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76 | Country Life | August 31, 2022 Three country houses with notable histories offer the best of family living Halls of fame Property market Penny Churchill ONE of Co Durham’s most intriguing country houses, Grade II*-listed Lartington Hall stands in seven acres of formal gardens and woodland on the edge of Lartington village, three miles north-west of Barnard Castle, with views over 100 acres of historic listed parkland and the gently rolling landscape of Lower Teesdale. Saved from demolition in the late 1970s and lavishly restored by the current owners, who bought it in 2011, the 17,000sq ft hall has been run until recently as an exclusive wedding venue, but is now for sale through Savills (01904 617831) at offers over £3.8 million. The earliest part of the hall—the threestorey, four-bay central block and projecting three-storey porch—was built, probably in the late 1600s, for Francis Appleby, who bought the manor of Lartington from the Above and below: Lartington Hall, Co Durham, dates from the 17th century, but is now ‘perfectly suited for modern family living’. £3.8m
In medieval times, the small township of Apperley comprised a compact, 428-acre estate in the ancient parish of Bywell St Peter, which had a population of 25 in 1891. Apperley Farmhouse stands close to the northern and western slopes of a range of hills that form the watershed between the valleys of the Tyne and the Derwent. The house, which dates from the 17th century, looks south wards towards the chapel of Whittonstall, where the Boutflower family, who owned the Apperley estate from the turbulent 1600s to the 1760s, worshipped and were buried.
Duke of Devonshire in 1639. On Appleby’s death in 1663, the estate passed to his daugh ter, Margaret, who married the staunchly Catholic Thomas Maire of Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire. It may have been their son, also Thomas, who built the Georgian extension to the house in about 1750, moving the main entrance to the new wing and adding a chapel. By 1811, Lartington Hall had passed by marriage to Henry Thomas Maire Silvertop, who married the heiress Eliza Witham and changed his name to Witham; as Henry Witham, he was High Sheriff of Durham in 1844. A noted geologist, he commissioned the architect Ignatius Bonomi to build a museum (now the ballroom) on the north corner of the hall to house his enormous collection of fossils, books and paintings. In 1847, his fourth son and successor at Lartington, Monsignor Thomas Witham, engaged Joseph Hansom, of hansom-cab fame, to design the porte-cochere on the south side of the building, which was linked to the museum by an impressive corridor. Thomas lived at the hall until his death in 1897, aged 91, when the estate passed to his grand-nephew, Francis Silvertop. Death duties forced its sale soon afterwards and, in 1918, Lartington was sold again, this time to Norman Field, heir to a Chicago depart ment store chain. Occupied by the Red Cross during the Second World War, the hall was later returned to the Field family and Field’s widow, Olive, lived there until her death in 1973. In its present incarnation, Lartington Hall is perfectly suited both for modern family living and entertaining on a grand scale, says selling agent Andrew Black. Hansom’s porte-cochere provides an imposing entrance, behind which the grand corridor leads to the six main ground-floor rooms, including the ballroom, currently used as the formal dining room. The 48ft-long drawing room has a centrally placed fireplace with marble surround and a gleaming polished wood floor. The Georgian hall has its original 18th-century floor and double doors leading to the ter race. The south corridor leads to the 17thcentury part of the house, the chapel, snug and snooker room.
Across the county border in Northumberland, Oliver Custance Baker of Strutt & Parker’s Country Department (020–7591 2207) quotes a guide price of £2.2m for Grade IIlisted Apperley Farm near Stocksfield, an impressive country house set in 12 acres of gardens, woodland and apple orchards, with excellent equestrian facilities, includ ing a stable block, a floodlit arena and several paddocks.
A noted geologist, he commissioned the architect Ignatius Bonomi to build a museum
According to Historic England, Lord Gort ‘re-used old material and architectural fea tures from Newcastle and elsewhere’ to create the handsome stone house, which now offers 5,200sq ft of light and cheerful living space, including three large reception rooms, a family kitchen/breakfast room, five/six bedrooms and three bath/shower rooms. The present owners, who bought Apperley Farm in 2012, have further improved the house, converting the second floor into a spacious master suite and installing a biomass boiler.
The former service wing provides additional accommodation in three separate units: the two-storey, two-bedroom Hansom House; Witham Court, a one-bedroom, first-floor apartment; and the San Diego building, which has garaging on the ground floor with a onebedroom apartment on the first floor. Available separately is the six-bedroom Stable Lodge, which offers additional living space and the potential to generate a substantial income.
August 31, 2022 | Country Life | 77 Find the best properties at countrylife.co.uk
Following the death of William Boutflower in 1766, the Apperley estate was acquired by the Surtees family of Hamsterley. In the 1930s, the farmhouse was extended and remodelled by Field-Marshal John Standish Surtees Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort, of the Grenadier Guards, a distinguished soldier who fought in the two World Wars and was Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force that went to France in 1939. He died in March 1946.
Down in rural north Shropshire, James Sibley of Strutt & Parker in Shrewsbury (01743 284200) quotes a guide price of £2.2m for historic, Grade II-listed Burlton Hall at Burlton, near Loppington, seven miles from the ‘lakeland’ town of Ellesmere and 10 miles from Shrewsbury. This is wonderful riding country, with easy access to a host of local bridleways and footpaths, and, Northumberland’s Apperley Farm was once the home of Field-Marshal John Vereker. £2.2m
The house has had a succession of religious and aristocratic owners
The original L-shaped hall house stands on land granted by Roger de Montgomery to the Abbey of St Peter and St Paul in Shrewsbury, which sublet it to local yeomen farmers until the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Since the English Civil Wars, the house has had a suc cession of religious and aristocratic owners, including Sir George Penruddock, whose father led the ill-fated Penruddock Uprising in 1655 and subsequently lost his lands, followed by the Chambre family and later the Vaughans, descendants of the ancient princes and nobles of Wales.
Burlford Hall stands in almost three acres of park-like gardens in the heart of this popular north Shropshire village. Renovated to the highest of standards under the direction of local craftsmen Nick Over and Chris Ayres, the house offers 8,153sq ft of colourful living space, including five principal reception rooms, a large family kitchen, nine bedrooms, six bathrooms and a shower room. Outbuildings include a two-storey folly, a brick paved courtyard with the original farm bell and a restored stable block, now used as a workshop, plant room, gym and barn.
Painstakingly restored by its current owners over the past 15 years, the remark able, multi-gabled, timber-frame house is part 17th century, part Victorian, although, according to Historic England, the ornamen tal wooden porch, inscribed ‘Remember yr Laterena/1420’, suggests that the house was begun at about that time.
78 | Country Life | August 31, 2022 Property market via the A5/M54 and the M6, to the conurba tions of Birmingham and the West Midlands.
Above and right: Grade II-listed Burlton Hall stands in three acres of north Shropshire countryside and has been renovated ‘to the highest of standards’. £2.2m
Norfolk, £710,000 With 120 miles of navigable waterways on the doorstep at Burgh St Peter and Beccles and a pond with a rowing boat in the garden, four-bedroom Walnut Barn in Toft Monks has been run as a successful holiday let by the current owners. Externally, the house has all the hallmarks of a classic barn conversion—large amounts of glazing with double-height windows—whereas, internally, the space has been decorated with a nod to Scandinavian design. A large cylindrical woodburner stands in the double-height dining room, which has painted white floorboards and a modern mural created by covering an upper wall in Nuvole wallpaper by Cole & Son, set above the well-equipped kitchen. Winkworth (01502 723007)
Berkshire, £1.25 million Set on the edge of Wokingham—which boasts a cinema, restaurants and shops, as well as direct trains to London Waterloo—Farm Barn has five bed rooms and is Grade II listed. Unlike some conversions, which can feel cavernous from the lack of room divisions inside, this one has been cleverly arranged by dividing up the ground floor to create a large eat-in kitchen with an AGA, a smaller study and a utility room. Four bedrooms are located on the first floor, with the fifth in a bedroom annexe above the garage, which works well as guest accommodation or a home office. Hamptons (01252 216577)
Properties of the week
Arabella Youens 80 | Country Life | August 31, 2022
Barn storming With their exposed stone and brick work, wide beams and vast amounts of natural light, barn conversions offer the character and charm of historic buildings with no low-ceiling problems
Monmouthshire, £1.4 million Lydart Barn, near Monmouth, enjoys views of the Black Mountains. Ideal for those wishing to live and work in the heart of the countryside—the property has a separate office and gym and stands in 7½ acres—it’s also only three miles from the border town of Monmouth, known for its pretty streets and thriving cultural scene.
9000
The town’s Savoy Theatre is believed to be one of the oldest cinemas still in use in the country. Traditionally constructed in stone and well restored, Lydart comes with four bedrooms (one is currently occupied by a gym) and has an enclosed courtyard garden with a sun terrace—ideal for taking advantage of brighter winter days away from any windchill. Roscoe Rogers & Knight (01600 772929)
August 31, 2022 | Country Life | 81 Kent, £999,950
Yorkshire, £2.15 million Toft Farm in West Lilling was created from a previous conversion of a range of former farm buildings believed to date from the late 18th century. As a result of a few modern interventions, the house is now ‘an intriguing amalgamation of the old and the new,’ say agents. Set among the exposed timbers and beams, original doors and wooden panelling are a zoned central heating system, surround-sound audio and high-quality bathroom and kitchen fittings.
In addition, the five-bedroom, four-bathroom house comes with wall and roof insulation, plus roof solar panels to reduce the running costs. Humberts (01904 611828)
The Tythe Barn near West Malling, set in an easily com mutable part of Kent, stands within a mature garden, through which runs a pretty stream. Distinctively beamed throughout inside, the conversion successfully marries a mix of ‘good-sized bedrooms with a large lofted living space on the first floor,’ says selling agent Matthew Hodder-Williams at Knight Frank. The four bedrooms are all on the ground floor, including the master and a family bathroom. A stairway leads up to the living spaces, which include a study or reading area and a potential further bedroom or home office. The area is prized for its excellent selection of local schools, including some of Kent’s most popular grammars. Knight Frank (01732 744460)
