Country Life: 7th September 2022 Early Property Pages by julialaurencefuture

LIFELONDON My life’s work to save the Sealyham20227,SEPTEMBER EVERY WEEK SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 ‘A terrifying alchemy’: how to grow a prairie Confessions of a writer and what’s in a title? £4.7536ISSUE: UKTHEINPRINTED CLI372.cover.indd 1 31/08/2022 16:53

Winner of six customer experience awards in 2021 knightfrank.co.uk Langham, Dorset 6bedrooms |5bathrooms &showerroom|6reception rooms |Annexe |Indoorswimming pool| Gardens &formallawns |Pond Garage |Stabling |Paddocks |Arable land |Approximately 70.15acres| Freehold |Council Taxband G Ahandsome countryhouse in aprivate rural setting with exceptionalviews of theDorset countryside.Available as awhole or in lots.A cottage is available by separate negotiation Gillingham 2miles (LondonWaterloofrom 1hour 57 minutes) |A303 4miles|CastleCary14miles Guide price £3,800,000 Knight Frank London &Sherborne sarah.ka.brown@knightfrank.com 020 4579 2532 luke.pender-cudlip@knightfrank.com 01935 805324 REF :C HO012202802 Your partners in property

Michael Graham Bedford RichardBanks 01234 220000 Michael Graham London Bob Bickersteth 0207 839 0888 WESTONING, BEDFORDSHIRE Guide Price: £2,000,000 7 Bedrooms| 4 ReceptionRooms| 3 Bathrooms| N/A EPC AGrade II listed classic Georgian Rectory set in 1.75 acres with adetached indoor pool complex, tennis court and outbuildings. Living space of almost 4,500 sq. ft. includes aShaker-style kitchen with an Aga and doors to acourtyarddining area. Landscaped formal gardens include apond, an English rose garden and acornﬁeld meadow michaelgraham.co.uk michaelgraham_living

Winner of six customer experience awards in 2021 knightfrank.co.uk Hexton, Hertfordshire 11-14bedrooms |5-7 bathrooms| 5reception rooms |Swimming pool|Tennis court|Arable land High bird pheasant &partridge shoot |Grade II listed|Approximately 773acres |Freehold |Council Taxband H An exceptionalresidential, amenity and sporting estate just 40 milesnorth of London,within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.Available as awhole or in twolots. Hitchin 5miles|M1Jct 11a8 miles|Cambridge 39 miles|London 40 miles |Heathrow Airport 41 miles Guide price £15,000,000 Knight Frank London will.matthews@knightfrank.com 020 4502 7347 georgie.veale@knightfrank.com 020 4579 2919 Savills lharrison@savills.com 020 7016 3715 REF :C HO01227334 7 Your partners in property

Edwardian Country House Malton,North Yorkshire Malton:2 miles,Helmsley: 15 miles,York: 19 miles Previously aformerRothschild’scountryhome, SwintonGrangeisamagnificentfully modernisedhouse setwithin apeaceful stretchofthe HowardianHills. 4reception rooms, 7bedrooms, 7bathrooms, study, gamesroom, gym, 2bedroom annexe, tennis court, summerhouse,parkland,outbuildings,opengaraging, ha-ha, parterregarden andwoodland.Freehold|Council TaxBand =H|EPC =F About 46 acres|Guide £7 million

LindsayCuthill SavillsLondon CountryDepartment 02070163820 lcuthill@savills.com savills savills.co.uk Edward Stoyle SavillsYork 01904617 821 edward.stoyle@savills.com

Pembrokeshire, Pembroke Dock Over 45 offices acrossEngland and Scotland, includingprime Central London. AremarkableGrade II*Listedformermilitarybarracks, situated in acommandingpositiononthe Pembrokeshirecoast Pembroke: 2miles, MilfordHaven: 8miles, Haverfordwest: 10 miles, Narbeth: 15 miles, M4 Motorway:48miles, Swansea: 60 miles, Cardiff: 100 miles, BristolAirport: 140 miles Tremendous potential and arareopportunitytodevelop and restoreanhistoric building of national importance

OffersOver£500,000 /struttandparker@struttandparker struttandparker.com Oliver CustanceBaker Country Department 02075912213 oliver.custance.baker@struttandparker.com Joe Martin LudlowOﬃce 01584 777 261 joe.martin@struttandparker.com Gary Haskell West Midlands NewHomes Department 01743284 200 gary.haskell@struttandparker.com

Elmswell,Suffolk Bury St Edmunds: 9miles,Newmarket: 22 miles Imposing 19th-centuryresidenceand high-qualityprivatestudfarminthe heartofSuffolk. Principalhouse,4 reception rooms, 6bedrooms, 3bathrooms, tennis court,3 cottages,range of outbuildings,studfacilitiesoffering40boxes and about91acres of well-fencedpaddocks Freehold |Council TaxBand=C-H |EPC =B-D About 121acres |Guide £5.75million savills savills.co.uk Exemplary Stud Farm Will Hargreaves SavillsSuffolk 01473905 233 whargreaves@savills.com Oliver Carr SavillsCambridge 01223 080639 ocarr@savills.com

Pershore, Worcestershire Evesham: 5miles,Cheltenham: 17 miles Residentialfarmlocated in theValeofEvesham on theedgeof theCotswolds. 6/7bedroom farmhouse with annexe, 1bedroom holidaycottage,Grade II* chapel ruin,traditionalbrick farm buildings,grain storage, cattle yards, arable,pasture,woodland,ponds andcertifiedorganic for over 30 years. Available as awhole or in twolots. Freehold |Council TaxBand=H|EPC =E andD About 456acres |Guide £6.5 million savills savills.co.uk AttractiveVersatile Farm PhilipHoare Savills Central England Farms& Estates 07968550 379 phoare@savills.com Louise Harrison SavillsNational Farms&Estates 07807999 066 lharrison@savills.com

Chatton, Northumberland Wooler:7.5 miles, Alnwick: 12.9 miles,Newcastle:46miles Beautifully situated mixedfarming andresidential estate with vacant possession,conveniently accessible to thecoast and Scottish Borders. Principalfarmhouse,4 bedroom cottage, rangeof traditionaland modernfarmbuildings,about433 acresofhighyieldingarable land,productive grassland andamenity woodland.Freehold|Council TaxBand=Dand G|EPC =F About 582acres |Guide £5.85million savills savills.co.uk Outstanding Mixed Farm Alex Lawson SavillsNational Farms& Estates 02039934539 alawson@savills.com Andrew Black SavillsNorthernFarms &Estates 01904211 840 ablack@savills.com

Nettlebed,Oxfordshire Henley-on-Thames:7.8 miles,Oxford: 19.8 miles Lot1ofEwelmeParkEstate. Superbunlistedprincipalhouse,4 receptionrooms, 8bedrooms, 6bathrooms, tennis court, outdoor swimming pool andpoolhouse,stable yard,outdoor manège, Grade II listed farmhouse,cottage,farmbuildings, pasturepaddocks,arable farmland,amenity woodland and gardens. Furtherlotsavailable.Freehold |Council TaxBand= H|EPC =F About 72 acres|Guide £11.5million savills savills.co.uk Charming Country Mansion Louisa Batterbury Savills NationalFarms &Estates 02039914356 louisa.batterbury@savills.com RichardBinning SavillsOxford 01865692 131 rbinning@savills.com

VirginiaWater,Surrey Heathrow Airport:7.1 miles, CentralLondon:25miles Stunning family home setbehindprivategates enablesa wonderfulmix of tranquillity andextra spacefor entertaining.4reception rooms, kitchen/breakfast room,7ensuite bedrooms, 2further bedrooms,gym,swimmingpool, annexe, double garage, gatedentrance and south-facing grounds. Freehold |Council TaxBand=H|EPC =B 9,833sqft|Guide £4.75million savills savills.co.uk On TheWentworth Estate KarenBrannigan SavillsSunningdale 07812249 395 kbrannigan@Savills.com Paul Finnegan SavillsLondon CountryDepartment 07967555 513 pfinnegan@savills.com

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Winner of six customer experience awards in 2021

Winner of six customer experience awards in 2021 knightfrank.co.uk Cirencester,Gloucestershire 5bedrooms |2bathrooms |2reception rooms |2bedroom annexe |Parking |Doublegarage |Garden Freehold |Council Taxband G Aparticularly handsome Grade II listedCotswold stonehouse set in apeaceful location in the heart of the village Cirencester 4miles|Cricklade 6miles|Kemble Station 4miles (London Paddington from 70 minutes) Offers in excess of £1,550,000 Knight Frank Cirencester rupert.sturgis@knightfrank.com 01285 659771 REF :P OD012214361 Your partners in property

Over 45 offices acrossEngland and Scotland, includingprime Central London. An arable andlivestock farm with developmentopportunities in aprime SouthDevon location Devon, Totnes GuidePrice £3,225,000 (Whole) Totnes Train Station: 1.5miles (London from 2hr 42m), Salcombe: 19 miles, Plymouth: 22 miles, Exeter: 29 miles Twodwellings and arangeoffarm buildings forrefurbishment or redevelopment(STPP)|Astone barn and paddock with excellentviews Arable and pastureland with extensiveviews to Dartmoor &the Dart Estuary |Mixed maturewoodland and aredundantquarry |Edge of town location About 198 acres (80 ha) in total Forsale as awhole or in up to ﬁvelots Chris Johnson South West Estates& Farm Agency 01392229 408 chris.johnson@struttandparker.com Will Whittaker National Estates& Farm Agency 0207318 5166 will.whittaker@struttandparker.com

OnlyWithUspropertyshowcase Ilmington, Warwickshire Adelightful Cotswold stone detached cottage in the popular north Cotswold village of Ilmington Contact: Moreton in Marsh 01608 503959 £825,000 Offers over Fawkham Green, Kent Afour bedroom house with two reception rooms and views over open fields and the village green Contact: Hartley office 01474 527865 K£750,000 irby Bellars, Leicestershire An English country cottage with character accommodation and features that have been maintained and restored by the current owner Contact: 01664 518924 £419,950 Guide price Low Row, Cumbria Afine six bedroom detached dwelling circa 1867, beautifully set in 2 acres of grounds in a stunning location near Hadrian’s Wall Contact: Carlisle office 01228 304912 £950,000 Guide price Mersham, Kent Abeautifully renovated period country house with stunning interiors set in wonderful gardens, including part of a Medieval moat Contact: Ashford office 01233 238793 £1,350,000 Westhay, Somerset Thissecludedfarmhouseistuckedawayatthe endofalongdrivewayandhasbeensignificantly extendedtooffervastaccommodation Contact: Glastonbury office 01458 521946 £950,000 Guide price Verifyatwww.onthemarket.com/only-with-us/.Agentsspecifyexclusivity. Wensley, North Yorkshire Abeautifulformer Station Masters House and waiting room which currently operates as a stunning luxury five star holiday let. Contact: Leyburn office 01969 738984 £1,100,000 Guide price Ogwell, NewtonAbbot, Devon Athree bedroom detached Grade II listed property in a sought after village with a walled garden, outbuildings and ample parking Contact: Totnes office 01803 268823 £700,000 Offers in excess of Wye, Kent Asuperbly situated edge of village house with an annexe and a generous garden, in sought after village on the North Downs Contact: Canterbury office 01227 319798 £1,750,000 Guide price

Allthesepropertiesappearedexclusivelywithus, 24hoursormorebeforeRightmoveorZoopla. Create alert Toviewtheseandthe finestselectionof premiumproperties, searchOnTheMarket atCountryLife.co.uk andsetupaproperty alerttoday. Createanalert Paddock Wood, Kent Astunning three bedroom barn conversion with an open plan kitchen/dining room and a gorgeous rear garden with a charming stream Contact: Tonbridge office 01732 658691 £1,000,000 £1,100,000 Guide price Stockton on Tees, County Durham Awonderful, fully refurbished countryside home set within 2 1 acres with several outbuildings Perfect smallholding potential Contact: Darlington office 01740 487976 £695,000 Guide price Kelso, Scottish Borders Pringle Bank is alate18th century, five-bedroom period home with aprivate driveway and spacious garden. Contact: Kelso office 01573 244987 £445,000 Offers over Westonzoyland, Somerset AGrade II listed, five bedroom period home in a prime village location with several outbuildings and grounds of approx 1/2 acre Contact: Bridgwater office 01278 285921 £850,000 Hornby, Hackforth, North Yorkshire An attractive and substantial four bedroom barn conversion with character features, spacious gardens and private parking Contact: Leyburn office 01969 738983 £675,000 Guide price Avon Dassett, Warwickshire Part of a Grade II listed, stone Victorian hunting lodge with a wealth of period features and incredible entertaining space Contact: Stratford upon Avon 01789 229884 £1,100,000 Guide price Buckland, Surrey Acharming early 20th century detached family home in need of modernisation in Buckland, a sought after village near Reigate Contact: Dorking office 01306 293954 £1,195,000 Guide price Hints, Staffordshire Thisfive-bedroom,picturesquebarn is surrounded by panoramic countrysideviewsoffering breathtaking views throughouteach season. Contact: Four Oaks office 01216 597872 £950,000

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Don’tmissyourchancetoadvertise your property in ourCotswolds specialissue Booking/copy deadline:September 7, 2022 CotswoldsSpecial ON SA LE SE PT EM BE R2 1, 20 22 Formoreinformation on advertising, please contactJulia Laurence julia.laurence@futurenet.com–07971923054 EXPLOR INGTHE IDYLLICLOCATIONS AND BE AUTIFULPROPERTIESOFTHE COTSWOLDS

Spacious contemporaryproperty in large private south-facing gardens with sublime 180 degree harbour views in one of the most desirable addresses on the south Cornish coast. Immaculatelypresented spacious 4bedroom accommodation, heated pool, gated driveway, garage/boatstore,direct access tobeach and harbour.EPC -D Guide £4m 01326 617447 Flushing, Cornwall jonathancunliffe.co.uk JONATHAN CUN LIF FE

We set out on ajourneyovertwo decades ago to revolutionise the premium property market and to create atruly international estate agency with alocal flair. The world mayhavechanged overthe past 21 years, but our mission remained the same; to createbespokeservicesthat match theuniqueness of your property aspirations Beinspired by Fine &Country and becomepart of the legacy. Discovermoreatfineandcountry.com Contactyour local Fine &Country agent for unrivalled insight into your marketplace and avaluation of your property Head Office 119-121 Park Lane, Mayfair,London W1K 7AG Tel: +44 20 7079 1515 parklane@fineandcountry.com fineandcountry.com WEYBRIDGE SURREY An outstanding, six bedroom family house, situated on the internationally renowned St Georges Hill estate. GARSTANG LANCASHIRE Set within approximately 12 acres of private grounds, the grand estate of Ashley Hall was built in the 1920’s and is bothrich in history and features. RISLEY DERBYSHIRE Dating back to circa 1834, Risley Cottage is acharming four/ five bedroom period property, retaining many originalfeatures. EPC Exempt |CouncilTax: H Tenure: Freehold £3,475,000 Contact: +44 203 940 5138 EPC: D| CouncilTax: G Tenure:Freehold offers over £1,000,000 Contact: +44 1332 973888 EPC Exempt |Council Tax:H Tenure:Freehold OIEO £6,000,000 Contact: +44 1672 511211 EPC: F| CouncilTax: H Tenure: Freehold guide price £1,650,000 Contact: +44 1482 420999 EVERLEIGH MARLBOROUGH Everleigh Manor is one of Wiltshire’sfinest country homes, with a fascinating history. Set majestically in over 30 acres of grounds. OF FINE &C OU NTRY

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THE MASTER AND EVA In 1869, 22-year-old Eva Gonzalès entered the Paris studio of the legendary Modernist Edouard Manet as his only pupil. This autumn, an exhibition, ‘Discover Manet & Eva Gonzalès’, opens at the National Gallery that looks at how the two artists inspired each other. The exhibition is centred around Manet’s large portrait of Gonzalès (1870), in which he depicted her in a fine white dress more suitable for socialising than painting. In reality, she would have worn a smock over her clothes to paint, but, historically, artists chose to depict themselves wearing their finery to show how successful they were. Gonzalès holds her palette and brushes and we see her posing as if putting the finishing touches to a still life. This portrait emulates the grand 18thcentury versions Manet so admired, such as the assured self-portraits by Adélaïde Labille-Guiard and Elisabeth Vigée-Le Brun exhibited at the French Salon. Vigée-Lebrun’s copy of her Uffizi self-portrait from 1791 is in the forthcoming exhibition, but the show cannot include any comparable self-portraits by Gonzalès because none can be firmly attributed. Co-curator Sarah Herring explains: ‘There are some portraits by Gonzalès, but none can be firmly established as self-portraits. She often painted her sister Jeanne, who was her constant model throughout her life, but it seems she didn’t want to commit her own portrait to canvas.’ The show does include other paintings by Gonzalès, however, such as her celebrated work Box at the Théâtre des Italiens of 1874. Charlotte Mullins ‘Discover Manet & Eva Gonzalès’ is at The National Gallery (Sunley Room), London WC2, from October 21–January 15, 2023. Entry is free (www.nationalgallery.org.uk)

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Winner of six customer experience awards in 2021 knightfrank.co.uk Englefield Road, Islington N1 4-6bedrooms |5bathrooms |3-5 reception rooms |Garden|Approximately 3,975 sq ft EPC C|Freehold |Council Taxband G An impressive,early-Victorian family home that has been dramatically re-designedbyrenowned architect Phil Coffey, showcasing cutting-edge contemporarydesign and sumptuous interiors 1.3milestoAngel underground station |0.7 milestoDalston Junction station |0.9 milestoHaggerston station Guide price £5,995,000 Knight Frank Islington nick.moore@knightfrank.com 020 3993 8433 REF :I SL150121 Your partners in property

Winner of six customer experience awards in 2021 knightfrank.co.uk Coleraine Road, Greenwich SE3 6-7bedrooms |3bathrooms |3reception rooms |Terrace|Parking |Approximately 5,024sqftincluding eaves storage and garage EPC E|Freehold|Council Taxband H 'Lydney' is an outstanding detachedVictorian home which has been refurbishedtothe highest standard and benefits from unrivalledpanoramicviews of London WestcombePark Station 0.3miles|Greenwich Park 0.6miles Guide price £5,000,000 Knight Frank Canary Wharf lee.oneill@knightfrank.com 020 3993 4437 REF :C NW012265462 Your partners in property

Winner of six customer experience awards in 2021 knightfrank.co.uk Lennox Garden Mews, SW1X 4bedrooms |2bathrooms |Reception room |Parking |Unfurnished| Approximately 2,060 sq ft EPC D|Council Taxband G|Deposit payable £22,500 |Minimum tenancylength 12 months This charming, newly refurbished, mews housesits on aprivate cobbledroad in one of Knightsbridge's most sought-after locations 0.7milestoKnightsbridge station |0.7 milestoSloaneSquare station Guide price £3,750 per week Knight Frank Knightsbridge Lettings arya.salari@knightfrank.com 020 3993 0849 REF :K NQ012203105 Your partners in property

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A bee in one’s (building) bonnet

ONE of the UK’s rarest bumblebees has been discovered on a wildlife site earmarked for a multi-billion-pound theme park. The shrill carder bee (above) is normally only found in a select few places across the UK and had never been seen on the Swanscombe Peninsula (a 533-acre marshland site on the banks of the River Thames), until last week. The distinctive greenish-grey and blackstriped bee was spotted by wildlife photographer and amateur naturalist Richard Dowling. Plans to build the sprawling London Resort theme park on the site were retracted in March, but they are expected to be resubmitted later on this year. It’s not yet known how Mr Dowling’s sighting may affect those plans.

THE Art Newspaper has revealed that the National Portrait Gallery is attempting to raise £50 million to buy Joshua Reynolds’s Portrait of Omai (above, about 1776). The painting—the subject of which was one of the first Polynesian visitors to Europe, who trav elled to Britain with Capt Cook—was once owned by the 5th Earl of Carlisle. In 2001, the Earl sold it to a Swiss company, Settlements SA. At about the same time, Tate tried to purchase it for £5.5 million. Artworks of this significance require Government permission to leave the country. When a licence to do so is sought, it auto matically gives UK buyers the opportunity to match the most up-to-date valuation price and purchase the work (therefore keep ing it in the UK). Earlier this year, an export licence for Portrait of Omai was deferred and then extended to March 2023—a surefire sign that a bid for it had been made. If the National Portrait Gallery (which is due to open next year for the first time since 2020, following a £35.5 million refurbishment) is successful, Omai will tie with Titian’s Diana and Actaeon (1556–59) as the most expensive work ever bought by a UK museum.

A National masterpiece

34 | Country Life | September 7, 2022 LONDON LIFE News Alamy

Bowie immortalised DAVID BOWIE is to be honoured with a stone on the Music Walk of Fame, joining the likes of The Who and Amy Winehouse. The Camden-based trail was founded by Lee Bennett in 2019 and recognises influential artists from around the world. The Space Oddity-singer had a long-lasting connection to the capital: he was born and raised in Brixton, south London, and, at the very begin ning of his career, regularly performed in Soho, most notably at The Marquee Club. Bowie’s stone will be unveiled on September 15.

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LONDON LIFE Editor Rosie Paterson Editor-in-chief Mark Hedges Sub-editors Octavia Pollock, James Fisher Art Heather Clark, Emma Earnshaw, Ben Harris, Dean Usher Pictures Lucy Ford, Emily Anderson Advertising Katie Ruocco 07929 364909

tons

The amount of rubbish cleared from west London streets in the aftermath of Notting Hill Carnival, by a team of 200 cleaners and 30 refuse trucks and sweepers. The weight is equivalent to 25 London buses. Carefully laid plans meant that workers only had until 6am on Tuesday, August 30—less than 12 hours after the last revellers went home—to clear up the mess

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Two of Miss Smith’s photographs originally appeared in the June 3, 2020, issue of C OUNTRY LIFE . The exhibition is free to attend

What’s on TICKETS to a live screening of The Seagull at The Soho Hotel—part of The Firmdale Group—on November 3 are on sale now

Clarketale21st-centurynational-theatre-live-the-seagull).com/hotels/london/the-soho-hotel/(www.firmdalehotels.TheretellingofAntonChekhov’sofloveandlonelinessstarringEmilia( left ; Game of Thrones) in her West End debut, premiered at the Harold Pinter Theatre in late June and runs until September 10 (www.haroldpintertheatre. co.uk). It’s been filmed in collaboration with the National Theatre Live programme—which has also beamed the Harold Pinter Theatre production of Prime Facie, starring Killing Eve’s Jodie Comer, into cinemas. The tickets, which cost £60 per person, include a two-course meal and welcome cocktail.

Email firstname.surname@futurenet.com September 7, 2022 | Country Life | 35 LONDON LIFE

Firmdale has long been a supporter of theatre and film and boasts a film club that is active across their Soho, Charlotte Street and Covent Garden properties, in the hotels’ individual screening rooms. As well as a programme of classic films, latest releases and live theatre productions, the screening rooms (left) are available for private hire.

An exhibition of photographs featuring Londoners standing in front of their own front doors during the covid pandemic opens on September 9 (until September 11) at Alexandra Palace, N22. Photographer Jenny Smith started the ‘Front Door Photo’ series as a way to raise money for Refuge, a domesticviolence charity that recorded a 700% increase in traffic to their website across successive lockdowns. Among the 500 households photographed, Mrs Smith also captured Radio 1 breakfast show DJ Greg James with his wife and the author Bella Mackie and former Labour party leader Ed Miliband—raising more than £20,000 along the way.

Have you ever wondered when Julius Caesar said veni, vidi, vici or why the poet Horace told us to carpe diem? Well, in their latest book on Roman inscriptions, authors Harry Mount and John Davie plan to reveal all, as well as taking a look at the first ever mention of London in a letter, inscribed in wood. Et Tu, Brute? The Best Latin Lines Ever is published October 13 (Bloomsbury, £14.99)

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Family Home On TheRiver LowerTeddington Road,HamptonWickKT1 HamptonWickStation:0.3 miles Extraordinaryopportunity to acquireone of thefinest housesand plots to gracethe banks of theRiver Thames 5reception rooms, 6bedrooms, 4bathrooms, library, snooker room,winecellar, conservatory, summer house,workshop, double garage,off-street parking, privatemoorings andterracedgardens Freehold |Council TaxBand=H|EPC =E 8,202sqft|Guide £10million

Daniel Killick SavillsTeddington 02039935763 daniel.killick @savills.com savills savills.co.uk PeterNorgrove SavillsRichmond 02039933115 peter.norgrove @savills.com RobertCruickshank RossHand 02089779770 rc@rosshand.co.uk

Nearby, Isleworth’s All Saints’ Church, medieval in origin, was almost rebuilt by Wren in the 17th century and wrecked by a fire in 1943. Today’s church is mostly the 1970 work of architect Michael Blee. It looks pleasantly odd against the 18th-century buildings around it, such as the white washed London Apprentice, a Grade II*listed pub that may once have been the favourite destination of City Livery appren tices on their days off. On the Kew side of the river, an obelisk seemingly rises from the waters of the ‘It became a private retreat from the pomp of the Court, then a place of shelter during the King’s madness’ ‘The house is the observatory George III had built to watch the transit of Venus in 1769’

One of the most venerable buildings is Syon House, with crenellated towers that appear almost suddenly past a river bend, offering themselves to the public gaze with none of Kew Palace’s modesty. The Duke of Northumberland’s London home started life as England’s only Bridgettine Abbey, a dual monastery that gave the estate its Biblical name. Henry VIII dissolved it in 1539, but the monks eventually had their revenge. When the King died in 1547, his remains lay at Syon House for a night: legend has it that Go with the flow

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Theowners.RiverThames is equally as busy: row ing boats, canoes and the odd narrowboat chug past Asgill House—Sir Charles Asgill’s golden tribute to his own meteoric rise to Lord Mayor of London—coasting down the echo of Henry VIII’s Royal Palace, spritzholding crowds hanging onto the last vestiges of summer and heroes on stand-up paddleboards labouring at the foot of Peggy Jean, a barge-turned-Australian restaurant. Despite the odd flash of modernity, it’s easy to imagine J. M. W. Turner on a little wooden boat by the stone arches of ancient Richmond Bridge, soaking up the views he’d later paint, or on the river bank, waiting patiently to catch a fish. ‘One of his great

The banks of the River Thames are littered with historical houses and royal residences, says Carla Passino, who advocates experiencing them all on a walk upstream Illustrated by Fred van Deelen the coffin exploded and some irreverent dogs licked his blood. Despite this, the royal connection endured: Lady Jane Grey was at Syon House when she agreed to become Queen, Elizabeth I visited four times and James I was lavishly entertained there by Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland—until the Earl, implicated in the Gunpowder Plot, was locked in the Tower. A prisoner for 16 years, Percy tried to swap the estate for his freedom, but the King refused, which was perhaps a mistake, as Syon House had ‘bath ing houses’, a rare convenience at the time. The estate has since remained in the pos session of the 9th Earl’s descendants through the female line—Sir Hugh Smithson having taken the Percy surname from his wife, Lady Elizabeth Seymour, Baroness Percy, with whom he commissioned Robert Adam to remodel the house and Capability Brown to redesign the park. From the Kew bank, the sweeping view conceived by Brown is reversed, rising towards the house and the Percy Lion perched on the roof, which seems to poke a passing cloud with its tail, straight as an arrow.

Echoing the royals, many of the great and good fell for the stretch of riverside from Brentford to Twickenham—a landscape so pretty that it was nicknamed Arcadian Thames—and garlanded it with great houses.

On foot K EW PALACE is coy. From the Thames Path, it’s only a glimpse of red topped by a forest of chim neys and sheltered by the mighty trees of Kew Gardens. The smallest Royal Palace was once a merchant’s house, but George II and Queen Caroline thought it a good home for their daughters. Its charms later won over George III and Queen Charlotte, for whom it became a private retreat from the pomp of the Court, then a place of shelter during the King’s madness.

Thames’s side channels, beyond which stands a cupola-ed house. The house is the observatory George III had built to watch the transit of Venus in 1769, with the obelisk, now a favourite perch for the many herons that hunt for fish in the shallows, one of three built to align astronomical instru ments. The King also kept a collection of clocks at the Observatory and, for a while, London’s official time was set there—grey stones now mark Richmond’s meridian line, albeit almost lost in the riverside traffic of bicycles, runners and dogs walking their

LONDON LIFE 38 | Country Life | September 7, 2022

LONDON LIFE September 7, 2022 | Country Life | 39 On foot CLI372.ll_on_foot.indd 39 01/09/2022 12:28

At home along the River Thames Isleworth, £3 million

40 | Country Life | September 7, 2022 LONDON LIFE passions was fishing and he would go out on the Thames either by himself or with friends,’ explains Matthew Morgan, museum director at Turner’s House in Twickenham. The artist lived close to the river for 13 years (1813–26), in an idiosyncratic house he had designed himself. He might have ini tially fashioned it like one of the towers he so often painted, but later remodelled it, borrowing motifs such as the hallway’s dou ble arches from his friend Sir John Soane. Elegant, rather than grand, Sandycombe Lodge was very much a retreat for him—he never painted there, although he probably sketched, and never invited customers or patrons, only his friends. ‘He was not using this place to impress people. When he trav elled around England, very often he’d stop off at the nearest big house and say: “Do you want me to draw something?” But he wasn’t really doing any of that here.’ Had he decided to do so, he’d have had almost too much of a choice of subjects, not least Orleans House, where Louis Philippe, Duc d’Orleans, lived in 1813–15, and Marble Hill—although, by then, the Palladian villa was no longer the glittering jewel that George II’s mistress, Henrietta Howard, had built as her riverside haven. Under her ownership, it had become a favourite haunt of London’s best and brightest, prompting Alexander Pope to write: ‘There is a greater court now at Marble Hill than at Kensington.’

Completely renovated in 2014, this Edwardian house is conveniently close to the Thames and Marble Hill. With 2,970sq ft of accommodation, it has four bedrooms and a double reception room opening onto the kitchen and long leafy views. Savills (020–8614 9100) ‘Over the centuries, it has amassed such a rich history that even the longest-serving member of the collections team still discovers new things’

On foot

It was a role the house would reprise when Capt Jonathan Peel and his wife, Lady Alice, bought and restored it in the 1820s, but it was not to last—after Lady Alice died in 1887, Marble Hill almost risked being lost to development. Today, it is once again mag nificent, having reopened in May after a threeyear conservation project that revived both interior and gardens.

Whereas Marble Hill, as does Syon Park, lords it over the Thames, showing off its pristine splendour to every passing boat, Ham House, evoking Kew Palace, hides behind a wall of trees on the opposite bank of the river, reached by the historic Hammertons Ferry. The house had originally been built for Thomas Vavasour, Knight Marshal to James I, but its most formidable resident was Elizabeth, Countess of Dysart. Her father, William Murray, a staunch Royalist, fled to France in the Cromwell years, leaving Elizabeth and her mother, Catherine, to (wo) man the estate: ‘They managed to prevent the house being sequestered,’ says Ham House’s curator, Hannah Mawdsley. ‘They were very good at negotiating and playing the political landscape.’ Possibly good at spying, too: Elizabeth visited France a few times and might have carried messages to Charles II: he gave her a pension of £800 a year when he regained the throne. Later, with her second husband, the Duke of Lauderdale, she expanded and redecorated Ham House and enlarged the estate, creating French-style avenues—‘basically to show off and say “Look how rich and important we are”’. After the Duchess’s death, the house went to the children from her first marriage with Lionel Tollemache and remained in the family until 1948, when it passed to the National Trust. Over the centuries, it has amassed such a rich history that even the longestserving member of the collections team still discovers new things, according to Dr Mawdsley. ‘There’s always more to learn— that’s the joy of history.’

One of the oldest houses in Old Isleworth, this almost 4,000sq ft, Grade II-listed house has six bed rooms, three reception rooms and plenty of original features, plus a mature garden and a perfect location on postcard-pretty Church Street. River Homes (020–8995 0500)

Petersham, £6.95 million Built in 1712 and extended in the 1930s, this former hunting lodge for Richmond Park, which spans 4,745sq ft, is a magnificent family home with four elegant reception rooms, six bedrooms and spectacular gardens. Knight Frank (020–8939 2808)

Twickenham, £3.5 million

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SOUTHBOROUGHROAD, SURBITON,KT6 £2,900,000 FREEHOLD [7 bedrooms] [4 bathrooms] [4 receptions][south west facing garden] Aclassic Arts andCraftsdetached home built in c. 1895,beautifully presentedretaining many period originalfeatures plusamorangeryand cellar.The property benefitsfroma large southwest facinglandscaped garden,a doublegarage andgated drivewayall setinthe popularSouthboroughConservationAreaofSurbiton.EPC D:Council TaxBandH 02035048390SURBITON@HAMPTONS.CO.UK HAM PT ON S. CO .U K

T HERE’S a salutary hush to the Bamford shop in Mayfair, kitty-corner to the Grosvenor Chapel and the office workers lunching in the Mount Street Gardens. Bunches of practically cut clothes in cashmere, cotton and wool line the store, hanging from tree branches. The shift in atmosphere on the doorstep from South Audley Street is intentional.

CrossmanPollybyIllustrationAlamy;

• Buckingham Palace has been the official London residence of the UK’s sovereigns since 1837, but there are four other royal residences in London still in use, Clarence House, Kensington Palace, St James’s Palace and Thatched House Lodge

• The Albany, a three-storey block built in the late 18th century for the 1st Viscount Melbourne, is now an apartment complex overseen by a board of trustees, which looks after The Albany on behalf of the proprietors. Prospective tenants must be vetted before moving in and there’s an outright ban on pets, children and publicity. Previous inhabitants include Lord Snowdon, Lord Byron and Baroness Pauline de Rothschild

TOTALLY THAMES —a celebration of the river that bisects London, through the lens of art, activities and educational programmes—is on now until September 30 (www.thames festivaltrust.org). Sign up for a Brunel river cruise, a guided walk through Rotherhithe to the Mayflower statue or a complimentary sketching class. Over in west London, Kew Gardens, TW9, is celebrating the opening of Edible Science: Kew’s Kitchen Garden, following an extensive nine-month reorganisation (www. kew.org). The tasty garden plans to tackle global problems, such as biodiversity loss, food security and climate change. On September 23, television historian and Historic Royal Palaces chief curator Lucy Worsley will delve into the remarkable life of the queen of crime, Agatha Christie (left; Books, page 154)

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42 | Country Life | September 7, 2022 LONDON LIFE The great and the good Visitforwww.bamford/uk/pages/storesindividualopeninghours

• A number of them are still owned by The Queen, but are not lived in by any members of the Royal Family. Marlborough House, a Grade I-listed mansion in St James’s, has been leased to the Commonwealth Secretariat since 1965. It is open to the public for the annual Open House Festival (September 8–21) and for group tours by arrangement

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• There are about 40 former royal residences in the capital, although some have been demolished, such as Chelsea Manor, once home to Anne of Cleves, who died there in 1557. In 1825, Earl Cadogan replaced what remained with residential streets

Here’s looking at royal residences

chanceemberInalexandrapalace.com).(www.Regent’sPark,Sept-18isyourlasttoenjoyoneofthe

‘With all our London stores, I’ve always sought to bring a slice of the countryside to London,’ says the owner, Lady Bamford. The rural pace is even more pronounced a short Tube ride away at the Bamford Wellness Spa in Chelsea. On the first floor, people meet for classes in lunar yoga and sound healing in a double-height fitness studio with a tree trunk unfurling to the ceiling. The spa is in the basement, a coddling greyscale den stippled with hunks of crystal and lit church candles. Treatments range from sports massages to lesser-known offerings, such as reiki and lymphatic drainage, with products sold on the ground-floor shop upstairs. Jo Rodgers 62, SOUTH AUDLEY ST, W1, AND 104, DRAYCOTT AVENUE, SW3 Bamford and Bamford Wellness Spa Shop of the month

suggestionsSeasonal

Summer Music in the Park performances, Saturday and Sunday at the Park’s bandstand and Broadwalk Bandstand musicfestival.org.uk).(www.regentspark

LONDON LIFE

September 7, 2022 | Country Life | 43

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T HERE’S a fragile aspect to false acacias that means even relatively young trees look as if they’ve been around for years. However, the knobbly, twirly-branched old character in the Chapel Court of Charterhouse, EC1, appears to be the genuine article. Situated close to the dust and grime of Smithfield, the medieval setting is appropriately tranquil. Jack Watkins I T’S easy to overlook Fulham Palace, hidden down a long, tree-shaded avenue, but this former home to the bishops of London is well worth seeking out, not least for its lovely gardens. Bishop Compton (1632–1713) set the palace on the road to glory, filling it with exotic plants, grown from seeds of speci mens of plants sent to him by ministers dispatched overseas. Under his watchful eye, the grounds became one of the most important botanic gardens of its time. Although subsequent bishops didn’t possess the same green-fingered nature as their predecessor, a recent restoration has revived many of Compton’s treasures. The walled garden is also home to an orchard and, every year, hosts an annual harvest celebration (October 2). Natasha Goodfellow is the author of ‘A London Floral’ and ‘A Cotswold Garden Companion’, out now (www.finchpublishing.co.uk)

BRANCH OUT

MY PLATE OF VIEW Plaza Khao Gaeng, 103–105 New Oxford St, WC1

When I first visited Arcade Food Hall in 2019, my heart sank. This cavernous street-food court abutting the Tottenham Court Road station development seemed to encompass everything wearisome about food in London— long queues; small plates of food; very questionable value for money. Then, in March 2020, Arcade shut down. Earlier this year, it was announced that it was reopening, with a new look and a whole new slate of restaurant popups inside courtesy of JKS Restaurants, the magic-touch group behind the likes of Gymkhana in Mayfair, Bao, Lyle’s and Flor. There would be no queues: instead, diners would order everything from their phones directly to their seats. Upstairs, there would be an versionforI’dnoserestaurantitlikehits’aboutinarguablytofermentedwithlacy-edged,withblesnamarefriedandshoulder,theesquequiteI’vethegreenhousegrowingLondonhaswouldKhaorestaurant-within-a-restaurant:entirePlazaGaeng.HeadingupthekitchenbeLukeFarrell,aBritishchefwhomadeanameforhimselfintherestaurantworldbylovinglyThaiingredientsinatropicalinDorset.Khaogaengmeans‘curryonrice’andcurriesholdtheirownagainstthoseeateninThailand:themassamanisunliketheblank,almostSunpat-offeringsyousometimesseeinUK,adeepredwithtenderbeefrusticpotatoesandshallots,tigerprawnswithsatorbeansstir-inaromaticsoutherncurrypastelick-the-bowlgood.Butfromthechub,aselectionoffreshvegetawithshrimp-pasterelish;cruditestheheatturnedup,toaplateofmolten-yolkedfriedeggsachillidressing,andthehomemadedrinks,there’ssomuchmoremarvelat.Unlikeitspredecessors,it’sgoodvalue,withmainsatthe£12.50markanda‘greatestsharingmenufor£35aheadallin.TherewassomethingOzymandias-abouttheoriginalArcadeFoodHall:feltlikeamonumenttoalostageofculture.Havingturnedmyupatit,inthedepthsoflockdownhavegivenanythingtostandinlinesomeoverpricednibbles.Happily,2.0isamilliontimesbetter.

CrossmanPollybyIllustrationAlamy; PALACE, BISHOP’S AVENUE, SW6 London curiosities

Psst... pass it on GRANGER & CO’S fifth outpost is now open in Marylebone. The all-day dining empire is owned by restaurateur Bill Granger (www.grangerandco.com)

A green space

Emma Hughes

The great and the good

FULHAM

Here was an Imperial fanfare. Here were marble staircases, oak panelling and inter nal walls that required as much as 50 acres of plaster to cover them. On the music-hall stage, the cross-dressing singer Vesta Tilley sang Jolly Good Luck to the Girl who Loves

LONDON LIFE 44 | Country Life | September 7, 2022

Six years ago, the Government sold the War Office–Sir Winston Churchill’s former haunt and the heart of First and Second World War logistics–on a 250-year lease. On the eve of its rebirth as a luxury hotel, Clive Aslet looks back its extraordinary history

HEN The Old War Office opens this winter, guests will find themselves sleeping in one of the landmarks of Edwardian Whitehall. Opened as Britain’s centre of military operations in 1907, its architecture is an opulent if slightly chaotic composition of columns, arches, rusticated masonry and corner turrets, bursting with splendid selfassurance: the equivalent of a military fanfare or grand review of the Fleet.

Old in name, but not in nature

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So what if it were overblown? Britain was mad for Empire and the 1850s.waswasment,Asdisasteralltionenciesblusterrodomontade.accompanyingButtheconcealeddefici-inarmyorganisa-thathadbeenmadetooobviousbythenearoftheBoerWar.agovernmentdeparttheWarOffice,asthecivilserviceitself,acreationofthePreviously,administration of the army had been chaotic, with cavalry and infantry coming under the authority of the Commander-in-Chief, but artillery, fortifications and barracks being the responsibility of a separate Master-General of the Ordnance. The Treasury ruled over supply and transport, whereas the Home Office ran the militia.

Some thought that the architect, William Young, had been appointed as the result of a government fix, as his name was not on the list of likely candidates that had been requested from the Royal Institute of British Architects. He was, however, an appropriate choice, knowing the requirements of turnof-the-century administrative buildings from the Glasgow City Chambers. The War Office took his cue from the adjacent Banqueting House and the cornices of the two buildings align. But Inigo Jones’s courtly Classicism was too restrained for the burgeoning Age of Empire, which called for domes and allegorical sculpture, bombast and Baroque. Inside, marble was the order of the day. Top brass entering via Whitehall or visiting grandees, debouching from their carriages and motorcars in the inner quadrangle, stepped into a world of titanic splendour. Since the building of the Foreign Office in the mid 19th century, it had been accepted that government stair cases should convey the majesty of Empire, with architecture that, figuratively, brought the visitor to his knees. Young understood this tradition. He had already created a spec tacular marble staircase for Lord Wemyss at Gosford House in East Lothian. The Old War Office staircase would be his chef-d’oeuvre Clyde Young, who took over the project on his father’s death in 1901, described its com plex geometry in The Architectural Review. Starting with a central flight, the stairs ‘turn right and left, then return and land immedi ately above the start, the last flight being Left: At the heart of Empire: the War Office Whitehall, in 1905. Below: The corner dome of the new Raffles hotel is as distinctive today as it ever was,

Britain’s poor showing in the Crimean War highlighted the inadequacy of this system.

StHorseviewsincomparableofferingacrossGuardsandJames’sPark

‘The calledAgeburgeoningofEmpirefordomes,bombastandBaroque’

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A professional, paid staff was, therefore, recruited to administer a unified depart ment; by the early 20th century, it had grown to more than 2,000 people.

But where should it be housed? It took nearly half a century of discussions and pro posals before Whitehall was chosen as the a Soldier. The army was popular; so, with what the Daily Mail called the ‘usually unrespon sive man on the street’, was the War Office.

LONDON LIFE September 7, 2022 | Country Life | 4545 carried on a large segmental bridge spanning the whole width of the staircase. The corridor of the mezzanine floor is schemed to cross between the staircase and entrance hall, but is entirely disconnected with them’. This frame was used to display sumptuous stones and marbles. Richly veined, they are coloured amber, aubergine and off white. There was no scagliola, beloved of the theatrical Regency period. At night, the marble glowed beneath the concealed lighting made possible by electricity. If the staircase had been sent into battle, it would have been invincible.

LONDON LIFE 46 | Country Life | September 7, 2022

Left: A grand backdrop to the Household Cavalry in the 1930s. Top right: Notable resident Churchill. Above right: Rare restraint in design corridors had to be wide enough for two run ners to pass each other. There was also what Young described as ‘a complete system of telephones’, with wires chased into the corridor floors and accessible by floor plates. Kitchens located at the top of the building served 1,000 meals a day. Yet, for all the years of planning and con struction, the War Office was almost immediately found to be too small for the amount of activity taking place in it. A mere seven years after completion came the First World War. Huts had to be erected on the roof in what came to be known as Zeppelin terrace. Boy scouts were recruited to supplement messengers. The building came to resemble Epsom Downs with, according to one observer, ‘a sprawling gathering of Generals, Colonels, lesser fry, civil servants, experts, account ants, clerks, [female] typists and orderlies’. Duties multiplied. The Postal and Telegraph Censorship Department provided counterespionage service, staffed by linguists. One dug-out (as officers who had been ‘dug out’ of retirement were known) had the job of site. It was too late for the Boer War; the first brick was laid in the year it finished, 1901. Throughout the building, decoration was allocated strictly according to rank. As T. E. Lawrence, later of Arabia but in 1914 employed in the Geographic Section of the War Office, wrote to a friend, ‘the marble stairs are only for Field Marshals and charwomen’. The Secretary of State War, the Scottish lawyer and philosopher Lord Haldane, who lent his name to the Haldane suite occupied by him and his successors, enjoyed tall ceiling heights and rich oak panelling. There were marble fireplaces and brass electroliers. But most offices were, according to Young Jnr, ‘treated in the plainest possible manner’, being ‘simply workrooms’. Corridors used by senior personnel had tessellated floors. Not so the corridors of other ranks. They were, however, unusually broad. Papers were too sensitive to be allowed out of the building or to entrust to an internal postal system; they were taken from one place to another by runners (akin to the despatch riders used on a battlefield), so the arranging for the return of a staff officer’s teeth: he had accidentally left them at his club when home on leave. With the creation of the Ministry of Defence in 1964, the War Office came to be seen as a period piece, as antiquated as the Victorian uniforms on the cover of The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper cover. It has now rediscovered its former glory as The Old War Office, or OWO, a Raffles-run, 100-plus bedroom hotel (five suites of historical significance; there will also be more than 80 residential apartments available to buy)—evoking Edward VII’s sobriquet of ‘Peacemaker’. Cocktails will be served in rooms once occupied by Churchill and Lloyd George and the marble balcony where the former stood to make speeches will be a sure-fire photography hotspot. Raffles London at The OWO will have 120 rooms and suites—including several in the former offices of influential political and military leaders—a Guerlain spa and nine restaurants and bars when it opens later this year. Visit www.theowo.london for more information LtdLondonGrainAlamy;

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EMLYNROAD, CHISWICK W12 £5,500 PERMONTH: FURNISHED [3 bedrooms][2bathrooms] [2 receptions] [private garden] An impressiverefurbished house featuringa fabulousfully extendedeat-in-kitchen with bi-folding doors onto a glorious south-west facinggarden,convenientlylocatedfor theUnderground andthe excellentarray of shops, barsand restaurantsonChiswick HighRoad.Available October: Billsincluded :EPC D: CouncilTax Band G 02039189283CHISWICKLETTINGS@HAMPTONS.CO.UK HAM PT ON S. CO .U K

Your two Penelope Chilvers boutiques are in Mayfair (69, Duke Street, W1) and Notting Hill (48–50, Ledbury Road, W11).

LONDON LIFE 48 | Country Life | September 7, 2022

THE ACCORDINGCAPITALTO...

I hope our shops in London do the same job.

I love the ‘shop-local’ concept and always have done. I know how well it resonated with people when the pandemic hit; I was shopping in Stow-on-the-Wold, it felt more friendly.

A last local insider spot? Nut Case in Shepherds Bush (352, Uxbridge Road, W12) sells the most delicious nuts and baklava. I go there for treats whenever we have a party.

How long have you lived in London and where? I’ve been living in London for about 20 years and, before that, I lived in Barcelona and Madrid for 10 years. The equestrian, out doorsy lifestyle I experienced in Spain is the inspiration behind my shoes and boots and I wanted to bring the slow, artisanal rhythms of proper Spanish shoemaking to London. Notting Hill is home for us here, but I’ve man aged to build a career where I can travel often between the UK and Spain, which I love.

The shoe designer speaks to Rosalyn Wikeley about Andalusian artisans, Notting Hill’s community spirit and rifling the V&A archives for inspiration

with friends (above) . It’s also a great peoplewatching spot. After a leisurely amble through Holland Park and Kensington Gardens, I’d head to the V&A (Cromwell Road, SW7).

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‘I love all the Portobello traders. I go not only to capture inspiration , but because it’s a lovely, friendly place’

Do you have any lesser-known spots in either area? Books for Cooks (4, Blenheim Crescent, W11) is one of the area’s best bookshops and does brilliant lunches for only £7 in the back room, which few people seem to know about. Our Duke Street team loves Mercato, W1, a food hall inspired by Spain’s historic marketplaces, which rolls out of an old chapel… it has all sorts of different foods and a fun, lively atmosphere.

If you only had one more day left in London, what would you do and where would you go? I would visit t he section under the canopy on Portobello Road. I’ve been going there all my life and I love all the traders who sell vintage and second-hand clothing. I go not only to capture inspiration, but because it’s a lovely, friendly place. I’d then head to Granger and Co (175, Westbourne Grove, W11), my local, for wholesome Aussie -inspired food You work with artisans in Andalusia to create stylish, timeless boots and shoes. Can you recommend some stylish, but timeless spots in London? Places that have stood the rest of time, but still have that lick of glamour? L eighton House (12, Holland Park, W14; reopens October 15) immediately springs to mind.

Penelope

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It’s one of those places that is so elegant and has been the backdrop for impressive private dinners and fashion shoots. It belonged to an artist in the late 19th century, Lord Leighton, and is one of the most extraordinary private houses you can snoop around in. Is there anywhere outside of London you’d consider opening a boutique in? I love this question. My dream has always been to have country stores, although we do wholesale all over the country and the world; we work with the most extraordinary store in Wyoming (US), a proper cowboy store.

Chilvers

This really is one of London’s best secrets: you can call up the museum and book a slot [to visit] their archives. You can be really specific: ‘I want to look at riding boots between 1750 and 1920’ or embroideries from a particular country in a particular era. It’s one of my greatest pleasures.

12 Bury Street,St. James’s, London SW1Y 6AB Tel: +44(0)20 7287 4448 www.messums.com davidmessumfineart est 1963 Alan Cotton 7–30 September Provence didmuchtoshape thepattern of Alan Cotton’s painting.Timeand againhehas returned to theareatoretrace thesteps of theFrenchImpressionistswho came before him.“Provence keepscalling me back”hesays, “because theregion is so big, andthose hill townsare such an attraction,aswell, of course,asthe colour.” Theorchards, farmlands, vineyardsand hill-top villages whichformthe diverseand distinctive landscapes of theregion take on an entirely newlifein his densely packed canvases Fullyillustrated catalogueavailable£15 Provence –Across the Vineyards to Bonnieux oil on canvas 61 x71cms 24 x28ins

118 | Country Life | September 7, 2022 Past houses,twoflourishgrandeursagainatelegantcountryoneoverlookingBlenheimPalaceandtheotherrollingHampshireparkland Familyaffairs Property market Penny Churchill Grade II-listed Woodleys in Oxfordshire dates from the 18th century and is set in 230 acres of grounds which include arable land. £16m CLI372.prop_market.indd 118 01/09/2022 15:00

Woodleys now offers more than 12,800sq ft of traditional country-house living space including an entrance hall, a large drawing room, a dining room that can seat 30 people, a study (complete with its original bookshelves and views of Blenheim Palace) and an open-plan kitchen/breakfast room. The back hall leads to the Victorian service wing, which now houses a games room, television room, utility room and stores. The bedrooms include a spa cious principal-bedroom suite overlooking the garden, with nine further bedrooms and six bathrooms on the first floor, and a further three bedrooms and a bathroom on the second floor.

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ODAY’S COUNTRY L IFE sees the launch onto the market of one of Oxfordshire’s most impeccably situated, but least-known country houses, the timeless, Grade II- listed Woodleys at Wootton, which sits at the heart of a historic, 230-acre, residential and farming estate on the edge of the Cotswold AONB, three miles from Woodstock, 10 miles from Chipping Norton and 12 miles from Oxford. Will Matthews of Knight Frank’s Country Department (020–7861 1440) quotes a guide price of £16 million for the imposing lateGeorgian house, which stands in wooded gardens, grounds and parkland to the north of the Duke of Marlborough’s Blenheim estate, looking south across the gardens to Blenheim Palace in the distance. Historically, the parish of Wootton was part of a royal hunting forest that was cleared and brought into cultivation during the Middle Ages, hence the name ‘Wootton Wood leaze’ (meaning ‘a piece of land converted from forest to arable use’), first mentioned in 1279, and later Woodleys, in 1716. Following the enclosure of Wootton in 1770, Thomas Southam, who already owned land at Woodleys left to him by his grandfather, was awarded an estate there of some 86 acres.

September 7, 2022 | Country Life | 119 Find the best properties at countrylife.co.uk

At the same time, the interior was altered, a new staircase with stone treads and a wrought-iron balustrade put in and several new fireplaces fitted. Minor additions were made at the rear in the mid 19th century.

In the early 19th century, soon after Thornhill bought the house, the wings were demolished or hidden, whereupon balancing wings with canted bays were added at each end of the main front. The east wing was given a symmetri cal side elevation with a pedimented centre.

In 1887, the house was extended westwards, but, since then, has been little altered, apart from general maintenance, some reconfiguration of the interior, the fitting of bathrooms and, more recently, the installation of an efficient biomass-boiler heating system.

According to the Victoria County History: Oxford (1983): ‘He presumably built the man sion house and the large post-enclosure farmhouse now called Grimsdyke Farm; certainly both were there in 1809 in occupation of Southam’s son, William… In 1818, the mansion house was bought by Thomas Thornhill, whose son C.E. Thornhill sold it in 1881 to Edwin Ponsonby, whose family have since held it.’

The centre of the house built by Southam is described as ‘a small ashlar-fronted gentleman’s residence of the late 18th century’, probably at first having lower rear wings to each side.

Woodleys stands in a serene parkland setting that has hardly changed in more than 200 years. To the east of the house is an Extensive additions were made to Woodleys during the 19th century, including a staircase with stone treads and wrought-iron balustrade

To the east of the house is an impressive walled garden, orchard and tennis court

The Winchfield estate was once part of the manor of Winchfield, which was owned by the Rudyerd family from 1591 until 1767, when their trustees sold it to Lt-Gen Lord George Beauclerk, sixth son of the 1st Duke of St Albans by his wife, Diana, daughter of Aubrey de Vere, 20th Earl of Oxford. Soon afterwards, Lord Beauclerk built the present house, which served as the family seat of the Beauclerks until the 1850s, when it was sold to Spencer Charrington, in whose family it remains.

Three beautifully proportioned reception rooms—drawing room, dining room and sitting room, plus a study and kitchen/breakfast room—are arranged around a central recep tion hall, the focal points of which are two large windows at one end, and a graceful sweeping staircase at the other. Replicating the ground-floor footprint, the light-filled first floor boasts five bedroom suites, with a further two/three bedrooms and a bathroom on the second floor. The basement has an air of yesteryear, with its scullery, utility areas, cellars and stores; it also houses an office and a two-bedroom staff apartment.

impressive walled garden, orchard and tennis court; the western terrace is perfect for summer entertaining. Ancillary buildings include the three-bedroom, converted coach house and the pretty, two-bedroom Garden Cottage, which has a large garden and separate access. A further three-bedroom detached cottage, Grimsdyke Cottage, sits on the west side of the parkland. All three are currently let on assured shorthold tenancies.

120 | Country Life | September 7, 2022 Property market

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Various traditional stone outbuildings include a large unconverted stone barn with a courtyard. Further farm buildings, located away from the house and accessed by a separate driveway, are let on commer cial leases. The arable land is let on a contract farming agreement due for renewal in September 2022; the pasture is let on an annual grazing licence. Across the county border in Hampshire, Clive Moon of Savills in Farnham (07967 555611) quotes a guide price of £4.95m for Georgian, Grade II*-listed Winchfield House, set in 50 acres of glorious parkland near the ancient village of Winchfield, two miles south of Hartley Wintney, three miles northeast of Odiham and 38 miles west of London.

The 18th-century design of Winchfield House exudes Georgian elegance and is broadly symmetrical, with an interesting, half-octagon, projecting front façade. The historic parkland includes a lake, wooded areas and pasture, as well as formal gardens, and Winchfield’s Historic England listing describes the 9,378sq ft house as having ‘good interiors, with an Adam fireplace, panelling and folding shutters’.

The nearby coach house has been converted to a charming, Grade II-listed, five-bedroom home that has been recently refurbished throughout. It is currently used as one prop erty, but could revert back to two separate cottages if required. It comes with its own delightful private garden, with views over Winchfield House land.

The equestrian facilities at Winchfield House, which are currently let, are second to none. They include 17 stables, a tack room and a stable manager’s cottage in the main three-sided stable courtyard, with an isola tion box, six further stables, a hay barn, stores and a wash-down area in the rear stable yard. Training facilities include an outdoor school.

Set in 50 acres of parkland, Winchfield House in Hampshire was the family seat of the Beauclerk family and includes 17 stables. £4.95m

If walls could talk

122 | Country Life | September 7, 2022 Properties of the week Annunciata Elwes

When he moved his ‘Tribe’ of four daughters and eight sons to Ottery St Mary in 1760, to be near his new post as headmaster of the King’s School, John Coleridge could little have known he had begun a dynasty of some five generations of talented descendants, including his great-grandson the 1st Baron. Coleridges were lawyers, artists, judges, bishops and naval, military and NATO commanders; and, of course, John’s youngest son, the Romantic poet.

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Bricks and mortar have stories to tell, as these properties with notable former inhabitants show Devon, excess £5.95 million

The Chanters House—built in the 1340s and redone in the 1880s—sits close to the village church, about 10 miles from Exeter. There are some 18,000 books in its huge library, which is decorated with the coats of arms of the ladies who married into the family. Much has been preserved from the poet’s day, such as Gothic and sash windows, marble fireplaces and panelling with the Coleridge family crest. Later additions to the 10-bedroom property include a Victorian conservatory with aviary and 1930s panelling to the Cromwell Fairfax Room, where, in 1645, Oliver Cromwell gathered locals to demand Civil War funds and Sir Thomas Fairfax was awarded a jewel for ‘his skill and valour’ at the Battle of Naseby. The chapel has been converted to a ‘party room’ with bar and DJ booth. Next to the former stables, there are two bedrooms in the old Coach House, plus a threebedroom Lodge and Victorian follies at either end of a yew walk within the 21½ acres of grounds. There is lovely parkland, a walled garden, indoor swimming pool, tennis court and biomass system. Strutt & Parker (020–7591 2207) London SW1, £4.5 million Napoleon III only lived in London for about a year, in 1847–48, between escaping prison in France and returning gloriously to become president and, later, emperor. Despite the welcome he received in England, with honorary memberships to various St James’s clubs and a wealthy heiress mistress, he was clearly in a hurry to return home once the Bourbons fell, as his landlord at 1C, King Street reported that he left his bed unmade and the marble bathtub still full of water. Nevertheless, he made his mark on the St James’s apartment in its palatial white-stucco building, transforming the interiors into a tribute to the Bonapartes, centred around a portrait of his uncle Napoleon I by Delaroche. Amid such surroundings, he entertained the likes of Disraeli and Charles Dickens. During his tenure, the building received London’s earliest surviving Blue Plaque, the only one to have been installed during a recipient’s lifetime. His two-bedroom apartment is now on the market for the first time in 20 years, luxuriously modernised with a Gaggenhau kitchen, air conditioning, balcony, en-suite bathrooms and walk-in dressing room attached to the master, Its proximity to Jermyn Street and Piccadilly is still highly desirable for any gentleman or lady about town. Wetherell (020–7493 6935)

Samuel Taylor Coleridge recalled his childhood in the beautiful valley of the River Otter, years later, in Frost at Midnight: ‘My sweet birth-place, and the old church-tower/ Whose bells, the poor man’s only music, rang/From morn to evening, all the hot Fair-day/So sweetly, that they stirred and haunted me.’

London SW1, £10 million Built in 1851, this white-stucco Pimlico townhouse, with its balconies, terraces and large bay windows, was originally home to Thomas Cubitt and his family (including 12 children and two orphaned nephews), for whose bene fit he obtained permission from Lord Grosvenor for an exceptionally large walled garden, apparently second only to those at Clarence House and Forbes House in the area. The master-builder, who is, incidentally, the greatgreat-great-grandfather of The Duchess of Cornwall, was responsible for much of the vicinity, including Eaton Square, Belgrave Square (part of the Grosvenor estate) and the east front of Buckingham Palace. Seven-bedroom Warwick Lodge, situated on the corner of Warwick Square, has been thoroughly modernised by Chester Jones and is now being made available to new owners.

124 | Country Life | September 7, 2022

It’s the former that has come to the market, with five bedrooms and five bathrooms over four floors, plenty of natural light and a garden designed by Chelsea medalwinner Heather Appleton. Savills (020–8614 9100)

Surrey, £15 million Italianate, mostly Victorian Mytchett’s Place was taken over in the Second World War by the Ministry of Defence, which swiftly installed barbed wire, secret micro-phones, spotlights and an alarm system in time for the arrival of Rudolf Hess, Hitler’s right-hand man, who arrived from a sojourn in the Tower of London and remained at ‘Camp Z’ for 13 months. He was studied by psychiatrists and guards alike, as Winston Churchill had ordered that ‘every endeavour should be made to study his mentality and get anything worthwhile out of him’. More recent times have seen the house, in the well-connected village of Mytchett not far from Farnborough, act as base to Frazer-Nash, ‘the research and development powerhouse of the Kamkorp Group, which pursues game-changing innovation across a variety of technologies including the hydro-electric powertrain,’ say agents—which explains the race track in the 11¾-acre grounds. With 12 bedrooms, it is ripe for redevelopment and a brighter future. Jackson-Stops (01483 322135)

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‘With its tall windows and dual-aspect rooms, the house is bright and airy, with spectacular views… The setting is like being in the country rather than in the heart of central London,’ comments George Franks, director at Radstock Property. Jackson-Stops (020–7828 4050) and Radstock Property (020–3876 0280)

Richmond TW9, £3.5 million It was in the drawing room at Hogarth House (part of Suffield House) that the writer Virginia Woolf and her hus band, Leonard, established their Hogarth Press, which went on to publish works by T. S. Eliot and Sigmund Freud, among many others. They lived here on Paradise Road, a stone’s throw from Richmond Park, for the best part of a decade from 1915, and their Blue Plaque-adorned home has now been split into two painstakingly restored townhouses, named Virginia and Leonard respectively.

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