Country Life early property pages 8th Mar 2023

The top 100 country-house specialists

Lord of the Shires: Tolkien’s landscape

Watch the birdie: why your survey counts

Salad days: restoring a great kitchen garden

Afine golden Madrone burl veneeredand Morado banded cocktail table. The oval brassmouldedtop with finely cast and engravedbrass capitals and mountsand spiral turnedmahoganylegs. The cocktailjoinedbyabrass mouldedundertier withbeveledGlassinsert andterminating in turned tapering legs with engraved cast brasstoupie feet

£5,735

Width: 48 inches(122cm) |Height:20inches (51cm) |Depth: 28¼ inches(72cm)

Stowe, Buckingham

BLEDLOWRIDGE, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE

Guide Price: £1,900,000

5 Bedrooms| 6 ReceptionRooms| 3 Bathrooms| B EPC

Acountry house with an annexe and far-reaching views in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.The property was refurbished in acontemporary style in 2017 and 3,400 sq ft of living space includes atriple aspect sitting room and aconservatory

Established wraparound gardens include terraces for entertaining and private access to afootpath to Yoesden NatureReserve.

Michael Graham Princes Risborough

Paul Copping 01844 396000

Michael Graham London

Bob Bickersteth 0207 839 0888

michaelgraham.co.uk

michaelgraham_living

REF :H NG012265152

Greywell, Hampshire

5bedrooms |4bathrooms |3-4 reception rooms |2garages |Driveway parking |Attractive mature garden with summer house Approximately 0.96 acres|Freehold |Council Taxband G

Afine Grade II listedvillage house beautifully presentedwith views overthe surrounding countryside

Hook 2miles(London Waterloofrom 53 minutes) |Basingstoke 7miles (London Waterloofrom 44 minutes)

Offers in excess of £2,450,000

Knight Frank North Hampshire mark.potter@knightfrank.com

01256 806421

knightfrank.co.uk

Your partners in property

Beautiful Border Oak Home

Jordans, Buckinghamshire Seer Greenand JordansStation:1mile(Marylebone from26minutes)

Stunning characterfulfamily home tucked away in mature and delightfulgardens, setina sought after village.4reception rooms, kitchen/breakfast room,5 bedrooms(2ensuites),family bathroom,study,sun room,detachedstudio, doublecarport, garage, greenhouse, gardensand grounds.

Freehold |Council TaxBand=H|EPC =D

About 0.75 acres|Guide £2.75million

ChrisMoorhouse

SavillsBeaconsfield 01494304 376

cmoorhouse@savills.com

Historic Country Home

Dorney,Windsor Eton College: 2.2miles,Windsor Station: 5.4miles,HeathrowAirport: 12.3 miles

Enchanting Grade II listed house dating backtothe 17th centuryset in landscaped gardens, located next to the2012Olympic rowing lake.5reception rooms, 5bedrooms(2ensuites),2 family bathrooms, cloakroom,utility room,2bedroom lodge house,2bedroom bungalow, gardensand grounds. Freehold |Council TaxBand=H

John Henson

SavillsWindsor

01753925 072

john.henson@savills.com

Paul Finnegan

Savills London CountryDepartment 02045862867

pfinnegan@savills.com

About 3.41 acres|Guide £3.5 million savills

Berkshire, Padworth

Acharmingunlistedcountry houseset in 42 acreswithanimpressiveOlympic sized indoor arenaaswellasfurther equestrian facilities andancillaryaccommodation

Burghfield Common: 3miles, Tadley: 3miles, Theale: 6miles, Reading: 9miles, London: 48 miles

Principal house with 4reception rooms |7Bedrooms |4Bathrooms |Triple garage |EPC Rating E

Secondary house with 2reception rooms |4Bedrooms |EPC Rating D| Double garage with studio flat|EPC Rating E

Large office/gym area |Indoor arena with 2viewing galleries, offices and kitchen |Outdoor school |Courtyardstables with 22 boxes

Wash room |Tackroom |Storage room and feed room |Storage barns |Fenced paddocks |Woodland

About 42 acres

Over 45 offices acrossEnglandand Scotland, includingprime CentralLondon.

Idyllic Period Farmhouse

Salisbury, Wiltshire Salisbury: 7miles,GrateleyStation:11miles (London Waterloo from 85 minutes)

AttractiveGrade II listedfamily home,offeringflexible accommodation, with separatebarnand grazing land.4reception rooms, principalkitchen/breakfast room,secondary kitchen,6bedrooms(1ensuite), family bathroom,showerroom,study,thatchedbarn, summer house,stables, all-weather manège, landscapedgardensand paddocks.Freehold |Council TaxBand=G |EPC =E

About 4acres |Guide£1.75 million

JamesMcKillop SavillsSalisbury 01722704 221

james.mckillop@savills.com

Devon, Maidencombe

Abeautifully presentedGrade II Listed familyhome with flexibleaccommodation andexceptional seaviews

A380: 3.8 miles, Shaldon: 2.9 miles, Newton Abbot mainline station: 4.8 miles (2 hours49 mins to London Paddington), Exeter: 20 miles

Drawing room |Sitting room |Family room |Dining room |Study|Kitchen/breakfastroom |Utility|2Cloakrooms |Principal bedroom with dressing room &ensuitebathroom |4Further bedrooms |Balcony|Family bathroom |Showerroom |Cellar |Annexe with open-plan living area &showerroom |Outbuilding |Sauna and showerroom |Gardens |Swimming pool |Pond |TreeHouse |Sea views

About 1.22 acres

Over 45 offices acrossEnglandand Scotland, includingprime CentralLondon.

RichardSpeedy Exeter Office 01392215 631

richard.speedy@struttandparker.com

/struttandparker@struttandparker struttandparker.com

Oliver CustanceBaker Country Department 02075912213

oliver.custance.baker@struttandparker.com

Offersover

Reay, Highland £975,000

Anextensivelyrefurbishedcountry housewithtworecentlycompleted cottages,equestrianfacilitiesand workingfarmwithapprox.78acres.

Highlandoffice01463357910

Towersey, Oxfordshire £925,000

BarleCottageisabeautifullyrefurbished periodcottage,ideallylocatedwithin anOxfordshirevillageoffering connectionstoLondon.

Thameoffice01844447905

Hoby, Leicestershire £1,795,000

AVictorianfarmhouseofferingan abundanceofcharacterfeatureswith approx.7acresincludingpaddockland, manègeandstableblock.

Guideprice 01664518924

Guideprice

Pandy, Gwent, £110,000

OrnatechapelwithviewsovertheRiver Hondduandsurroundingcountryside andplanningpermissiontocreatea two-bedholidaycottage.

HerefordSalesoffice01432644956

Barton-on-the-Heath, Warwickshire £600,000

Guideprice

GradeIIlistedelegantthree-storey detachedcottageinneedof modernisation,situatedina sought-aftervillage.

Moreton-in-Marshoffice01608503959

Guideprice

Ashford, Kent £500,000

AGradeIIlistedclusterhouseretaining anabundanceofcharacter,including exposedbeams,highceilingsanda surprisinglygenerouscellar.

Ashfordoffice01233238793

Guideprice

Cranbrook, Kent £425,000-£435,000

AGradeIIlistedthree-bedroom cottagewithinglenookfireplaceand timberbeams,ideallysituatedfor CranbrookHighStreet.

Hawkhurstoffice01580487976

Hornby,Bedale, NorthYorkshire

£900,000

Guideprice

Anoutstandingdoublefronted five-bedroomformervicaragewitha wealthofperiodfeatures,largegarden andpaddockextendingto7.13acres.

Leyburnoffice01969738984

Verifyatonthemarket.com/only-with-us.Agentsspecifyexclusivity.

BromptonRegis, Somerset £415,000

Guideprice

Animmaculatelypresenteddetached four-bedroomcharactercottagewith ruralviews,largeterraceandparking,set inavillagelocation.

Dulvertonoffice01398687979

Guideprice

Westonzoyland, Somerset £600,000

Abeautifuldetachedpropertywith fivebedrooms,threereceptionrooms andthreebathrooms,nestledina quietcul-de-sac.

Bridgwateroffice01278285917

Leigh, Surrey £2,250,000

Guideprice

Outstandingperiodfarmhousewith far-reachingviewsandexcellent equestrianfacilities,setinover 9acresinanelevatedposition.

Dorkingoffice01306293954

Blean, Kent £1,600,00

Guideprice

Animpressivebrand-newfamily homeofferingbright,stylish accommodationinaconvenient villagelocationclosetoCanterbury.

Canterburyoffice01227319798

Kippford, DumfriesandGalloway £789,000

Offersover

Animpressivemansionwithstunning viewsacrosstheUrrestuary,setin extensivegroundsofalmost3acres, closetothevillageofKippford.

CastleDouglasoffice01556487991

Alstonefield, Staffordshire £1,500,000

An18thcenturyformervicarage, carefullypreservedtoretainoriginal character,setwithinapprox.1.09acres, adjoiningSt.Peterschurch.

Ashbourneoffice01335671950

Potterne, Wiltshire £770,000

Guideprice

Acharmingwell-presentedandfreshly thatchedvillagehousewithpretty gardens,aself-containedannexeand doublegarage.

Devizesoffice01380584955

Bainbridge, NorthYorkshire £425,000

Guideprice

TheOldSchoolHouseisacharacterful four-bedroompropertyoverlooking thevillagegreen,withintheYorkshire DalesNationalPark.

Leyburnoffice01969738983

Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire £2,250,000

Guideprice

Thisfour-bedroomhomeissituated onaprimeresidentialroadin Beaconsfield,withinashortwalkof thelocalamenities.

Beaconsfieldoffice01494912966

Allthesepropertiesappearedexclusivelywithus, 24hoursormorebeforeRightmoveorZoopla.

SUFFOLK, BRUISYARD

Classic Edwardian mansion in tranquil setting |EPC E £2,750,000 guide | Ipswich: 01472218218

EAST SUSSEX, PLUMPTON

Magnificent Arts &Crafts influenced country house |EPC F £3,500,000 guide | Mid-Sussex: 01444 484400

KENT,GOUDHURST

Grade II Listedhome with 8acres of gardens and grounds £2,350,000 guide | Cranbrook: 01580 720000

ESSEX, CASTLE HEDINGHAM

Striking Regencyvillage property with awalled garden |EPC E £1,250,000 guide | Chelmsford: 01245806101

SOUTH MANCHESTER, BOWDON

Impressiveproperty in aprime location |EPC C £3,950,000 guide | Hale: 0161 9288881

NORFOLK, SALTHOUSE

Stylish fivebedroom coastal home with views |EPC C £2,100,000 guide | Burnham Market: 01328 801333

LONDON, PIMLICO

Sevenbedroom, 7,000 sq. ft freehold home |EPC D £10,000,000 guide | Pimlico: 02078284050

SOMERSET,RIMPTON

Quietly locatedhouse with southwesterly views |EPC D £1,100,000 guide | Sherborne: 01935810141

Across all Jackson-Stops offices, enquiries from downsizers arenow higher than pre-pandemic, having increased by 21% since 2019.Scan the code to discover the topten areas wheredownsizing pays the biggestpremiums

OXFORDSHIRE, FINSTOCK

Six bedroom detached family house |EPC C

£1,700,000 guide Burford: 01993822661

DEVON, NR CHULMLEIGH

Idyllically situatedcountry home |EPC F £1,350,000 excess North Devon: 01271325153

SOMERSET,TAUNTON

Fine 19th Century country house with 13 acres £3,250,000 guide | Taunton: 01823 325144

PROPERTY EXPERTS SINCE 1910

GLOUCESTERSHIRE, CHIPPING CAMPDEN

Exceptional Grade II Listedtownhouse |EPC E £2,500,000 guide | Chipping Campden: 01386 840224

jackson-stops.co.uk

Theluxuryhome tour series

INSIDE ALUXURY £1.75MILLION SCANDI-INSPIRED HOME

Nutkin Barnisaunique Scandinavian-designed barn built to an extremely highspecification andonly minutes from the beach and lovely country walks.

Very few homes boast such abreath-taking entertaining space. This magnificent Scandi barn hasbeen cleverlydesigned offering acontemporary aesthetic whilst feeling homelyand cosy all at the same time.

With four doublebedrooms, snug,study, outdoor kitchen, spa and even ashower for thepets, this home really offers something for everyone.

guide price £1,750,000

Contact: 01243 908077

EPC: D| Tenure: Freehold | Council Tax: G

Head Office

119-121 Park Lane, Mayfair,London W1K 7AG

Tel: +44 20 7079 1515

parklane@fineandcountry.com

fineandcountry.com

Unspoilt &peaceful

Bacchus Barn sits in an unspoilt, peaceful and covetable hamlet location just minutes from the spectacular South West Coast Path and a stone’s throw from the ever-popular coastal townofSalcombe. The six-bedroomed barn conversion offers exceptionally light, spacious and flexible accommodation with many

attractiveand characterful features including stone fireplaces, windowseats and wood panelling. Twocourtyardgardens createthe perfect spaces foralfresco evenings and entertaining, whilst alarge parking area and boat storagealso features.

Arrangeyour viewing with Marchand Petit Salcombe on 01548 844473 Alterntaively visit marchandpetit.co.uk to find out more.

Guide price: £750,000

Bacchus Barn, Bolberry

Property market

Penny Churchill

The search for a ‘forever’ house

These ancient Kent houses were built to last

THE debate over which house is the oldest in England is one that has exercised the minds of successive generations of COUNTRY L IFE readers. In 1931, Knight Frank’s Arthur J. Burrows described Luddesdown Court near Gravesend, Kent— a 12th-century house reputedly lived in by William the Conqueror’s half-brother, Odo, who was Earl of Kent—as ‘the oldest court lodge in Kent’ and ‘presumably one of the most ancient continuously inhabited domestic buildings in the kingdom’. It was a claim repeated when Luddesdown Court was last sold by Knight Frank a couple of years ago.

Nowadays, buyers searching for their ‘forever house’ probably don’t need a 1,000year-old building, although Kent is still a good place to look for a historic family house of character and charm. One that springs to mind is handsome Galleys Wood in Honeypot

Lane, Edenbridge, an imposing Victorian/ Edwardian house set in 12 acres of gardens, grounds and woodland on the Kent-Surrey border, two miles from Edenbridge town centre and a 10-minute drive from Waitrose.

Currently for sale through the Oxted office of Jackson-Stops (01883 712375) at a guide price of £3.25 million, Galleys Wood was once home to the Prestwich family of JAP motorcycle engine fame. The current owners, who were married at the house 25 years ago, recall the previous owner saying that she used to skate around the cellar, which they have converted into a cinema and bar, a large games room and a home-office area with an adjoining kitchen, wine cellar, store room and boiler room.

Built to last for the next millennium, the house offers more than 8,600sq ft of accommodation on five floors, including a spectacular

reception hall with an impressive oak staircase that immediately sets the scene. The drawing room and dining room are elegant entertaining areas with bay windows overlooking the gardens. The family room adjoins the contemporary kitchen/breakfast room with its matching wood island, work surfaces and cupboards. A playroom with extensive storage completes the ground floor.

The principal bedroom suite, comprising a large bedroom with a bay window and a stylish bath and shower room en suite, takes up one side of the first floor. Four further bedrooms, served by a family bathroom, overlook the gardens. The second floor— arranged as a sitting room/kitchen, three bedrooms and a bathroom—could be used as a separate flat. A spiral staircase rises to the third-floor recreation room, with access to the attics. Additional accommodation

Handsome Galleys Wood is a charming family home set in 12 acres of secluded gardens and grounds at Edenbridge in Kent. £3.25m

is available in the converted three-bedroom coach house.

The gardens and grounds offer a high level of privacy and seclusion, with areas of woodland lining the perimeter of the grounds. Long-established planting in the garden includes specimen trees, beech hedging, rhododendrons and oak, beech and a variety of conifers. A pretty tree house on the southern boundary is a magnet for children, who also enjoy their own play area—as well as the freedom of a 3½-acre paddock with room for a pony or two.

Over in east Kent, Ed Church of Strutt & Parker (01227 473700) is handling the sale of Grade II-listed Penstock Hall, described as ‘a charming small Kentish manor house’ set in 1¾ acres of gardens in the unspoilt village of East Brabourne, on the edge of the North Downs AONB, eight miles from Ashford International station and 12 from Canterbury.

He quotes a guide price of £2.2m for the impeccably restored farmstead with its fivebedroom house—thought to date from about 1450—and charming courtyard of ancient timber-frame barns. The East Barn serves as a fully functional party barn, whereas the West Barn is currently used as offices. Further outbuildings are available by separate negotiation. A 3½-acre paddock opposite the house is included in the sale.

The present owners have remodelled and extended the house, adding a custom-built kitchen/breakfast room to the rear. A fullheight entrance hall leads to two impressive timber-frame rooms at the front of the house, now used as the dining and drawing rooms. Also off the hall is a light and airy conservatory. Attached to the house, next to the West Barn, is a two-room annexe. The gardens, which allow distant views of the Downs, include a sheltered terrace at the rear, ideal for alfresco dining. Steps lead up to the lawn, the natural swimming pool and the summer house; a hard tennis court is tucked away in one corner, out of sight from the main house. If 1,000 years of history is still the dream, Will Peppitt of Savills Country Department

(020–7409 5945) is handling the sale of the magnificent, Grade II*-listed Homestall Manor with its extensive complex of associated buildings, the whole set in 28 acres of gardens and grounds at Ashurst Wood, just over the county border in West Sussex, and within the High Weald AONB. Acting on instructions from fixed receivers Belleveue Mortlakes, he quotes a guide price of £10m for this grand country house, which boasts a unique provenance.

Originally a simple farmhouse, the oldest part of the property dates from 1350, when it was probably used as a hunting box by John of Gaunt, the son of Edward III, who held the hunting rights to Ashdown Forest. In 1907, Lord Tommy Dewar, a whisky distiller from Perth, bought and restored The Homestall and remodelled the surrounding gardens. On his death in 1930, his nephew, the racehorse owner and breeder John Arthur Dewar, inherited the estate, which he used

Penstock Hall stands at the heart of a restored farmstead in East Brabourne, Kent. £2.2m

The oldest part of the property dates from 1350 and was probably used as a hunting box by John of Gaunt, the son of Edward III

Property market

as a country retreat, living at Claridge’s during the rest of the week.

For Dewar’s new wife, Katherine, however, the house was simply too small for the kind of lavish entertaining she had in mind. With the nonchalance of the very rich, her husband responded by buying Dutton Hall, a large Tudor mansion in Cheshire dating back to Domesday, which he had dismantled, brick by brick and oak beam by oak beam, and rebuilt on the estate to form the present south-west wing of Homestall Manor.

This part of the house has an elaborately carved two-storey porch, with a gable above dated 1562. The impressive Great Hall has a partly enclosed hammer-beam roof, believed to have originated from the wardroom of the last English ship to go into battle under sail, and a stone fireplace dated 1585. For good measure, the front door, which came from

a French monastery, is said to be more than 1,000 years old. To the south of the house are formal gardens with ponds overlooking woodland, and, within the grounds, two all-weather tennis courts and a swimming pool.

During the Second World War, the property, then known as Dutton Homestall, served as an auxiliary hospital presided over by the redoubtable Sir Archibald McIndoe, who performed miracles of plastic surgery during the Second World War. In the late 1940s, it became Stoke Brunswick prep school, before reverting back to residential use in 2009.

In its present configuration, Homestall Manor offers some 26,000sq ft of living space, with various outbuildings providing a further 10,760sq ft. Current planning consent allows for the sensitive conversion of the main building to a five-star, 27-room hotel and the conversion of the former school buildings to 15 holiday lets. In terms of the manor’s future, however, Mr Peppitt isn’t ruling anything out or in. In his view, the next custodian might well be ‘a hotel owner, a headmaster or a lord of the manor’—or even someone enterprising from a completely different walk of life.

Above and right: Historic Homestall Manor, dating back to 1350, is set in 28 acres in the village of Ashurst Wood, West Sussex. £10m

The front door, which came from a French monastery, is said to be more than 1,000 years old

Properties of the week

Reject tradition, embrace the eccentric

Our nation is built on whimsy and these five properties are all a bit out of the ordinary

James Fisher

Kent, £675,000

Fans of Derek Jarman can now live like the famous artist by purchasing this extended former railway carriage on Dungeness beach. Originally built as a holiday home, the property has been extended to allow for two bedrooms, three reception rooms and a garage, making it suitable for full-time living. Set on the Dungeness estate, the property benefits from being within the SSSI and is surrounded by the various pubs, restaurants and shops that the neighbourhood has to offer. Phillips & Stubbs (01797 227338)

Roxburghshire, £500,000

Cuts to railway services in the 1950s and 1960s remain a topic for much debate, but we can at least be thankful for the closure of Saughtree Station near Newcastleton in the Scottish Borders. The former railway station was converted into a family home in the 1990s and is now a sixbedroom house with a fraction over an acre of gardens. There’s a lot to look at in said gardens: the usual lawns, shrubs and trees, but, of course, these days, no home is complete without its own diesel locomotive and stretch of track (top; available via separate negotiation). Train or no train, the property is one for rail enthusiasts, with charming touches of memorabilia throughout the home, to say nothing of its gorgeous setting in the Liddlesdale Valley. Savills (0131–247 3738)

Properties of the week

Cornwall, £395,000

People looking for a penthouse in the Cornish town of Truro can rejoice, as No 6, Rose Court offers the ideal two-bedroom apartment, within a converted church. Finished to a very high standard and set over two floors, the apartment offers exquisite high ceilings, open-plan living and exposed iron and stone throughout its interiors. Many original stained-glass windows remain, including a floor-to-ceiling display in the living room. Located centrally within Truro, the property nevertheless is surrounded by open spaces, with Victoria Gardens and the River Kenwyn on the doorstep. Lillicrap Chilcott (01872 273473)

Buckinghamshire, £1.375 million

When moving to a new town, it’s important to make your presence known. One way to do this would be to tower over your neighbours, perhaps in a large windmill, such as The Windmill in central Wendover. The structure originates from 1796, but was converted into a residential space in the 1930s and offers five bedrooms, four bathrooms and three reception rooms, stacked one upon each other over six floors. The views from the top are, unsurprisingly, glorious and the property also comes with a generous private garden, featuring lawns, shrubs and a paved sun terrace. The loft room, which occupies the top floor, still features much of the original windmill mechanism. Tim Russ (01494 674321)

West Yorkshire, £1.25 million

From the outside, Laurel Farmhouse in the historic village of Bramham, West Yorkshire, seems like a traditional northern farmhouse. It’s got all the hits: walls of stone, a charming tiled roof, an elegant kitchen, exposed beams and fireplaces and a courtyard garden to the rear. What sets it apart from other homes in the area, however, is that it comes with its own private pub. Yes, the introverts among you can celebrate, as you pour your own pints or mix your own drinks behind the bar for your family and friends. Combine that with four bedrooms, four bathrooms and three reception rooms, and you have the ideal property in which to entertain. Carter Jonas (01423 393326)

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