Trading up, trading down

Trading up: Norfolk. This six-bed tower house once fuelled royal coffers. It was built in the village of Terrington St Clement by a Cromwell supporter in 1657 and was taken as Crown property by Charles II who passed the income from it to his Queen. The early Victorians refronted it and the three receptions are radiant with sash windows. There are fireplaces throughout, one of the bedrooms is perched high in the tower, and there are stables and two barns. Yours for £575,00.
Abbotts, 01328 738111 Photograph: Abotts/Abbotts

Trading down: London. Shed that suburban semi and your dependents and this could be your smart future. It has only got one bedroom so you are spared guests, although you could fit a sofa bed in the open-plan living room. Regents Park and Primrose Hill are just a stroll away, you can walk to the West End without too much effort and you are close to Camden with its market and tube links. Yours for £295,000.
Chesterton, 020 7267 2053 Photograph: Chesterton/Chesterton

Trading down: Suffolk. This former Methodist chapel has now begun a career as a £250,000, two-bed home in the village of Dalham, near Newmarket. Ecclesiastical fancies live on in the form of arched windows and stained glass. A door opens the sitting room on to a patch of garden, meals happen in a separate dining room, while a study could spare you an office commute.
Jackson-Stops & Staff, 01638 662231 Photograph: Jackson-Stops & Staff/Jackson-Stops & Staff

Bargain of the week: Rhondda Cynon Taff. Even by the standards of the Welsh valleys, £49,950 is a good price for a three-bed cottage with Victorian good looks and gardens front and back. This one is on a main road through Tylorstown, a workaday village tucked into glorious countryside near Aberdare and Pontypridd, and needs some cherishing – a new kitchen and bathroom would help. It has central heating throughout.
Darlows, 01443 436445 Photograph: Darlows/Darlows