EVERY WEEK
AUGUST 10, 2022
Local churches for local people Simon Jenkins on
a conservation crisis
What your weathervane says about you Dodos and dragons: the man who built The Ark Know your onions: Tom Parker Bowles on salad rules
Property market
Penny Churchill
Way out west
Two vast and important estates in the South-West have it all, from copious farmland and rental income, to clifftop views and near-private beaches
The 1,199 acre Trevalga estate in north Cornwall boasts a wealth of mixed arable and livestock farming and 16 properties. £15.75m
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URRENTLY for sale through Savills, two timeless mixed farming and residential estates in scenic and much sought-after areas of the South-West are already attracting interest from prospective purchasers in all sectors of the property world—from private and institutional investors to farmers, landowners, lifestyle buyers, conservationists and even would-be rewilders. Today sees the launch in COUNTRY L IFE of the spectacular, 1,199-acre Trevalga estate on the north Cornwall coast between Boscastle and Tintagel, an area forever associated with the legend of King Arthur. The 76 | Country Life | August 10, 2022
sale is being handled on behalf of the trustees of the late Gerald Curgenven, last Lord of the Manor of Trevalga, by Penny Dart of Savills in Exeter (01392 455700) and Alex Lawson in London (020–7016 3715), who quote a guide price of £15.75 million for the property as a whole. The ancient Manor of Trevalga was given by William the Conqueror to Robert, Earl of Morton when he made him Earl of Cornwall in the 11th century. From the early 13th century until 1601, the manor was held by the Bassetts, before eventually passing to the Stephens family. In 1889, the Trevalga estate
was placed in a trust for the Stephens family and continued in their ownership until 1933, when Mrs E. G. Stephens died, with no beneficiary to inherit. In September 1934, the trustees sold the manor, comprising 12 houses, seven farms and some 845 acres of land to Gerald Curgenven, who subsequently acquired nearby Trehane Farm, Cardew Farm and Treweens Farm, thereby increasing the size of the estate to just short of 1,200 acres. Since Mr Curgenven’s death in 1959, the estate has been managed by his trustees, who have authorised the sale in the hope
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The jewel of the estate: the Manor House offers unmatched ocean views and 1½ acres
buildings let on AHA tenancies; and 16 houses and cottages, of which 12 are let on Assured Shorthold Tenancies (AST), two on regulated tenancies and two with vacant possession. Further details of the various tenancies are available from the agents on request. Trevalga’s flagship is the combined, 340acre Reddivallen and Cardew farms, which form the southernmost part of the estate and are currently run as one diverse, organic, arable and grassland unit with a Grade II*listed four-bedroom farmhouse, a second four-bedroom farmhouse with wonderful coastal views, a converted barn providing holiday B&B accommodation and an extensive range of modern agricultural buildings. Of the four let farms, Treforda Farm is a 199-acre, mixed arable and livestock unit situated on the southern side of the estate, with a Grade II-listed 16th-century fivebedroom farmhouse and two separate farmyards. Trehane Farm, to the east of Trevalga village is a 199-acre former dairy farm, now a mixed livestock and arable unit, with a pleasant farmhouse overlooking the village and coastline and a range of modern and traditional farm buildings, including stone barns with development potential. Although let on separate tenancies, the 256-acre Trevalga Farm and 172-acre
Churchtown Farm, both of which go down to the cliff edge, are run in conjunction with each other within a family partnership. The farmstead of Trevalga Farm, with its Grade IIlisted farmhouse, adjoins that of Churchtown Farm next to the Church of St Petrocs, in the north-west corner of the village. In addition to the farms, the Manor of Trevalga includes a residential portfolio of 16 houses and cottages located mainly in and around Trevalga village, producing a substantial rental income. The jewel in the crown is the Manor House, which sits in a dramatic clifftop setting, protected by woodland from the south and west winds, as well as enjoying unfettered views of the sea and coastline. The sturdy stone-built house, which dates from the 19th century but is unlisted, stands in a little under 1½ acres of grounds half a mile from the village and offers some 2,600sq ft of accommodation on two floors, including an entrance hall, two reception rooms, office, kitchen, four bedrooms and a family bathroom. Currently let on an AST, ‘the Manor House presents a rare opportunity to create a wonderful family home,’ says selling agent Penny Dart. She and Mr Lawson are also handling the sale of another great survivor of a bygone era, the 920-acre Strete estate, which overlooks the quaint coastal village of Strete, within the
Within the estate are the beautiful Gara Valley and Strete Gate Beach
that the estate will be bought as a whole by another committed long-term owner who will appreciate its unique appeal. The estate centres on the village of Trevalga, which looks out to sea, westwards towards Pentire Point and north-eastwards to Hartland Point; most of the land is ringfenced, running inland for about two miles. It comes with frontage to a mile or so of coastline and a few small rocky islands, including Long Island and Short Island. Broadly speaking, it comprises a 340-acre commercial and residential farm let on a Farm Business Tenancy until September 28, 2031; four farms let on Agricultural Holdings Act (AHA) 1986 tenancies; further land and
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Property market
Above and right: The 920-acre Strete estate in South Devon is centred around Higher Fuge farmhouse and offers four further houses and cottages. £11.5m sought-after South Hams in the South Devon AONB and within easy reach of the sailing towns of Dartmouth and Salcombe. Owned by successive generations of the same family, the property is being offered at £11.5m for the whole, or in up to 11 lots. The guide price for Lot 1, the 184-acre Higher Fuge Farm, is £2.8m. According to its Historic England listing, Strete was formerly in the parish of Blackawton and, ‘after the dissolution of the manor of Blackawton came into the possession of the Russells who in 1618 sold it to the Roopes of Dartmouth [who] owned Fuge’. Today, the main farmhouse at Higher Fuge Farm, a former dairy farm at the heart of the estate, is a fine Grade II*-listed Georgian place built in 1726. Now in need of renovation, it retains its original walled garden and comes with a range of modern and traditional farm buildings surrounded by productive farmland. It offers more than 5,500sq ft of accommodation on two floors, including a large entrance hall with a grand staircase, an open-plan kitchen/dining room, drawing room, five bedrooms and a family bathroom. The eastern wing is arranged as a self-contained, two-bedroom property. In addition, the estate boasts two let farms: Lower Fuge Farm (guide price £1.45m) is 78 | Country Life | August 10, 2022
a 253-acre mixed dairy farm let on an Agricultural Holdings Act tenancy, with a stone farmhouse, a range of modern and traditional farm buildings and farmland, plus 12 acres of in-hand woodland and amenity land; and Coxs Farm, price £1.9m, a grassland farm with a modern farmhouse and lovely views along the coast. The estate also includes four further houses and cottages, including a magical mill house and mill buildings, together with strategic land surrounding the village of Strete.
Hidden within the estate are the beautiful and untouched Gara Valley and Strete Gate Beach, which were evacuated towards the end of the Second World War and used as a training ground for British and American forces on the run-up to D-Day. Although, nowadays, Strete Gate Bridge is open to the public, the Gara Valley has never been re-populated and provides a valuable habitat for a huge variety of rare flora, fauna and over-wintering and breeding birds.
Properties of the week
Annunciata Elwes
Let there be light Orangeries, be they the old-fashioned kind for growing fruit or more modern ones barely distinguishable from conservatories, certainly can brighten a place up
Cambridgeshire, £1.55 million Beautifully refurbished and quintessentially Georgian—even the iron railings and pedestrian gates to the front boundary have their own separate listing— a dose of luxurious modern life can be expected within the honeyed walls of Peakirk House (also known as Greystones), in which a traditional conservatory with roof blinds leading to the rear lawn contrasts happily with period features such as inglenook fireplaces, exposed timbers, shutters and a Venetian window over the front-door pediment. There are six bedrooms and refurbished floorboards or limestone flooring throughout, plus a wine cellar and the potential for a self-contained annexe in an adjoining building. The little village of Peakirk is only six miles north of Peterborough, from where fast trains to London take 46 minutes. Fine & Country (01780 750200) Gloucestershire, £3.75 million Previously in the Codrington family for 300 years, Cotswold-stone One Hundred House—at Tormarton, about five miles from Chipping Sodbury—has been sympathetically enhanced since it was built in 1711, including recent renovations. The heart of the sixbedroom house is its orangery/kitchen, with wooden units, marble tops, family and dining area and French doors leading to a terrace that wraps around the building’s front. Access is via a long tree-lined drive bordered by paddocks and the 23-acre grounds contain a croquet lawn, ha-ha, parterre, tennis court within a former walled garden, orchard and woodland. Three additional properties can be let and there’s planning permission in place to extend and convert a stone barn to residential use. Hamptons (01225 220216) 80 | Country Life | August 10, 2022
9000
Properties of the week
Oxfordshire, £2.75 million The 45ft-long orangery at Whiteways at Whitchurch-onThames—only 10 minutes’ walk from Pangbourne and within easy reach of Reading and Oxford—dates from the 1920s and is believed to have been built by Frank Loughborough Pearson, who designed Truro Cathedral in Cornwall. It runs all the way along the back of the house, with terracotta floors and four sets of doors opening onto the terrace. The leafy surrounds beyond include a croquet lawn, a koi-carp pond, wildflower meadow and a kitchen garden and the house itself is a Victorian ‘hidden jewel’ with six bedrooms. It is one of the most important houses in the Thameside village, say agents. Singleton & Daughter (0118–984 2662)
Wiltshire, £3 million Handsome and well proportioned, Green Hall at East Grafton, near Hungerford and Marlborough, is a classic Georgian village house with four bedrooms and a modern orangery from which to admire garden views, with three acres of formal lawns, kitchen garden, colourful borders, mature trees, pond and gazebo. Upstairs, the principal bedroom overlooks the village green and a separate L-shaped party barn contains a fireplace at each end, bedroom, kitchen and shower room, with planning permission in place for an extra bedroom; the combination of the two residential properties makes Green Hall ‘perfect for multi-generational living,’ says agent Liz McLean. Various other outbuildings include car ports, garage, machinery storage and studio. Savills (01635 277700) Northumberland, £1.6 million Originally dating from 1825, Halliwell Dean Hall, in woodland just outside the popular town of Hexham, is believed to have been built as a country retreat for the Archbishop of York. Beyond its impressive portico entrance are five bedrooms, four bathrooms and a galleried landing; outside, as well as manicured lawns and mature trees, an impressive 19th-century glasshouse can be found, constructed by renowned designers W. Richardson & Co of Darlington, and modern improvements within the 3¼ acres include a heated outdoor swimming pool, complete with pool house, sauna and bar. Finest Properties (01434 622234)
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