively topiary garden borders the water.

Garmelow Manor is a hymn to objets trouvés of both country and technology. Grass grows through old ploughs. Urns and statues abound. A blue Mercury telephone booth (they were designed by Francis) looks across to a Second World War jeep, while in a garage is a massive Rolls-Royce Merlin engine (which powered Hurricanes and Spitfires) which he was restoring to working order. One run of farm buildings has been repaired and repainted as an art gallery, opening on to a conservatory overlooking the pond. Opposite are studios for resident artists - all part of Machin's tribute to his father.

In front of the house is a lawn ringed by mature trees and shrubs. The house is built in the warm orangey brick typical of Staffordshire, with an early Victorian wing with tall sashes announcing lofty ceilings within. You enter a hall with an imposing oak staircase. On either side is a cosy dining room and a library with a grand coral-pink drawing room at the end of a pretty corridor filled with light from a large bay window. The real centre of the house is the lofty kitchen at the back with a ceiling bristling with hooks for hams. It's lit by an enormous triple sash, providing the best outlook anyone could wish for while doing the washing up. (And you really must buy the large handsome Welsh dressers on either side.)

Garmelow has the service areas for a serious country cook and gardener, with a large north-facing larder, and laundry, boot and flower rooms. Upstairs there are four main bedrooms, with two more in the attic where a large unfinished train layout will give many people ideas. A self-contained flat has two further bedrooms.

This is a place which invites a change of lifestyle, a commitment to country life, to living off the land and even to forming a small community of artists or craftsmen. Holiday lets would be another possibility. A family can lead a Swallows and Amazons existence, yet young children remain secure in the farm court. There can be few houses of this size which have so many pleasant places to sit, read, chat, enjoy a glass of wine or picnic, both out of doors and under cover.

Fast facts

What you get: Grade II listed 19th-century manor house in more than 30 acres; six double bedrooms (one en suite), flat, two studio cottages, gallery, two conservatories, large enclosed farm courtyard, ornamental lake with boathouse.

Where it is: Eccleshall 2.5 miles; Stafford 10; Birmingham 38; London 152; M6 (Junction 14) 7. Stafford is the nearest railway station, with trains to Manchester and London.

Area: Main house 7,386 sq ft. Further accommodation in two cottages. Gallery and barns.

Best schools: Adam's Grammar School, Newport; Shrewsbury School and Shrewsbury High.

Price: £1.75 million

Contact: Savills , 01952 239500 or Strutt & Parker 01743 284200

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