A historic enclave in downtown Suffolk will hit the auction block next week, and the final open house is set for Thursday.

John and Nancy Faircloth raised three children in the 5,200-square-foot home at 227 Pinner St. A gated circular driveway, extensive landscaped backyard and multiple outbuildings, including a carriage house, lend the impression that the home is somewhere besides downtown Suffolk.

“It’s like you’re gone into another world,” John Faircloth said this week, giving a tour of the property. “You don’t hear anything.”

The stucco home was called a cottage when Col. John Beauregard Pinner built it in 1922 for his son and daughter-in-law, according to Tranzon, the auction company. Pinner was founder and president of Suffolk Peanut Company and a vocal advocate for the peanut industry. His own home was next door and remains standing.

The Faircloths have lovingly restored the home in the 34 years they have lived there.

“This house was a wreck when we bought it,” Faircloth said.

The couple undertook major renovations to improve the home, which had been a rental property. The home was open to the public four times for fundraisers for the garden club and Suffolk-Nansemond Historical Society. It is listed as a contributing structure to the Suffolk historic district in the National Register of Historic Places and Virginia Landmarks Registry.

“I still love this house,” Faircloth said. “It’s a one-of-a-kind house.”

Linda Terry, broker for the sale, agreed.

“Even thought it’s in the city, you feel lots of privacy,” she said.

She said the home is going to auction because it has been on the market for about two years without much interest.

“It’s a way of marketing in a new, fresh way and letting the public know the seller is highly motivated and wants to find a new owner,” Terry said.

Terry said the livable floor plans, spacious rooms and wide hallways make the home ideal for almost any scenario. She believes the home could be a bed-and-breakfast or a professional’s office as well as living space.

“There are opportunities in that house for living and working in the same place,” she said, suggesting a law or insurance office. “It could possibly be a bed-and-breakfast. It’s got plenty of bedrooms and bathrooms.”

It has five bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms, as well as a parlor, game room, Florida room, formal dining room, multiple fireplaces, full basement and finished third floor.

The stucco exterior is also a nice touch not often seen in this area.

“It’s very different,” Terry said. “To me, it’s more stately, less whimsical and less trendy. I think it’s a very classic looking house.”

Once the sale of the home is well under way, the contents also will be auctioned, Terry said, probably around the end of September.

“It’s going to take a little longer to catalog everything at the house,” she said.

The couple’s extensive collection of art — much of it restored by Nancy Faircloth — as well as antique furniture, rugs, collectibles and a red 1988 Mercedes Roadster, all will be up for bid when the contents go on sale.

The home will be open from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Thursday. It will go to auction at 3 p.m. Aug. 30, with a brief open house immediately before the auction as well.

For more information on the auction, visit www.tranzon.com/fx1840.