"We've had a wonderful few days, enjoying Dorset's beaches in lovely sunshine and relaxing in this fantastic house."

Situated in Bridport, The Chantry dates from circa 1300 and is the oldest secular building in this charming Dorset town. It is believed to have originally served as a primitive lighthouse and toll collection point but became a chantry, or priest’s house in 1362, when a new chapel in the local church was built.

Features that remain from this era are a piscina in the arched alcove of the romantic main bedroom and a rare pigeon loft on the top floor, which would have supplemented the priest’s income but now gives a delightful honeycomb effect. Following Edward VI’s dissolution of the chantries, the building was converted to residential use.

The simple attractive lime washed walls of the interior are complemented by furniture of the Arts & Crafts movement of the early part of the 20th-century.

The Chantry is ideally placed for family holidays, exploring the Dorset coast and rolling countryside immortalised by the works of Thomas Hardy.