for sale

Still available for sale – the country houses proving difficult to sell

Matthew Beckett - The Country Seat4 Comments

Despite the enthusiasm of the estate agents, it seems that some of the most impressive houses featured in the glossy adverts at the front of Country Life magazine are proving difficult to sell.  Whether this is due to a poor local market or unreasonable prices, or just bad luck, here are a few stunning country houses which are still looking for buyers.

Noseley Hall, Leicestershire (Image: Knight Frank)

Noseley Hall in Leicestershire has been in the family of the present Lord Hazelrigg for nearly 300 years but was put up for sale in April 2009 at a guide price of £14m for the grade-II* listed house plus the 1,200-acre estate.  Built in 1728 on the back of Northumberland coal mining wealth, the house is decorated with works of art (though fewer now following several auctions), and fine plasterwork.  However, Lord Hazelrigg admitted that the estate doesn’t cover the costs of running the house, and so he decided to sell, but it’s still listed on the Knight Frank website – and still with a guide price of £14m.   More details: ‘The last of the romantics‘ [Sunday Times]

Dowdeswell Court (Image from Savills)

Another house which has been for sale is Dowdeswell Court in Gloucestershire which was first advertised in 2005 and then sold for £4.75 but then came back on the market in summer 2009 with a guide price of £7.9m (and was featured in this blog).  When serial restorer James Perkins took on the house it had been a 46-room nursing home resulting in a huge restoration project and since he sold in 2005 has moved on to restoring other country houses including Aynhoe Park.  The grade-II house was built between 1833-35 by local architect Charles Paul of Cheltenham and was originally three storeys but during the 1920s the top storey was neatly removed.  The more manageable house is a beautiful example of neo-Classical detailing combined with modern comforts. The house is available through either Knight Frank or Savills.

Compton Pauncefoot Castle - Somerset (Image: Bidwells)

The final property for this list is the impossibly beautiful Compton Pauncefoot Castle in Somerset which has been for sale since 2006.   Built in 182o, the grade-II listed house sits in a 1,278-acre estate with 40-acres of stunning gardens and lakes.  Originally on the market for £22m, it failed to sell even during the boom years of 2007-8 and despite 20 buying agents being invited to a launch event, and being featured in the The Sunday Times, it’s now being sold at auction – though I suspect the reserve would be near the current price advertised on the agents websites of in excess of £17m.  Perhaps the fact that it’s only for sale as a whole may have put off those who might just want the house and immediate grounds – but this would deny the owner the certainty of privacy that the surrounding estate would bring.  The house is available through Bidwells and Knight Frank (who despite putting it as their lead advert in Country Life this week fail to have it on their website).

Credit crunch hits prices of country estates in Scotland

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It sells but at what price? (Image: http://www.sxu.hu)

Despite the ever hopeful claims of the estate agents that a good country estate will always sell, it appears that, at least in Scotland, the average selling price has fallen sharply.

Research by the estate agents Strutt & Parker has shown that between 2008 and 2009 the average selling price of the 13 country estates – defined as “significantly more than a house with some land but not farms or forestry properties” – sold in that period the average price dropped by £2.6m. Of the 13 sold, seven were sold for less than the asking price.

Full story: ‘Country estates caught in credit crunch as prices halve in 12 months‘ [The Times]

Thorpe Hall to be sold off?

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Thorpe Hall, Cambridgeshire (Image: wikipedia)

Perhaps it’s reading too much into a story but when a journalist says that “…despite its magnificence the former stately home, built in 1653, is impractical as a hospice – haemorrhaging money, which could, and should, be spent on patient care.” does this indicate an intention to sell this important Grade-I listed house? And “…Thorpe Hall, however beautiful, is not an ideal site”.  Perhaps the fact that the Sue Ryder Foundation, who own the house, have also launched an £8m appeal for a new hospice in the city is related?

Thorpe Hall has the rare distinction of being one of the few houses built during the dark years of the Commonwealth when there was little building activity in England.  Although an undoubtably beautiful house the “principal staircase with heavily carved foliated open panels to broad balustrade” is probably not suitable for a stairlift.

Hopefully, the discussion and consultation process will be open as possible – the worst scenario would be for the hospice to move to a new location leaving this important building in a disused limbo.  Here’s a thought though; rather than passing to another institutional use, it would be interesting to explore the possibility of it becoming a home again.  This would be the least impact option in terms of long-term day-to-day use but would probably entail some covenants regarding the long-established access to the grounds and gardens.  Anyway, it’s just a thought.

Full story: ‘Sue Ryder Care: Encouraged by public’s support for new hospice‘ [Peterborough Evening Telegraph]

Ranton Abbey to be resurrected – or replaced?

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Ranton Abbey, Staffordshire (Image: Knight Frank)

When the historic Ranton Abbey was accidentally set alight and gutted in 1942 by the Dutch troops stationed there, it was likely that it would go the way of many other houses and simply be demolished. Yet the Earls of Lichfield, who owned the 300-acre estate, simply left it and focused on turning the land into a first-class shoot, allowing the house to slowly collapse, leaving just the ivy-clad walls visible today.

The death of the 5th Earl, the famous photographer Patrick Lichfield, in 2005, prompted the family to look again at the estate.  However, rather than simply sell it they decided to obtain planning permission for the building of a new house and have now put both for sale at £3.5m.  Although an obvious course of action, the choices made seem a bit odd.  The new house is strongly Palladian in design but the projections produced so far have it sited so close to the red-brick shell of the old house, and the grey stone of the church, that it seems to have almost landed there by accident.  It certainly does not seem to appear at home in this location and appears almost arbitrary, resulting in three large architectural elements fighting for prominence in a small area.

As the respected architectural writer Marcus Binney says in the ‘Bricks and Mortar’ supplement of Friday’s Times newspaper, surely the better option would be to restore the original house.  This would bring back the balance which existed before and remove at once the obvious difficulties of leaving the old house as a giant garden ornament to compete with the new house.  Whoever buys the estate and planning permission will hopefully think again about this scheme and look seriously at restoration.

Full story: ‘Historic homes: restoration dilemma‘ [The Times]

Property details: ‘Ranton Abbey, Staffordshire‘ [Knight Frank]

Moor Place goes to second viewings

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Moor Place, Hertfordshire (Image: Strutt & Parker)

Agents from Strutt & Parker have reported that the stunning Grade-I listed Moor Place in Much Hadham, Hertfordshire, is receiving second viewings – though I doubt anyone would spend the offers-over-£17m asking price for the house and 781-acre estate without going back a few more times.

The beautiful red-brick house dates from 1779 with later additions, which combine to create an almost perfect view of a Georgian country house.  The house was built for James Gordon by the relatively unknown archictect Robert Mitchell who encased the originally Elizabethan house in an elegant facade with the south wing being rebuilt in 1907 by Sir Ernest Newton.  Inside a fine cantilevered stone staircase leads up to a master suite and five further bedrooms  on the first floor with five more on the floor above.  Downstairs the elegant staircase hall leads to a library, dining room and sunny drawing room. More accomodation is available in the 1886 Norman Shaw west wing.  All in all, this is a true trophy estate and the proximity to London means that the price tag is, judging by the viewings, not unrealistic.

Property details: ‘Moor Place, Hertfordshire‘ [Strutt & Parker]