AFTER a distinguished career spanning almost 50 years, softly spoken Tony Morris-Eyton of Savills in Telford has stepped back from his longstanding role as head of the firm's West Midlands operations to concentrate on his first love, the sale of prime country houses and estates in his native Shropshire, where he served as High Sheriff of the county in 2021-22. As the scion of one of Shropshire's oldest families, he knows every nook and cranny of the county's finest properties, many of which he has sold more than once over the years.
A recent success was the sale, last autumn, of Grade II-listed Woodhill Park, a glorious Georgian house set within a ring-fenced, 156-acre estate in unspoilt Shropshire countryside, four miles from Oswestry and 22 miles from Shrewsbury. Previously part of the Ormsby-Gore family's Brogyntyn estate, Woodhill Park was sold by Mr Morris-Eyton to last year's vendors in 1987 and again on their behalf last year, when the estate was quickly snapped up, at a guide price of $4.5 million, by a London buyer returning to his Shropshire roots. In 1985, Francis Ormsby-Gore, 6th Baron Harlech inherited the Brogyntyn estate following his father's death in a car accident and was immediately hit by crippling death duties, which eventually forced the sale of the estate and his ancestral home, Brogyntyn Hall, in 2000. In the meantime, Lord Harlech had been living at The Mount, a crumbling Edwardian house on the edge of the estate, which was acquired by a dynamic local businessman and eventually demolished.
Denne historien er fra February 21, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra February 21, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
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
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
'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
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.
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
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
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
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
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