Three of a kind
Country Life UK|May 18, 2022
The beautiful North Wessex Downs are the leafy backdrop to three imposing country houses for sale
Penny Churchill
Three of a kind

THE surprisingly remote and tranquil landscape of the North Wessex Downs AONB, which straddles the boundaries of Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxford- shire and Wiltshire, is home to some of England’s loveliest, but least-known country houses and estates, most of which never make it onto the open market.

Thus, it’s all the more exciting to see the simultaneous launch onto the market of three fine Georgian-style houses, all three located along a 10-mile stretch of the Kennet valley in the south of the AONB, between the historic market towns of Newbury and Hungerford. Alex Barton of Strutt & Parker’s Newbury office (01635 521707) is handling the sale of two of them, the first being Grade II-listed The Old Rectory at Chilton Foliat on the West Berkshire/Wiltshire border, two miles north of Hungerford and 11 miles from Newbury, which comes to the market for the first time in 50 years, at a guide price of £5.95 million.

Screened from the village by a high brick and flint wall, the imposing, 9,500sq ft former rectory stands in some 11 acres of immaculate gardens and grounds that merge into the surrounding parkland, which belongs to the estate of which the Old Rectory was once a part. The house, which stands alongside the 12th-century Norman church of St Mary’s, dates, according to its listing, from the mid-18th century, with a late-18th-century wing incorporating an earlier, 17th-century, square structure of two storeys and an attic. A former 17th-century manor house to the west of the church was demolished in the 1750s.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 18, 2022 من Country Life UK.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 18, 2022 من Country Life UK.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من COUNTRY LIFE UK مشاهدة الكل
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
Country Life UK

Kitchen garden cook - Apples

'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'

time-read
2 mins  |
October 23, 2024
The original Mr Rochester
Country Life UK

The original Mr Rochester

Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre

time-read
5 mins  |
October 23, 2024
Get it write
Country Life UK

Get it write

Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution

time-read
6 mins  |
October 23, 2024
'Sloes hath ben my food'
Country Life UK

'Sloes hath ben my food'

A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright

time-read
3 mins  |
October 23, 2024
Souvenirs of greatness
Country Life UK

Souvenirs of greatness

FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.

time-read
3 mins  |
October 23, 2024
Plants for plants' sake
Country Life UK

Plants for plants' sake

The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson

time-read
7 mins  |
October 23, 2024
Capturing the castle
Country Life UK

Capturing the castle

Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker

time-read
6 mins  |
October 23, 2024
Nature's own cathedral
Country Life UK

Nature's own cathedral

Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods

time-read
5 mins  |
October 23, 2024
All that money could buy
Country Life UK

All that money could buy

A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages

time-read
8 mins  |
October 23, 2024
In with the old
Country Life UK

In with the old

Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery

time-read
5 mins  |
October 23, 2024