THREE landmark late entrants to the 2023 market will pique the interest of buyers or entrepreneurs who are looking to move westwards next year. Imposing, Grade II*-listed Cheney Court, which is for sale through Strutt & Parker's country department (020-7591 2213) at a guide price of $4.5 million, stands on a gentle south-facing slope in the hamlet of Ditteridge in the Wiltshire Cotswolds. It's 3½ miles west of the picturesque town of Corsham, 5½ miles north-east of Bath and just under 1½ miles from the Three Shires Stones, where the counties of Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire meet.
According to its Historic England listing, Cheyney Court, as it was originally known, was recorded as the manor of the Cheyney family in the 15th century, although the present house was rebuilt in about 1620 by George Speke, who died in 1656. During the English Civil War, Queen Henrietta Maria, the wife of Charles I, reputedly hid in a barn on the property as she fled from Oxford to Exeter on her way to seek refuge in France.
In about 1726, the Spekes sold Cheney Court to the Northey family, wealthy landowners who used it as an investment property, letting it out as a desirable house convenient to Bath, suitable for the 'middling sort' of people. According to the writer Alan Payne, an early tenant was John Neate, a prosperous Bristol merchant, who lived there in 1769 before he built Middlehill House nearby. In the late 1890s, George Edward Northey decided to move with his family to Cheney Court, where he embarked on a major renovation of the rambling, 18-bedroom house. He found the court rather too quiet for his liking, compared with the busy social whirl of his father's house at nearby Ashley Manor, and invited his many friends to visit him at his new home.
Denne historien er fra December 06, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra December 06, 2023-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
