Gillian and Dave Clifton wanted to move to a house with an annex so her parents could relocate - and the only suitable property available was a three-storey, seven-bedroom period townhouse. It's next door to a house that's haunted by a Victorian servant, but they didn't let that bother them.

They bought it and, although they have loved living there, it is now far too large for them after her father died and her mother went back to Scotland.

Since they moved into the house, in Goschen Road, Carlisle, nine years ago, they have concentrated on maintaining the original features and enhancing them with period-style decor. And luckily, there's been no sign of the ghost.

Gillian, who works as a style advisor at the Mint Velvet franchise in the city's House of Fraser store, said: "We moved in on the same day as the people next door and heard a story that just before the property was sold, some of the fireplaces were being removed by the vendor.

"He was in there on his own when he heard a child’s voice over his shoulder, a loud clear voice stating, ‘The master burnt my hand in there’. After hearing that, I didn’t ask if they had investigated – I just hoped they didn’t have any window open so it could skip from one house to the next!"

The house dates back to the late 1880s - the Cliftons have the deeds showing that the land was first purchased in 1884 - and is chock-full of period features such as fireplaces, ceilings and cornicings, skirting boards, stained and leaded glass and bay windows. The Victorian staircase is there as is the original servants’ bell board in the kitchen.

Gillian said: "It’s made out of wood and printed on it is RM Hill and Sons, Castle Street, Carlisle, so it must have been manufactured in Carlisle. It doesn’t work as there are no bells in any of the rooms. When we purchased the house there was an obligation that it was passed on the next buyer – nothing legally but just by word of mouth for the past 100 years."

There is a small front garden to the property with driveway parking for two cars. The back garden is large but low maintenance with shrubs, patios and pebbled areas. At the top of the garden is the three-bedroom ground-floor annex with connecting doors to the back of the house and sliding double doors to a paved area in the garden.

Gillian said: "That was the beauty of the annex for my parents, being completely self-contained but with these connecting doors."

In the main house, the entrance porch hall with original glass leads into the large hallway which also has period features as well as a cloakroom. There is a sitting room with marble fireplace and large formal drawing room with an oak-framed fireplace with tiled inset and gas fire.

The breakfasting kitchen has integral appliances, a breakfast bar and walk-in pantry.

"That's probably my favourite room," said Gillian. "That’s the room I spend most time in. We’ve got an Aga which keeps it warm all year round and it’s such a cosy and sociable room. You tend to find your way to the kitchen and not find your way out until two or three hours later.

"Dave’s favourite room is probably the drawing room in the front of the house. It's decorated in red paint with a red carpet and it’s so period, it’s almost as though you’re going back 100 years when you’re in there. The bay window looks out on to the trees opposite and it’s just such a lovely room."

Tree-lined Goschen Road is a private street and also a no-through road, so is very quiet. "It’s very residential and it’s a great location because we’ve got St James Church at one end and the bowling green at the other," said Gillian. "It’s a 20-minute walk into town so it’s lovely when the weather is fine."

The first floor of the house has three bedrooms, the master with en-suite facilities, and both this room and one of the other first-floor bedrooms have picture rails, coving, fireplaces and bay windows. The bathroom is on this level.

"There are four bedrooms in the upstairs part of the house but one we have as a games room, one we have as an office, one as a large storage room and one as a bedroom," said Gillian.

"This is the part of the house that’s really open to people coming in and stamping their own mark on it.

"There's just Dave and me rattling around in it now so it’s far too big for us but it’s just a beautiful home, we don’t really want to leave. However, it’s not realistic for just two of us to be living in this house, and it’s such a shame for the house as well because it would make such a fantastic family home."

Goschen Road, Carlisle, is for sale at £415,000 from H&H King, tel. 01228 810799.