Country Life 19th October: Early Property Pages

REF

Bideford

THIS IS THELIFE. Is it yours?

Hothfield, Kent

SURREY,SOUTH NUTFIELD

DORSET,BRYANSTON

world

howevents mayaffect

of

KENT,HEACORN

BEDFORDSHIRE, RENHOLD

DEVON,

TIVERTON

SURREY,WEYBRIDGE

the Protection of Ancient

Founded by William Morris, the SPAB protects the historic environment from decay, damage and demolition. It responds to threats to old buildings, trains building professionals, craftspeople, homeowners and volunteers and gives advice about maintenance and repairs. Since 1877 countless buildings have been saved for future generations.

Enjoy avariedlifestyle

BY THE RIVER

Teddington Riverside is acollection of thefinest 1, 2and 3bedroom apartments, and 4bedroom townhouses ideally positioned within landscaped gardens beside theRiver Thames. All homes areready to moveinto today |Prices from £610,000

with

decision to move here -the location is outstanding and theever changing

of theriver is truly delightful.

02073490

Property market

AREPORT from Strutt & Parker reveals that the average price of arable land sold during the first nine months of 2022 increased by 4% to £9,800 an acre, the highest it has been since 2015. Over the same period, the average price of pasture rose by 6% to a record-breaking £8,000 an acre.

‘The strength of demand reflects the broad spectrum of buyers who are interested in buying land,’ says Matthew Sudlow, head of estates and farm agency for Strutt & Parker, adding: ‘We have a combination of farmers with rollover money, lifestyle buyers and private investors, along with individuals and corpo rate companies looking at land for carbon sequestration or conservation projects.’

Given the current turmoil in the global economy, Strutt & Parker believes that com petition for rural assets can only intensify. Fortunately, although land ownership is

As well as being a sound investment, land ownership is also about fun, as these three fine sporting estates demonstrate

Enjoy a sporting life

Penny Churchill

Above and below: Grade II-listed Pockford House in Surrey dates back to 1805 and is set at the heart of a 264-acre sporting estate. £9.75m

Find the best properties at countrylife.co.uk

undoubtedly a serious business, farming can also be fun, as the sporting credentials of three fine country estates that have recently come to the market amply demonstrate.

Will Matthews of Knight Frank (020–7861 1440) quotes a guide price of £9.75 million for Pockford House and Farm near Chiddingfold, Surrey, described as ‘a rare and unspoilt, principally Georgian house set at the heart of a 264-acre sporting estate’. Pockford Farm sits 1½ miles from this quintessential English village with its green and pond surrounded by historic buildings, including the Grade I-listed Church of St Mary and The Crown Inn, said to be one of the oldest hostelries in England.

Once part of the Chiddingfold estate that was assembled over time by the Sadler family, who were lords of the manor of nearby Prestwick, Pockford House and its historic farmland were reunited in 1996 by the pre sent owners, following the sale of the estate on the death of the last remaining Sadler. The family is commemorated in a portrait of Thomas Sadler (1835–1915), which hangs in The Crown Inn, and bears the inscription ‘Presented to Thomas Sadler Esq of Pockford House by the Members and Friends of the Chiddingfold Hunt for his untiring zeal in hunting the Hounds for twelve seasons. May 15th, 1872.’ It previously hung in the dining room at Pockford House until the mid 1960s, when it passed to Lord Egremont at nearby Petworth.

Built in 1805 around an earlier mid- to late16th-century dwelling, Pockford House stands on high ground at the end of a long gravel driveway with wide verges flanked by mature trees and far-reaching views over the sur rounding countryside and down to Pockford Brook. Behind its classic Georgian front, the house offers 4,855sq ft of comfortable living space, including three main reception rooms, a study, a kitchen/breakfast room, two bed room suites, three further bedrooms and a family shower room.

The land at Pockford Farm comprises 140 acres of pasture and 114 acres of woodland, of which 55 acres along the southern bound ary are leased by the Forestry Commission as part of the Chiddingfold Forest SSSI. The land has been farmed organically and would be ideal for regenerative farming or rewilding, given the large areas of ancient woodland.

Farming and sport co-exist in perfect harmony at The Mill House and its 227-acre Farm at Bulkington, five miles from Devizes, Wiltshire, which is for sale as a whole through Savills in Salisbury (07870 387700) at a guide price of £5.75m. Hunting, shooting and fishing have been a way of life for the current owner who, in 1998, converted the charming Mill House at the heart of the farm from a former red-brick farmhouse into the elegant, fivebedroom country house it is today.

Next to the house, a large conservatory is linked to the stable block, staff cottage and estate office. Away from the house, two semi-detached three-bedroom cottages are both currently let. Behind the walled garden, a lower courtyard houses a heated indoor pool and plant room, with a tennis court and a Grade II-listed party-barn nearby. Equestrian facilities include four loose boxes with paddocks close by, a sand school and an all-weather turnout area.

Approached along a sweeping tree-lined drive, Mill House, which is unlisted, faces south over its own land, with magnificent views across the surrounding Wiltshire country side. To the front of the house, a sparkling mill stream, where trout are often caught by the current owners, runs down to an old mill house, which may be eligible for conversion, subject to planning. From here, an enchanting lake, bordered by mature willows and teeming with flora and fauna, catches the eye. A productive kitchen garden, an orchard and a secluded tennis court complete the grounds.

The luxuriant 227-acre grounds of The Mill House near Bulkington, Wiltshire, are perfect for rough-shooting, fishing and rewilding. £5.75m

To the front of the house is a sparkling mill stream where trout are often caught

Property market

Above and right: Dating from 1820, 108acre Baycliffe Farm in Wiltshire features extensive equestrian facilities. £3.75m

Mill Farm boasts an extensive range of modern farm buildings suitable for a variety of uses: located within a well-ventilated build ing are six American barn-style stables, plus a tack room, feed and grooming area.

The land is all set to permanent pasture with small areas of woodland and game cover, the perfect setting for a familyrun rough shoot, and the chance to bag a ‘Bulkington MacNab’ (to wit, a roe deer, a brown trout and a pigeon) in one day, sell ing agent Geoff Jones reveals. Currently farmed under a contract agreement with a local farmer, the land could also lend itself to environmental projects such as rewilding or tree planting.

Mr Jones is also handling the sale of pris tine Baycliffe Farm at Maiden Bradley on the Wiltshire/Somerset border, six miles south-west of Warminster in the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs AONB. He quotes a guide price of £3.75m for the hand some, Grade II-listed, stone-and-brick thatched farmhouse, which dates mainly from about 1820 with earlier, 17th-century origins, although the 108-acre farm itself has been continu ously occupied since 1087.

Having acquired Baycliffe Farm in ‘a dilapidated and ever-declining state of repair’ in

2003, racehorse owner and breeder William Harrison-Allan embarked on a three-year programme of building and restoration that saw the farmhouse, extensive outbuildings and land converted into an outstanding breaking and pre-training yard serving the racehorsetraining profession. The farm has also operated as a racing stud in recent years.

The equestrian facilities are impressive. They include a front yard of 12 stables set around a picturesque central courtyard. The main yard, which is situated away from the house, comprises a range of converted farm

buildings housing American barn-style stabling, a large storage barn and an indoor manège. There is also a Monarch horse-walker.

Much of the land is split into well-fenced paddocks for grazing and has been impec cably maintained over the years. The paddocks run down to a large field from which a crop of hay is taken each year. An all-weather gallop crosses the field on a gentle uphill slope, whereas a 1½-mile grass gallop runs around the perimeter, with a belt of mature woodland forming the southern boundary of the property.

Properties of the week edited by James Fisher

Let’s go outside

The shorter days of autumn are no excuse to remain indoors. Arabella Youens selects properties on the market with sporting opportunities close by

Cumbria, £950,000

Rivermead stands on the outskirts of the village of Lorton, in a popular area of the Lake District National Park and within easy distance of Cockermouth. The gardens, which include a small orchard and a vegetable patch, lead down to the River Cocker and the property enjoys fishing rights from Lorton Bridge to the far boundary. The original bungalow was extended in 2012 and it now has a total of five bedrooms. As part of that work, a ground-source heat pump was installed that provides underfloor heating. Outside is a garage, as well as a greenhouse and potting shed. Fine & Country (01228 583109)

Cumbria , £900,000 Set in the west Cumbrian countryside, Low House, near Cleator Moor on the western edge of the Lake District National Park, is made up of a main house and a four-bedroom annexe. The property has been in the same family for more than 60 years and it stands in just over one acre of gardens extending to the edge of the River Keekle, over which the property has fishing rights. According to the selling agents: ‘An impressive range of outbuildings sit to the north of the property and offer tremendous development potential.’ They currently include storerooms, a kitchen and an office space that are all well maintained and serviced by power, water and—usefully—WiFi. Finest Properties (01434 622234)

SOME PL S NEED A DIFFERENT OACH

Ourexperts don’t believe in aone-size-fits-all solution,because in challengingtimes like these, some plans need to be different.

Properties of the week

Devon, £1.875 million East Coombe Head is a small country estate of 84 acres in Yeoford near Crediton. The farmhouse itself is positioned at the end of a long drive, offering privacy and seclusion among the hills of north Devon, where there are a number of syndicate shoots. Originally a threshing barn, it was converted into a four-bedroom house in 2000, but retained the original character of the building. Outside, there are gardens of various areas, alongside assorted outbuildings, a summerhouse and a structure housing an indoor pool, kitchen and shower. The land is a mix ture of pasture, with Devon bank and hedgerow enclosures, and broadleaf woodland with mature hedgerow trees. The southern part of the land is bisected by the River Troney and flanked by level water meadows. Greenslade Taylor Hunt (01884 243000)

Powys, £1.25 million

Parc Gwynne, in Glasbury, is being sold on the open market for the first time since the 1960s. The Grade II-listed five-bedroom house was built in about 1800 and, for a while, acted as the local vicarage before reverting back to private ownership in 1940. The gardens of almost an acre extend to the west and include an elevated terrace that overlooks the River Wye. Although there are no fishing rights on the property itself, the Brecon Beacons National Park is a short drive and offers a wide range of country sports, includ ing hunting, fishing and canoeing on the river, as well as climbing and walking in the hills. Knight Frank (01905 746884)

Scottish Borders, £700,000

On the edge of the village of Foulden near Berwick-upon-Tweed, Church House and its one-acre garden enjoy far-reaching views over the Berwickshire countryside to the Cheviots and Eildon Hills beyond. The sevenbedroom property doesn’t come with sporting rights, but its location means it’s within easy reach of the River Tweed—one of the finest for salmon fishing—as well as the Rivers Whiteadder and Till. ‘Pheasant and grouse shooting are available to let from several local estates,’ adds Jason Roberts of Strutt & Parker. There’s a stone outbuilding that could be converted into an annexe, subject to the usual permissions.

Strutt & Parker (01670 516123)