for sale

For sale: country house with good local shopping

Matthew Beckett - The Country SeatLeave a comment
Stone Castle
Stone Castle

To call Stone Castle a country house is pushing it really.  The house, built on the site of the castle where William the Conquerer signed a peace treaty with the men of Kent in 1067, is now besieged by property development which has marched to within 70ft of the front door.  Current owners, Land Securities, have used the house as a venue for conferences and weddings.

The house is perched on an outcrop high above the old quarry which now houses the vast Bluewater shopping centre. The house has a tower dating from the 14th-century but the majority of the house is late Georgian, built in 1825.  The house now only has 2.5-acres of gardens but luckily the developments are to the rear of the property leaving lofty views from the lawns.

The house is being auctioned on 5 November with a guide price of £750,000 – but expect to spend even more to make it a home.

Full story: ‘STONE: Hidden castle from medieval era up for auction‘ [News Shopper]

Anyone looking for a very large country house?

Matthew Beckett - The Country SeatLeave a comment

Blaisdon Hall (Image from The Times)Blaisdon Hall (Image from The Times)

An example of just how cyclical the housing market – particularly for country houses – a house which 60 years ago might have been at risk of demolition is now a trophy purchase.

Blaisdon House, in Gloucestershire, was built in the 1870s for Edwin Crawshay, a local ironmaster, by a Gloucester architect, F.S. Waller.  Currently for sale, it includes a convenient 85-acres, sauna and gardens. The house was rescued from the threat of the 1950s when it was converted into a school but has now been skilfully converted back to family home with no trace of it’s former institutional use.  One can only hope that more of these houses are rescued.

Full story: ‘The grandiose Victorian country house is back in vogue‘ [The Times]

So if I won the lottery…Dowdeswell Court

Matthew Beckett - The Country Seat3 Comments
Dowdeswell Court (Image from Savills)
Dowdeswell Court (Image from Savills)

Although many of the stories in this blog are about houses at risk, it should also be noted that, should funds permit, many a fine country house comes up for sale every week via the big agencies such as Knight Frank, Savills, Chestertons etc.  Whilst for most the dream of the large country house is out of reach, the sumptuous photos allow us a brief glimpse of these beautiful buildings. So, watch out for postings of the best of the country houses which have been advertised.

Dowdeswell Court, situated just outside Cheltenham, is an elegant essay in ne0-Classical style.  The estate had been in the Rogers family since 1582 but by the early 1800s the house was so dilapidated that it could only be replaced.  The new house was built in 1833-7, and was designed by a well-respected architect, Charles Paul of Cheltenham, who incorporated the distinctive Corinthian orders and cornicing.  Interestingly though, the final design owes much to the master mason, Thomas Denley, who altered the plans.  The interiors are to the 1830s but have been sympathetically restored.  The house was then sold the now Coxwell-Rodgers family in the 1900s and it then went through a succession of owners and uses including as a school and residential home.  It was from this latter fate that the house was rescued in 2005 and has since been carefully restored.  This truly is a stunning house – a great example of it’s type and conveniently sized and located.

So if you have the requisite £7.9m please do contact Savills and ask for a viewing.  And if you would like someone to carry your bag or something while you do so, please just let me know.

Full details: Dowdeswell Court [Savills]