12 minute read
HOW THE COUNTRY GOT COOL
A new generation is embracing country life, attracted not only by the space and beauty of the houses and landscapes, but also by the ever-cooler local scene, where private members’ clubs rub shoulders with international art-world hubs and hip hotels
Words by Alex Bagner
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ASHURST MANOR is a grand white-stuccoed country house with 95 acres, in Kent; guide £10m, Will Peppitt, wpeppitt@savills.com
From top: the swimming pool at The Newt in Somerset, a recent addition to the cool country hotel brigade, in arty Bruton. Daylesford Organic in the Cotswolds has taken the farm shop to another level
I HAVE TAKEN MY HUSBAND away for the weekend. It’s a sunny Saturday morning as we emerge from our bijou hotel. Outside is that familiar din of the coffee roasting machine and people milling around with sunglasses clutching their weekend papers. My husband pops in to grab the last two freshly baked cinnamon buns in the bakery while I try my luck at getting a table at the Michelin-starred restaurant next door. As we walk down the bustling high street, clutching our flat whites, a car pulls over, the driver rolls down his window and, with a hint of a foreign accent, asks if it’s OK to park here. I say probably not.
We continue up past boutiques and pop-up gallery spaces and as we turn off the high street, the majestic rolling hills of Somerset appear in all their glory. Because, contrary to what you might expect from the way our morning kicked off, we’re not on a city break. We’re in Bruton, Somerset, in the heart of rural England.
“Bruton really was of very little note 20 years ago,” says James McKillop, Savills head of residential sales in Salisbury. “Now it’s a groovy cultural hotspot. It’s got the beauty of the countryside, but with all this great stuff also going on.” He notes the Hauser & Wirth gallery, Osip restaurant, The Newt country hotel and, of course, the forerunner to all things country cool: Babington House, Soho House’s first foray into country living, which opened nearby way back in 1998.
I’m just visiting for the weekend, but that, according to Lindsay Cuthill, head of Savills Country Department, is often how it starts: “Be it an award-winning restaurant, a gallery, perhaps even a summer festival – places outside London are becoming ever more fabulous, attracting more visitors, which, in turn, is changing the profile of the local buyer.” Cuthill confirms that alongside the boom in sales of large country houses, a new breed of buyer craving a different way of life has emerged. They want the beautiful house, the space and peace of the countryside, excellent local schools and perhaps the chance to experiment with a greener way of life, whether that is planting a woodland or running a small farm. Indeed, Savills reports a marked increase in those seeking out the “ideal 150-acre farm”. Increasingly, however, new buyers are also attracted by the local availability of highend amenities – plus some like-minded neighbours and a healthy dollop of cultural stimulation.
Bruton may have its own particular brand of arty country chic, but the story is similar across prime pockets of the English countryside, from Cornwall to Kent, Herefordshire to Hampshire, Sussex to Suffolk. With more people than ever joining the pandemic-fuelled rush to get out of the city – Savills analysis of TwentyCi data shows a 125% increase in sales for £2m-plus properties outside London in the year to March 2022, compared to the year to March 2020 – one thing they no longer need to worry about is finding a good coffee.
Nowhere exemplifies this trend more than the Cotswolds. Always a favoured area for weekend homes, it has seen its popularity climb ever higher, with Savills reporting that the price of £2m-plus houses increased by almost a quarter last year. Such a phenomenon is the Cotswolds boom that the Wall Street Journal dispatched a writer to report back from its bucolic front line of honey-coloured villages, country pubs and curated farm shops. Cuthill talks of a “golden triangle” between Great Tew, just outside Chipping Norton, Daylesford (a little further west in Gloucestershire and home to that acme of rural luxe, Carole Bamford’s Daylesford Organic farm shop) and the town of Lechlade, further south. Villages such as Burford, Chadlington, Churchill, Charlbury and Great and Little Tew are particularly popular.
In this area, larger properties are so scarce they get snapped up long before they hit the market, with demand coming from local upsizers, relocators from across the UK and aspiring second-home owners. Overseas buyers are increasingly attracted to the area, which for many represents an ideal of classic English country life, albeit one with the Beckhams living down the road and a Cowshed spa nearby. As a social nexus, Soho Farmhouse, which has one such treatment space, feels
THE WALLED GARDEN, above, set in the grounds that give the property its name, is a rare example of a modern detached house in the heart of the Cotswolds; guide £2.65m, Sebastian Hipwood, sebastian.hipwood@savills.com
WORDEN HOUSE, above, near Dartmouth, dates from the 16th century and provides glorious family living and entertaining space; guide £4.5m, Sarah-Jane Bingham-Chick, sjchick@savills. com
BAGMOOR FARM, left, is “a country estate in miniature” near Henley-on-Thames;guide £7.75m, Stephen Christie-Miller, schristie-miller@savills.com
Above, from top BLISS BLAKENEY in north Norfolk is the epitome of modern coastal living; guide £6m, Ben Rivett, BRivett@savills.com
THE WATER MILL is a Surrey conversion that has wellbeing at its heart, with indoor and outdoor pools, a gym and a spa; guide £8.5m, Phillippa Dalby-Welsh, pdwelsh@savills.com
THE OLD RECTORY is a magnificently restored Grade II listed home in beautiful grounds outside Lavenham, Suffolk; guide £5.5m, Tim Phillips, TMPhillips@savills.com almost the equivalent of an American country club, but with more sourdough. Quick access to London, handsome stone farmhouses and attractive outbuildings ripe for repurposing into that new essential, the home office, are also key to the appeal.
George Nares, Savills head of West Country sales, has seen a similar story in Devon and Cornwall, too far from London for commuters. He agrees that the buyer profile there has become younger, but believes the majority of these people would have left the city anyway, they’re just doing so earlier. “Many were brought up in the countryside and have now accelerated their plan to return. London has become the second home sooner than they thought.” He says the concept of the weekend house is starting to shift – people are referring to the “short week” pad in the city, with the forever home in the countryside. “While there are lots of factors at stake, the lure of an interesting neighbourhood full of interesting people, combined with land and space, is certainly making people move sooner,” he says.
The beautiful coastline, with its opportunities for sailing and surfing, is a big selling point, offering a lifestyle unique in the UK market. Chris Clifford, director of Savills Residential for Cornwall, sums this up rather well on his Instagram profile, which declares, “I’d rather be in a wetsuit than a suit.” Prime coastal markets such as Devon and Cornwall have seen a surge in demand since 2020, with average price growth of 14.1% during the past year. Unsurprisingly, competition for the best properties, especially those overlooking the sea, is fierce.
Hotelier Robin Hutson, founder of The Pig, which now has a hotel in almost every county in southern England, has built a business around the new breed of urbanite who want the reassurance that the quality of their stay in the countryside will be up to their metropolitan standards. He opened the first Pig in the New Forest 11 years ago, and is aware that the arrival of one of his hotels makes property in close proximity more desirable.
“We’re more conscious now of the halo effect we have. As well as bringing income and employment to a community, we’re obsessed with buying local, building up an army of local supply chains and immersing ourselves in the existing food and wine scene.” In Cornwall, where Hutson opened The Pig on the Beach in Harlyn Bay three years ago, there was already a serious restaurant scene, with a prosperous clientele and a second-home community. The past two years have seen record numbers choosing to staycation there, which has translated into a rocketing interest in Cornish property. Demand for coastal properties is especially fierce around Polzeath, Helford River, St Mawes and the Roseland Peninsula. In neighbouring Devon, the South Hams, Salcombe and the Dart estuary are top of many buyers’ lists.
It’s not just wonderful food and a lively atmosphere luring in the new country set, however. When it comes to the arts, the countryside is putting on quite the show. Snape Maltings, a pioneering arts complex on the bank of the river Alde in Suffolk, was set up in 1967 by the composer Benjamin Britten as a venue for the Aldeburgh Music Festival. Today it is also home to performance spaces, shops, galleries, restaurants and a farmers’ market. “We never have an issue attracting world-famous performers or selling out seats in our large auditoriums,” says director Harry Young. “A few years ago, it was predominantly a more elderly and middle-aged crowd, but these days we’re seeing younger couples, often without kids, but perhaps with a beautiful dog in tow.” Festivals such as Latitude, often cited as Britain’s smartest pop festival, add to the county’s cool quotient.
Tim Phillips, Savills director of sales for the East of England, confirms the boom in Suffolk sales, with buyers attracted by the big skies, charming coastline and riverscapes, and the fashionable towns of Aldeburgh and Southwold all within relatively easy striking distance of London. “The coastal market in particular went
completely mad last year, with Southwold reaching £1,000 per square foot, which was unheard of.”
It’s a similar story up-country in Norfolk. The stately Houghton Hall has become a prestigious gallery attracting an internationally renowned roster of artists including Tony Cragg, Damien Hirst and Anish Kapoor, as well as hosting an annual music and arts festival. Julia Perowne, who runs a luxury PR company representing some of the world’s most glamorous hotels, is a regular visitor. She lives in west London with her fiancé and baby, but hails from Norfolk. After spending lockdown in her renovated cottage on the family farm where she grew up, she says she has now “seen the light” and that, “in terms of my heart and my head, Norfolk is my home”.
“It’s the simplicity and calm that I adore,” she says. “But I feel proud of how much good stuff is happening here and I love how it’s all happening in an unassuming, unintimidating way. It’s buzzy but without that high-energy London voltage. As well as the farming set I grew up with, there are now lots more people in the mix.”
Phillips has noticed a change in the urbanites buying in both Suffolk and Norfolk: “It used to be predominantly those from north or east London, but now that people can live more flexibly and maybe just go to London once or twice a week, it opens things up. We are now getting the south-west London crowd, selling their £2m or £2.5m house, and realising what this area can offer for that price – a large period farmhouse with outbuildings and several acres.” People are attracted, he says, by the sense of community, beaches, good schools and space. But he agrees that the liveliness and quality of amenities are also key: “I used to turn up in villages and the only coffee I could get was instant in a plastic cup. I genuinely think that would be impossible to find here now. The quality of food and drink is as good as in London, if not better.”
Holt, 22 miles north of Norwich, is a particular hotspot, with its fine shops, the popular Gresham’s School and proximity to miles of beautiful coastline. London buyers – both relocaters and weekenders – are drawn by the handsome brick-and-flint houses, arts scene and relaxed local vibe. As well as revels at Houghton and Blickling Halls (the latter is hosting evenings with Michael Bublé and Tom Jones as well as an Ibiza dance party this summer), leading British art collector Ivor Braka has shaken up the local landscape with his pub-with-bedrooms the Gunton Arms and the Suffield Arms, both filled to the gunnels with contemporary British art.
A similar creative scene is bubbling up in Kent and Sussex, bringing an artsy coolness to the south-east coast. Towns such as Petworth, Arundel and Rye are in vogue, having swapped out gentleman’s attire shops and family butchers for independent bookshops, organic grocers and mid-century vintage stores – all of which make the rolling Downs beyond more desirable than ever. As well as the classic Georgian houses and rectories with several acres, there is strong demand for rural properties with equestrian facilities, lifestyle farms and even vineyards. The good life beckons.
Meanwhile, in coastal towns such as Whitstable, Margate, Folkestone and Hastings, the DFLs (down from Londoners) are buying run-down Georgian seafront properties and fast forming communities that are tighter, friendlier and often more entrepreneurial than their previous London tribes ever allowed.
However, for all the coolness sweeping through rural England, the country is still the country: “There is no doubt that being close to a Soho House outpost, the Hay Festival or a great new restaurant ramps up demand for property, but it’s rarely the number one criteria,” says Nares. “The countryside itself is still what people are after, even more so after the past two years. The nature, the view, the land, the space, the pantry, the boot room – this is what people are looking for. It may not be the original green-welly brigade moving in, but actual wellies are still essential. It gets muddy out there.”
From top: Maggi Hambling’s Scallop sculpture on the beach at Aldeburgh adds to the popular Suffolk town’s cultural cachet; sea, surf and the dream of a laid-back outdoors lifestyle lure increasingly younger buyers to Devon and Cornwall
