SEPTEMBER saw the launch onto the market, through Savills National Farms and Estates (020–7016 3780), of the captivating, 483-acre Markwick residential and farming estate, which sits between the villages of Dunsfold and Hambledon, five miles south of Godalming and nine miles south of the cathedral city of Guildford, within the affluent Surrey Hills AONB.
For sale at a guide price of £8.4 million for the whole, or in three lots, the estate, which enjoys spectacular far-reaching views over rural south Surrey towards the South Downs National Park, was developed over a period of 60-odd years by the late, somewhat eccentric Peter John Rampton, whose family owned the successful catalogue sales company Freemans and lived in Hambledon village.
In the mid-1960s, Rampton bought Burgate farm, which adjoined his parents’ house. He developed and modernised the original pig farm, installing a state-of-the-art piggery with an automated feeder. The farm went from strength to strength and grew into an impressive, still thriving enterprise that is part of an estate-wide commercial farming operation currently run under a farm business tenancy until September 2027.
Farming rekindled Rampton’s interest in steam-powered machinery and engineering and inspired his other lifelong passion, his vast collection of narrow-gauge railway locomotives and carriages sourced from all over the world, which he repaired and restored at the farm. An intriguing relic remains at Gorebridge Green Farm buildings (part of lot 2), where a disused narrow-gauge railway line was designed to link to the main house, but never finished.
Denne historien er fra October 11, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra October 11, 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
