COuNTRY SALES
lovely house, parkland, lakes,
FOuR OF THE bEST
A rolling farmland, tranquil woods,
maybe even a pheasant shoot or
some fishing – all part of the mix Knight Frank sells some of the most desirable small country estates,
that makes up the perfect country estate.
a number of which are featured in this edition of Private View
Once, all of these would have come
rolled up with many hundreds, if not
thousands, of acres of agricultural land. In the
last century, however, many estates disposed
of much of their land and are now sold as
much more manageable packages. Eathorpe Hall
But the good news, is that owners are not Georgian
missing out on any of the benefits that their masterpiece
predecessors used to enjoy. set in 29 acres
“You can pretty much fit everything into of parkland in
50 acres that you would get in 500,” says the heart of
Angus Harley, Head of Knight Frank’s Country Warwickshire.
House Consultancy team. Page 82
“It’s actually still quite a large chunk of
land, certainly enough to provide privacy;
space for equestrian activities; some informal
shooting; environmental habitats, such as
wildflower meadows or recreating native
woodland; and even a decent amount of
actual farming.
“Admittedly, you might struggle to offer
a full day of driven pheasant, but many of Fountain Court
my clients are joining up with neighbouring An “Arts and
landowners or farmers to create a larger Crafts” house
shoot. Often they will also look after all the and 70 acres
management so you get the benefits without surrounded by
the hassle,” adds Angus. the New Forest.
And how will your estate perform as an Page 72
investment? Despite the current economic
gloom, which has hit many other sectors
of the property market, the scarcity and
desirability of the best country houses has
helped ensure prices remain firm.
The value of properties worth over
£5 million increased by 3.5% in the 12 months
to June 2012, according to the Knight Frank
Prime Country House Index. Bletchingdon Park
“Close to London there is strong demand A classic Georgian
from international buyers, but many of those House with 127
currently searching for their perfect estate acres of perfect
are people looking to take advantage of the Oxfordshire
astonishing surge in the value of their parkland. Page 58
houses in London,” says Edward Welton
of Knight Frank’s Country House team.
“They realise that now is the perfect time
to buy the country home they have always
dreamed of owning and where they can
bring up their families in beautiful, but easily
managed surroundings.”
For some, buying a small estate has
been just the beginning of their rural
adventure. “A number of our clients have Thornhill Park
fallen in love with their estates so much that A 144 acre Dorset
they have asked us to help recreate how they estate with its
would have been in their heyday, by buying own deer park.
up surrounding farmland and properties,” Page 62
says Andrew Shirley, Knight Frank’s Head of
Rural Research.“A small estate can be the
perfect adventure in its own right or it could
be the start of something bigger. There are so
many options.”
KnightFrank.com PRIVATE VIEW 57