WITH few important country houses being offered for sale in Suffolk so far this year, Mark Rimell of Strutt & Parker (020-7318 5025) has set the ball rolling with the launch onto the market in last week's COUNTRY LIFE of historic Priory Hall, which sits in 21 acres of glorious gardens and grounds on the edge of the ancient market town of Hadleigh, halfway between the larger towns of Sudbury and Ipswich. He quotes a guide price of $3.5 million for the impressive Tudor-style house, once owned by the Priory Church of Canterbury Cathedral, which is described by Historic England as 'a large much-restored building with a probable 16th-century origin... the front has a number of gables and upper storeys projecting [with] all timber framing exposed and all chimney stacks built in 16th-century manner. Previously known as The Manor, Hadleigh, Priory Hall's Grade II listing was awarded for the 'original work' done by restorers and the building's 'general appearance'.
Much excellent work has been carried out by the current owners, who bought Priory Hall in 1993 and have spent the past 30-odd years improving the house and gardens. To this end, they have added an impressive swimming pool and leisure facilities, updated kitchen and bathrooms and established a thriving wedding venue centred on the vaulted Tudor grand hall, the well-timbered drawing and dining rooms, and the magnificent gardens. However, with a maximum of 25 weddings a year and no wedding guests housed on site, the hall remains, above all, a wonderful family home.
Denne historien er fra June 19, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra June 19, 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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Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds