For its size, Eye Manor, near Leominster in Herefordshire, has the most gorgeous series of CharlesII interiors in England. Here is plasterwork as overflowing in richly sculpted fruit and flowers as carvings by the great Grinling Gibbons. It gets better: over the past 20 years the late owner, Margery Montcrieff, laid out an intricate, inventive and enchanting formal garden that almost vies with Sissinghurst in Kent. Best of all, the price of £1.5 million is no more than that of many Georgian terraced houses in London.

Eye Manor was bought in 1937 by Christopher Sandford, founder of the Golden Cockerel Press; it was the childhood home of his brilliant son Jeremy, author of the ground-breaking TV play Cathy Come Home, which highlighted the plight of the homeless.

The peace of the English countryside is all around the house: gently rolling fields and orchards as far as the eye can see. The immediate setting is perfect, too, with a 12thcentury parish church on the edge of the front lawn, screened by a magnificent undulating yew hedge reminiscent of a giant seated lion.

The entrance front has the air of a country rectory, with welcoming warm red brick in a simple Classical portico. Only the double gable ends hint at the grandeur within. The deep ceiling panels of the hall are adorned with swags and garlands, as if the house is amid some splendid celebration. And Eye Manor's builder had reason to celebrate: a rich merchant, Ferdinando Gorges, bought Eye Manor in 1673, proudly recording its completion date over the entrance with the date 1680 and his initials joined with those of his wife, Meliora Hilliard.

Every room on both main floors retains spectacular plasterwork. The hall opens into a monumental staircase lit by a pair of large arched windows and with a massive walnut balustrade. To one side is a panelled dining room with a blind window painted with a colourful scene of a sugar plantation. Ferdinando and Meliora's coats of arms emblazon the ceiling.

You can entertain in the large drawing room, inviting your guests to spy the scenes of Hercules and the Hydra, Diana hunting a stag, and a lively spaniel which has just flushed a wild duck. Next door is a cosy family drawing room, while after dinner you can retreat upstairs to enjoy another glass of wine in a first-floor parlour presided over by the figure of Bacchus astride a barrel. Richest of all is the boudoir over the entrance, where Meliora could gossip with friends beneath a ceiling of winged cupids.

The tour of the garden begins with a gravel walk edged by spheres of clipped box and deep herbaceous borders. To the left, the eccentric Victorian church tower makes an imposing eyecatcher. To the right is a garden room formed of neatly pleached lime trees inset with rows of square windows. Beyond is the maze formed of clipped yew 7ft high. Next comes a knot garden with curving box hedges interplanted with herbs, followed by a miniature mount with a grass walk circling up to a terrace. A pergola walk is flanked by box-edged beds filled with ornamental grasses. At the end, a grotto is overlooked by a balustraded terrace. Urns, water basins and handsome stone paving complete the picture. Near by, a circle of box rings an oak bench wrapped round an ancient mulberry tree.

The paved garden behind the house, planted with interlocking diamonds of box, cleverly deflects the eye from the one drawback: the picturesque farmhouse on one side is in separate ownership. The farmyard beyond is equally cleverly concealed, this time by a delightful trellis garden with low stone walls and a pavilion roof, allowing you to continue eating or sitting outside during a shower.

Fast facts

What you get: Grade I listed CharlesII house in nearly 4 acres of glorious gardens. In all, 10,885 sq ft.

Where it is: Six miles from both Leominster and Ludlow, 18 miles from Hereford.

Where to eat: La Bécasse, and Mr Underhills , both in Ludlow.

Price: £1.5 million via Knight Frank, 020-7629 8171, knightfrank.co.uk

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