Welcome to The Brow.
The Brow is a beautiful Georgian house in Overton-on-Dee. The origins of the house date back to the 16th Century with the more recent additions in the 1820s added to capitalise on the outstanding views across the River Dee valley (see below).
The house was home to Charles Darwin’s sister, Marianne Parker, and Charles spent many weekends and holidays at The Brow. Charles entrusted his dog to Marianne when he left on the Beagle, but it unfortunately died and was buried in the garden.
The house itself is situated on the edge of the village with 5 minutes walk to the corner shop and local pub in one direction, and walking straight into the countryside from the other direction. There are 5 acres of gardens, including an ‘edible forest’ and kitchen garden with plentiful fresh fruit and vegetables available and free to pick all summer (asparagus, plums, apples, pears, quince, figs, tomatoes, leeks etc). When the weather permits, there is an outside seating area for up to 20 people overlooking the Dee valley. The two lawns are ideal for croquet, football, cricket and kick the can.
The outstanding views from the house in the different seasons.
There are 7 bedrooms in The Brow: three double rooms with en suite bathrooms, three further twin rooms, and one small single room. The twins and single rooms share a large family bathroom. There is a large open plan ‘farmhouse’ style kitchen, a traditional dining room that sits up to 16 people, a traditional drawing room with a Bechstein grand piano and open fireplace, a snug TV room with a wood-burner and a second TV room in what was the old library. A further old kitchen has all necessary washing and drying facilities. There is a table tennis room in the old arched cellar. The house is full of rustic charm.
Additional facilities in the village include a playground, a tennis centre, bowls green, library and two pubs. The village shop stocks all the basic needs and can be contacted in advance for any specific requests. Delicious, locally baked bread is available, and fresh, award-winning local meat and vegetables can be purchased from the butcher opposite or one of the farm shops: Home Farm (2 mins drive) or Lewis’ Farm Shop (5 mins drive). There are three large supermarkets in Wrexham, the local town, ten minutes drive away, with free delivery if ordered online in advance. All the basics, eg salt and pepper, will be provided.
Overton-on-Dee is situated in Wales on the border with England. It is approximately 1 hour drive from Liverpool, 1¼ hours from both Manchester and Birmingham, and 35 minutes from Chester and Shrewsbury. To the East lie the Cheshire plains, and West is Snowdonia. The stunning town of Llangollen in the foothills of the Welsh mountains is 20 minutes drive with outstanding walks, activities such as canoeing or white water rafting on the River Dee, quirky second hand shops and the Corn Mill pub. Mount Snowdon itself under 1½ hours drive through the stunning Welsh Cambrian mountain range, accessible to climb in a day, as well as Surf Snowdonia, Bounce Below and Zip wires.
If requested well in advance, fishing on the River Dee can be arranged. Also, a local historian can be booked for guided tours to Roman Chester, the famous Shrewsbury battlefield sites, Chirk castle and other stately homes (a list of the options can be provided – some places are open to the public, others can be arranged for personalised tours).
The Brow main house seen through the edible forest (in winter)
Being on the east bank of the River Dee, it should technically be part of England, but Eleanor of Aquitaine, wife of Henry II, gave the area to the Welsh in around 1160s. By this time, Overton was a thriving village and the wide streets were for the weekly sales of sheep and cattle and the market stalls. Overton hosts one of the Seven wonders of Wales, 21 Yew trees of which one is dated as over 2000 years old.
Walk down to the River Dee through the woods
The house itself is Grade II Listed and well furnished. Home-made signature jams and wild garlic pesto are also available.
