grade-i

Lease one of the best Charles II houses in England – but there’s a catch

Matthew Beckett - The Country Seat2 Comments
Ashdown House, Oxfordshire (Image: wikipedia)

If an almost perfect example of a Grade-I listed, Charles II house set in beautiful protected parkland but only an hour from London was available for £4.5m you might think there was a typo.  However, it’s true but there are one or two minor catches.

Firstly, Ashdown House , built in 1661, is owned by the National Trust so your £4.5m only gets you a 60-year lease (or £205 a day if that’s easier).  Secondly, because it’s National Trust, the house is also open to visitors every weekend April to October (approx 2,000 last year) so that they can see the impressive staircase and ascend the 100 stairs to the viewing platform with it’s fine views over the Berkshire Downs.

So, basically, this is possibly the finest second home in the country – although rather than use it at weekends you may wish to be there during the week. The current owner, Mr Max Ulfane, a businessman and well-known philanthropist, has hosted such high-profile events as fund-raising receptions for the Ashmolean Museum.  Alternatively it might be possible to vary the lease to at least exclude some weekends – especially as the lease was offered with the same terms at the same price in May 2009.

*Update* The Sunday Times today (24 January) says that a 83-year lease is available for £5.3m (£175 per day for anyone putting it on expenses) and that the famous artist Anish Kapoor is planning to take a look and it has already been seen by several others including a top executive at Puma.

*Update* – Sept 2010 – The remaining lease has been taken by Pete Townshend of The Who.

Full story: ‘A grand Charles II house fit for a queen‘ [The Times]

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]

Castle Drogo under seige – from rain

Matthew Beckett - The Country Seat1 Comment
Castle Drogo, Devon (Image: wikipedia)

The last castle to be built in the UK, Castle Drogo, occupies a commanding position far up the Teign Gorge in Devon.  Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and built in the 1910s and 1920s and finally finished in 1931 for the wealthy businessman Julius Drewe, the Grade-I listed house is a brilliant modern interpretation of a castle combined with the comforts of a country house.

It was also one of the last houses to be built entirely in granite, the local stone of the area.  The grey stone and the clever massing of towers and wings give the house a solid, impregnable air but the house is under attack from the elements, with rain penetration causing serious concern.  The many flat roofs hidden behind the battlements started causing problems only two years after the house was finished and ever since it has been a constant battle to keep the house watertight.

House manager Bryher Mason told BBC News: “I wouldn’t be surprised to walk into a room one morning and find a section of the ceiling having fallen in because the metalwork in the ceiling has failed.”

The National Trust, who have cared for it since it was handed to them in 1974, have instigated a restoration and repair programme on the many roofs, which will include the replacement of all 13,000 window panes, and has been estimated to cost £10m, and will be completed by 2016.

Full story: ‘Leaking castle needs £10m repairs‘ [bbc.co.uk]

Forty Hall ‘renovation’ gets approval from council but probably not from everyone else

Matthew Beckett - The Country Seat2 Comments
Forty Hall, Enfield (Image: Enfield Independent)

Enfield Council’s proposed renovation plan for Forty Hall in Enfield has been given the go-ahead by the council planners. However, the plan seems to verge on invasive and to contravene best practice guidelines from organisations such as the Society for the Protection of Ancient  Buildings which recommend preserving as much historic material as possible to show how a building has developed.  The changes are part of plan funded with nearly £2m in grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The Grade-I listed house was originally built in 1629 for Sir Nicholas Rainton, a City Alderman, President of St Bartholomew’s Hospital and Lord Mayor of London.  The house passed through various owners until bought in 1895 by Major Henry Bowles who  made many changes including a new staircase with stained glass incorporating his family’s coat of arms.

However, rather than respect it as an important example of one of the many smaller mansions built on the edges of the then city but now subsumed into the suburbs, the council seem determined to make their own extensive changes.  An illuminating quote was given when the HLF grant was announced: “This gives us a unique chance to re-model the Hall completely to make sure that every aspect of it is planned and coordinated to make it the top visitor attraction that it should be.” [enfield.gov.uk].  Among the changes the council have proposed are:

  • installation of a lift shaft,
  • removal of the entrance porch,
  • construction of a glazed roof to the central courtyard, and
  • replacement of the main staircase.

It’s the latter that seems to be the most worrying change as the staircase was an important part of the history of the house.  The Victorian Society has raised their objection to this loss.  Interestingly, the press release inspired news story doesn’t mention whether English Heritage or the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings have given their approval.

Also of concern is the intention to redocorate the interior which will be carried out “by detailed investigation of historic finishes” – which doesn’t say that they will follow the evidence of the past.

All in all this seems to be a council who have approved their own plans to make many insensitive and substantial changes to a Grade-I listed building in an attempt to create a  ‘theme-park’ pastiche of an old house.  Perhaps a more considered approach would not only preserve more of the historic fabric the council seem so willing to rip out but would also offer cost savings.

The plans still require approval from the Secretary of State, John Denham, before they can be implemented so there is hope yet that this apparently inappropriate scheme might yet be modified so that whilst still meeting the council’s aim of increasing access and improving facilites it’s much more sensitive to this elegant house.

Full story: ‘Forty Hall renovation gets thumbs up from planners‘ [Enfield Independent]

Shock: English Heritage still hand out grants! Hagley Hall benefits

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Hagley Hall, Worcestershire (Image: Hagley Hall website)

When the listed building restrictions were originally introduced the compensation for not being to do exactly as you wished with your house was that the government would provide grants towards maintainence.  Obviously successive governments have seen these funds as an easy target when seeking cost cuts and so despite the legitimate limits on changes still being enforced, the cost of the work was now largely borne by the owner.

So the news that English Heritage are atleast providing matched funding to the tune of £210,000 for much needed repairs and conservation work to the beautiful Hagley Hall in Worcestershire is to be very much welcomed.  Now, if only they could perhaps prise open the coffers of the lottery funds to provide further grants we might actually be able to claim that we truly support our built heritage.

Full story: ‘Hall will undergo £420,000 makeover‘ [Express & Star]