From Hampshire to Oxfordshire: picture-perfect village homes within a 60-minute commute of London

Of all the sounds of summer, the thwack of leather on willow is perhaps the most quintessentially English.

The cricket season begins this month and as the whites come out, those looking on nostalgically from their London homes might be tempted into the country to sign up for the local team… and a house move.

It’s all about community says Lindsay Cuthill, head of estate agent Savills’ country department. “There has to be a community if you are going to get a team of 11 people willing to go out and play, and then their partners get involved, and the people who come and watch.

“There is something seductive about a lovely summer evening and all these people in their whites playing cricket on the green. It is why people want to go and live in the country in the first place.” And of course, a fine country pub is essential for that first pint lifted to the victor.

The other benefit with homes beside the village green is that they are central. “I think there is a sense of security about having neighbours, and you may be close to a village shop or even better, a pub,” says Cuthill. “Some people leaving London are rather nervous about living at the end of a muddy lane.”

Cuthill believes a home on a village green can be an excellent investment. “If you had a house in a village worth, say, £675,000, I think people would pay £750,000 for an identical house on the green. I think people would pay a premium for the privilege.”

What’s on the market?
The Cooperage, in Eversley Cross, near Hook, in Hampshire, is a Grade II-listed beauty. This four-bedroom timbered house on the fringes of Eversley cricket ground, a lovely family option, is for sale through Waterfords for £825,000 (visit waterfords.co.uk).Trains from Crowthorne station, three miles away, take just under an hour to Paddington, with an annual season ticket from £3,752.

Bewley Homes has just launched Hartley Row Park, new homes minutes from the cricket green in Hartley Wintney village, Hampshire. Houses start from £370,000 for two bedrooms; from £475,000 for three bedrooms, from £575,000 for four and £999,000 for five bedrooms (visit bewley.co.uk). From Winchfield station, less than two miles away, trains take just under an hour to Waterloo. An annual season ticket costs from £3,916.

Villagers at Shamley Green, near Guildford, keep Surrey’s cricketing tradition alive with games on the green. For £395,000 you could have a front-row view in a comfortable, pretty two-bedroom cottage on the green, for sale through Hamptons International (visit hamptons.co.uk). Trains from Shalford station, less than three miles away, take from 47 minutes to Waterloo, with an annual season ticket from £3,524.

At Chiddingfold, near Godalming in Surrey, Follies Farm, a mini country estate, is for sale for £10 million through Hamptons International (as before), and includes a mellow brick six-bedroom main house, two substantial cottages, plenty of barns and outbuildings, and its own private, floodlit cricket ground, complete with changing and tea rooms. Trains from Haslemere, five miles away, take from 55 minutes to Waterloo, with an annual season ticket from £3,980.

Minton House, in the hamlet of Peppard Common near Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire, is for sale through Knight Frank for £2.45 million (knightfrank.co.uk). This Edwardian house in almost an acre overlooks the village green and cricket pitch. Trains from Reading, six miles away, take from 29 minutes to Paddington, with an annual season ticket from £5,024.

A classic thatch, The Old Forge, dating from the 1690s, is opposite the village green at Thruxton, near Andover, Hampshire, where cricket is played in summer. The Grade-II listed cottage is also handy for the village’s two pubs. Thruxton is getting a new shop/post office later this year.

The Old Forge is for sale with a guide price of £575,000 through Strutt & Parker (struttandparker.com). Trains from Andover, seven miles away, take just over an hour to Waterloo — annual season ticket from £4,616.