Country Life: 3rd August 2022 Early Property Pages 2

EVERY WEEK

AUGUST 3, 2022

Heavenly Holkham The vision of a nobleman

ISSUE: 31

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LONDON LIFE AUGUST 3, 2022

Happiness is a wildlife meadow Walking tall: the new skyline sculptures Bottle it: why earth smells sweet after rain CLI367.cover.indd 1

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ONE FAMILY SPECIALISING IN FINE FURNITURE SINCE 1866

An imbuya burl veneered, gilt and Chinoiserie painted pedestal desk, the rounded rectangular top with a carved edge and a central vintage leather writing surface, above four frieze drawers, one pedestal with three further drawers and the other with a drawer and a filing drawer, on bases with carved moulding and bracket feet.

Suitable for A4, Legal and Letter Hanging Folders.

Unrepeatable Item.

£9,490

Width: 65¾ inches (167.5cm) Depth: 29¾ inches (76cm) Height: 30¼ inches (77cm)

NATIONWIDE HOME APPROVAL SERVICE | BESPOKE COMMISSIONS UNDERTAKEN OVER 1,000 ITEMS OF EXCLUSIVE CLASSICAL FURNISHINGS IN STOCK CALL 01491 641115 | WWW.BRIGHTSOFNETTLEBED.CO.UK NETTLEBED

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OXFORDSHIRE

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RG9 5DD (OPEN TUES-SAT)

KING’S RD

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LONDON

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SW6 2DX (OPEN MON-FRI)

1 REF: CHO012285945

Hambledon, Surrey 9 bedrooms | 8 bathrooms | 4 reception rooms | Cottage | Planning for a coach house (WA/2022/00744) | Ornamental pond Pergolas | Walled garden | Approximately 26.35 acres | EPC B | Freehold

A brand new country house with over 8,000 sq ft of environmentally sensitive living accommodation and glorious views over its own land.

Godalming 4.7 miles | Guildford 9.2 miles | Farnham 11.2 miles

Guide price £6,500,000 Knight Frank London & Guildford oliver.rodbourne@knightfrank.com 020 4502 7108

james.grillo@knightfrank.com 01483 355875

knightfrank.co.uk Winner of six customer experience awards in 2021

Your partners in property

KINGSTON BLOUNT, OXFORDSHIRE Asking Price: £1,375,000

4 Bedrooms | 2 Reception Rooms | 4 Bathrooms | D EPC

An 18th century barn conversion in a peaceful village at the foot of the Chiltern Hills. The property has 2,774 sq. ft. of living space featuring floor to ceiling doors and windows which were once the original barn openings. The master bedroom suite occupies the whole of the first floor and is accessed via a handcrafted steel spiral staircase. There are also landscaped gardens, terraces and extensive driveway parking.

Michael Graham Princes Risborough Paul Copping 01844 396000 Michael Graham London Bob Bickersteth 0207 839 0888

michaelgraham.co.uk michaelgraham_living

1 2 3 4

REF: SHE012265070

Milborne Wick, Dorset

6 bedrooms | 4 bathrooms | 3 reception rooms | 2 bedroom annexe | Grotto | Roof terrace | Garaging | Home office | Hot tub Sauna | Fire pit | Millstream | 2 ponds | Approximately 1.29 acres | EPC F | Freehold

A beautifully presented late Victorian house in a private and peaceful hillside setting within a rural hamlet.

Charlton Horethorne 1.4 miles | Milborne Port 1.3 miles | Sherborne 3 miles (London Waterloo from 2 hours 15 minutes)

Guide price £2,700,000 Knight Frank London & Sherborne hamish.humfrey@knightfrank.com 020 4579 2478

luke.pender-cudlip@knightfrank.com 01935 805324

knightfrank.co.uk Winner of six customer experience awards in 2021

Your partners in property

Historic Country Estate Loughton, Essex Loughton Station: 1.3 miles (London Liverpool Street Station from 30 minutes) A rare opportunity to purchase one of the last remaining ‘Country Estates’ in Metropolitan Essex. 7 reception rooms, 10 bedrooms (7 en suite), games room, tennis court, 3 bedroom lodge, 5 car garage, fishing lake, orchard and landscaped gardens and grounds. Consented plot for a 5,000 sq ft detached house.

Freehold | Council Tax Band = H | EPC = D

About 10.31 acres | Guide £13.5 million

Tim Phillips Savills London Country Department 020 4571 2067 tmphillips@savills.com

savills

savills.co.uk

Surrey, Haslemere

A superb family house with swimming pool and tennis court set within about 8.52 acres and situated on a private road close to Haslemere town centre Fernhurst: 1.4 miles, Haslemere High Street: 2.3 miles, Haslemere station: 2.8 miles (London Waterloo 52 minutes), London Heathrow Airport: 38.1 miles, Central London: 48.2 miles Entrance hall | Drawing room | Dining room | Family room | Conservatory | Kitchen/breakfast room | Boot room Wine cellar | Principal bedroom with ensuite bathroom | 4 Bedrooms (all ensuite) | 3 Further bedrooms 2 Family bathrooms | Garden | Triple garage | Swimming pool | Tennis court | Stabling | EPC Rating C About 8.52 acres

Over 50 offices across England and Scotland, including prime Central London.

Guide Price £4,950,000

Tom Shuttleworth

Jenette Soulsby

JSA:

Country Department 07919 128 193

Haslemere Office 01428 788 696

House Partnership 01483 266 705

thomas.shuttleworth@struttandparker.com

jenette.soulsby@struttandparker.com

dcarter@housepartnership.co.uk

/struttandparker

@struttandparker

struttandparker.com

Historic Manor House Little Horkesley, Colchester Colchester Station: 4 miles (London Liverpool Street Station from 50 minutes) Beautiful Tudor manor house set in stunning grounds and gardens. 6 reception rooms, 9 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, swimming pool, 2 bedroom east apartment, 3 bedroom east house, various offices, 2 bedroom orchard cottage, 3 bedroom garden cottage, 2 glass houses, pond and walled garden.

Freehold | Council Tax Band = G

About 52.32 acres | Guide £6.5 million

Tim Phillips Savills London Country Department 020 4525 7788 tmphillips@savills.com

Stephen White Savills Chelmsford 01245 960 977 swhite@savills.com

savills

savills.co.uk

Stylish Country Living Buckland, Oxfordshire Abingdon: 10 miles, Didcot: 13 miles, Oxford: 15 miles Elegant character home with beautiful architecture, space and historic origins. 3 reception rooms, 6 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 2 garages, approximately 1.88 acres of private gardens and grounds and the use of 20 acres of parkland. Freehold | Council Tax Band = H | EPC = E

About 20 acres | Guide £3.5 million Lindsay Cuthill Savills London Country Department 020 4579 6019 lcuthill@savills.com

Ronnie van der Ploeg Savills Summertown 01865 692 669 rvanderploeg@savills.com

savills

savills.co.uk

This is the life.

Is it Yours?

Luxury Portfolio International® has some of the most diverse luxury real estate listings in the world. Let our exclusive network of well-connected, locally tuned brokers and agents find your next home.

luxuryportfolio.com @LUXURYPORTFOLIO

THE KINGTHORPE WOODLANDS Kingthorpe, Pickering, North Yorkshire

A collection of 4 woodlands with a wide range of species and ages ranging from mature and maturing commercial crops including Japanese larch, Scots pine and mixed broadleaves to p.2015 Douglas fir, Norway spruce and oak.

For full details and to view drone video footage visit www.tustins.co.uk or contact the Selling Agents on the numbers below.

In all, 243.5 Acres (98.5 Hectares) | Freehold for sale | Guide prices range from £25,000 to £975,000

www.tustins.co.uk

www.boultoncooper.co.uk

Unit 2, Park Farm, Akeman Street, Kirtlington, Oxfordshire OX5 3JQ John Clegg 01869 254938 | johnclegg@tustins.co.uk

St Michael’s House, 1 Market Place, Malton, North Yorkshire YO17 7LR Philip Place 07702 853697 | PhilipPlace@boultoncooper.co.uk

The Scotland issue

E X PL OR I NG BE AU T IF U L HOM ES I N SCOT L A N D’S MOST ST U N N I NG L OC AT IONS

ON SA LE AUGUST 24, 2022

Don’t miss your chance to advertise in our Scotland issue Booking/copy deadline: August 10, 2022 For more information on advertising, please contact Julia Laurence, julia.laurence@futurenet.com – 07971 923054

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HAMPTON BISHOP, HEREFORDSHIRE

£930,000

Cheltenham 33 Miles, South Wales 40 miles, Birmingham 55 miles, Bristol 65 miles, Oxford 75 miles Grade II Listed Thatched Country Property • Main 3 Bedroom Cottage • Ancillary 3 Bedroom Cottage 1Bedroom Self-Contained Annexe • 1 Acre Gardens & Paddock • Original Cider Millstone & Press Rail 4 Miles • Motorway 10 Miles Freehold | EPC exempt | Council tax E & C

ROSS ON WYE 01989 768 666 trivett-hicks.com

Trivett Hicks

Estate Agents Lettings Property Management

WESTLAND LONDON SPECIALISTS IN ANTIQUE FIREPLACES & FINE ANTIQUES SINCE 1969

295 WILLESDEN LANE, LONDON, NW2 5HY TUBE: WILLESDEN GREEN (JUBILEE LINE)

www.westlandlondon.com

TEL: +44 (0) 207 739 8094 e-mail: westland@westlandlondon.com

Your indispensable guide to the capital

ENDURING LOVE The Albert Memorial, Kensington Gardens, W2

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Soon after the death of her beloved Prince Albert in December 1861, Queen Victoria initiated a competition to create both a personal monument to her husband and a ‘spacious hall’ for public meetings in the Arts and sciences in his memory. The two structures that resulted—the Royal Albert Hall (COUNTRY LIFE, March 24, 2021) and the Albert Memorial—today constitute the heart of his greatest legacy, ‘Albertopolis’, the cultural centre created in Kensington after the Great Exhibition in 1851.

The Albert Memorial, officially titled the Prince Consort National Memorial, was designed by George Gilbert Scott and unveiled 150 years ago, in 1872.

It takes the form of a Gothic canopy and spire set on a podium of steps within a railed enclosure. At the corners of the podium are sculptures of Europe, Asia, Africa and America. Decorating the monument itself is imagery referring to the industrial arts that the Prince patronised: agriculture, manufacture, commerce and engineering.

The monument is constructed from stones and marbles of different colours.

Much of its detailing, including the gigantic, seated figure of Prince Albert himself set within the canopy, is gilded.

An ambitious restoration campaign completed in 1998 transformed the Albert Memorial from a drab and dirty Victoirian survival into the dazzling and much-loved landmark it is today. JG

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LONDON LIFE

News Three Sumatran tigers have been born at ZSL London Zoo, NW1. Keepers will not be able to identify if the cubs—who are now a month old—are male or female until they are about three months old.

Sumatran tigers are critically endangered and there are only some 300 left in the wild

Cool commute

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COOLING system for deep-level Underground lines is now being trialled, according to Transport for London (TfL).

The system, which uses fans to circulate cool air produced from cold water-filled panels wrapped around the pipe work, has been installed on a disused platform at Holborn station with plans to expand it to an active platform at Knightsbridge. Whether the innovative technology spreads will depend on further funding from the Department for Transport.

The news comes nearly 20 years after a competition was held to find a solution to cool down the London Underground.

Work was shelved two years later, when judges were unable to find an entry that was original, workable or affordable.

Back to Bach

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ILDFIRES that spread across parts of the capital during last month’s heatwave, destroying 41 properties, could have turned into the second Great Fire of London were it not for low winds, according to one expert. Strong winds contributed to four days of fire in 1666, said Guillermo Rein, professor of fire science at the department of mechanical engineering, Imperial College London, whereas gusts reached a very average 14mph on July 19, now the hottest day on record and the busiest day for the London fire service since the Second World War. The fact that houses were still built out of timber in the 17th century was also a big factor and to prevent further fires new houses were built with stone.

However, Prof Rein went on to explain that despite the fact that London is much safer today, the two conflagrations were both ‘urban fires, where fire spreads from one home to another, aided by vegetation’. Anyone with a garden should be aware that a compost fire can spread to a wooden fence, an overhanging tree and, in turn, to the roof and that tiles, although ‘tremendously fire resistant’, must be maintained to prevent embers from falling through a hole and setting the timber structure beneath ablaze.

CONCERT to mark the contemporary completion of Bach’s unfinished organ works is to take place in the capital next month. The German composer (right) intended for his Orgelbüchlein, or Little Organ Book, to contain 164 chorales, but, for reasons unknown, left it unfinished with only 46 completed, albeit with titles for the remainder.

For more than a decade, organist William Whitehead has been commissioning contemporary composers to fill in the gaps, all of which will premiere at Bach And Friends: The Orgelbüchlein Completed, comprising 10 events running at various venues, including St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and Temple Church, from September 23–25.

Each concert will be free to attend, with no pre-booking required, and will be presented by broadcaster Zeb Soanes (page 34). Visit www.rco.org.uk/events/bachandfriends for more information.

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Windy city

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News

LONDON LIFE

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The number of luxury London properties—each worth £10 million or more— that were sold in the first six months of the year, the highest number in a decade. According to The Guardian and Anthony Payne, managing director of LonRes, the record-making purchases are due to the drop in value of the pound attracting overseas buyers

Premium pasta

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ROM humble beginnings in that narrow sliver of space on Greek Street to a cathedralsize space dedicated to everyone’s favourite carbohydrate on Marylebone Lane, there’s no stopping Lina Stores.

If you’re anyone who knows anything, you’ll know that Lina Stores is the place to go for fresh, delicious and affordable pasta in London. There are now five restaurants and delicatessens (if you’re ever passing by, make sure to pick up a box of cannolis) scattered across the capital; Marylebone is the newest, but there are not-so-hushed and welcome whisperings of more to come.

As the empire has grown, the stores have got bigger—losing the sense of intimacy and secrecy that helped propel Greek Street to fame—but there’s still plenty here to like.

For starters (no pun intended) the ubiquitous duck-egg green and white-striped awnings.

And someone wisely decided to keep some favourites on the menu, chiefly the tagliolini al tartufo. ‘We couldn’t take the truffle pasta off the menu,’ said our server, looking shocked. ‘We’d lose all of our customers.’ The fried artichokes, spaghetti with Amalfi lemon and slow-cooked lamb ragu are also all worth ordering (www.linastores.co.uk).

The price to pay

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NEW £2.50 a night tourism levy could help fund Transport for London (TfL) to the tune of £102 million, every year.

The idea was floated by Prof Tony Travers of the London School of Economics in a speech he made to the London Assembly last month. The tax, which is popular in other major European cities, including Paris, Berlin, Rome and Amsterdam, would be raised against hotel stays, but could also apply to cruise ships and rental websites, such as Airbnb.

In recent months, London Mayor Sadiq Khan has repeatedly stated that, without some sort of funding deal, TfL will have to make ‘painful cuts’.

Gilded City: Tour Medieval and Renaissance London is out now (Unicorn Publishing Group, £25). The book, by Duncan A. Smith, looks at the history of London through its architecture— famous, civic and small scale. As well as more than 80 photographs, the book comes complete with various maps and guides to nine walking tours

LONDON LIFE Editor Rosie Paterson Editor-in-chief Mark Hedges Sub-editors Octavia Pollock, James Fisher Art Heather Clark, Emma Earnshaw, Ben Harris, Dean Usher Pictures Lucy Ford, Emily Anderson Advertising Katie Ruocco 07929 364909 Email firstname.surname@futurenet.com

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Dual Aspect Views Lincoln Plaza, London E14 South Quay DLR Station: 0.2 miles Pristine apartment benefitting from 3 balconies, excellent on-site facilities and floor to ceiling windows.

Reception room, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, underground parking, concierge, gym and swimming pool.

Share of Freehold (Lease Expiry 3005) | Ground rent £400 per annum (100% increase every 25 years) | Service charge £5,000 per annum (reviewed every year) | Council Tax Band = F | EPC = B

808 sq ft | Guide £650,000 Antony Cherriman Savills Canary Wharf 020 4579 6250 antony.cherriman@savills.com

Stephanie Dang Savills Canary Wharf 020 4525 3685 stephanie.dang@savills.com

savills

savills.co.uk

Outstanding Period Conversion Arsenal Way, London SE18 Woolwich DLR Station: 0.4 miles Retaining its original charm, this listed home has high ceilings, sash windows and is set within a gated development. Reception room, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, patio, parking, gym and 24 hour concierge.

Share of Freehold (Lease Expiry 3000) | Ground rent £400 per annum (increase every 10 years in line with RPI) | Service charge £6,187.94 per annum (reviewed annually) | Council Tax Band = C | EPC = D

1,090 sq ft | Offers in excess of £700,000 Antony Cherriman Savills Canary Wharf 020 4579 7561 antony.cherriman@savills.com

Stephanie Dang Savills Canary Wharf 020 4479 7658 stephanie.dang@savills.com

savills

savills.co.uk

LONDON LIFE

On foot

Art for east’s sake The eastern stretches of London are home to some of the capital’s largest and most accessible art collections, including sculptures by Damien Hirst and Antony Gormley. Carla Passino takes a look at what you can visit on foot Illustrated by Fred van Deelen

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CATTERED along a curve of the Thames, the Canary Wharf skyscrapers pierce the sky, marvels of glass and metal vying for the palm of tallest, slenderest, most daring. But the real wonder hides in their shadow: more than 100 art installations pepper the estate’s stylish squares, fringe its spraying fountains and stretch among the trees of a Jubilee Park remarkably busy with people. This is the UK’s largest free collection of public art and a sizeable part of an informal south-east London ‘museum’ so thick with works that it takes plenty of stamina, a day to spare and more than a little cheating with public transport to view (almost) all of it.

The pieces at Canary Wharf are a cavalcade of contrasts: the small (Victor Seaward’s 3D printed fruit, which double up as RSPB-standard bird nests, on South Colonnade) and the monumental (Igor Mitoraj’s massive heads at Bank Street and Columbus Courtyard); the abstract (Ottotto’s 100 red-light circles, which hug the Cubitt Bridge) and the figurative (Sean Henry’s Standing Figures at Park Drive, easily mistaken for real people); the amusing (Stephanie Quayle’s terracotta Snub Nose Monkey II at One Canada Square) and the bemusing (Fernando Brízio’s Pé de Porco, a huge trotter made of cork sitting on Crossrail Place’s roof garden).

On a sunny summer morning, the light plays on Canary Wharf’s latest display, a group of 11 pieces that build on six permanent installations to form the ‘Summer Lights’ exhibition, open until August 20.

The show is a triumph of creativity, colour and movement—particularly Yoni Alter’s 98 giant, translucent dots, which hang from wires to form a giant bird, and another avian installation, Atelier Sisu’s flight of

multi-coloured birds, which sway in the breeze above Jubilee Park’s gurgling water channel.

But perhaps the most significant sculpture on the estate is Henry Moore’s Draped Seated Woman—for its history as much as for its artistic value. Nicknamed ‘Old Flo’ and inspired by the artist’s experience of The Blitz, the sculpture was originally bought by the London County Council for Stepney’s Stifford Estate in 1962. After the estate was demolished, however, Tower Hamlets Council considered auctioning off Old Flo, by then lodged at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Luckily, a new Tower Hamlets mayor, John Biggs, was elected in 2015: pledging the sculpture would be ‘made available for public enjoyment’, he brought it back to the area in 2017, initially as a fiveyear placement in Canary Wharf’s Cabot Square, with a view to returning it to Stepney at a later stage.

‘Perhaps the most significant sculpture on the estate is Henry Moore’s Draped Seated Woman’ A Tube stop away, on the Greenwich Peninsula, is the start (or the end) of The Line, London’s first dedicated public art walk, which stitches together installations along the East London waterways from here to Stratford. Some of it follows The Tide, a riverside trail at the foot of 100ft-high cocktail bar London in the Sky, where waterbirds rustle among the reeds that frame the installations. There’s Gary Hume’s Liberty Grip, a pink-tipped bronze meant to show

three pieces of a mannequin arm, but vaguely suggestive if viewed from an angle; Antony Gormley’s Quantum Cloud, a 98ft-high explosion of steel units arising from the outline of a human form; and Damien Hirst’s Mermaid, crushed by a wavy coil like a novel Laocoön. All may soon be overshadowed by Mr Hirst’s 60ft-tall Demon with Bowl, a headless creature from an ancient Mesopotamian nightmare, which may be placed by the Emirates Cable Car. If given the green light, it will be a massive counterpoint to Laura Ford’s Bird Boy, which stands on a pontoon at the opposite end of the cable line, with a paddling of ducks to keep him company as jet skiers whizz past without sparing him a look.

It’s harder to spot Madge Gill’s intricate inked panels, almost overshadowed by the Royal Docks’s Heroica Lounge, a graffitied bus-turned-pizza bar. A local woman with a tragic history that included losing her left eye to disease and two of her children to

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On foot

LONDON LIFE

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LONDON LIFE

On foot

an early death, she found solace in art, filling hundreds of postcards, paper and calico cloths with swirling, often floral shapes.

Much of her work was gifted to the local authorities and five reproductions now dot The Line. It’s well worth trudging the uninspiring collection of warehouses from Star Lane to Cody Docks to reach her ‘bridge’— a burst of orange, red and yellow petals covering the cable bridge bringing power to Canary Wharf—and the blue woman on a window at Three Mills Lane, a piece that could have come straight from ToulouseLautrec’s studio.

Breaking up Gill’s works are some showstealing boats—not least an orange submersible complete with solar panels—and contemporary pieces with more of a Marmite quality. Rana Begum’s No. 1104 Catching Colour, a cloud of sorbet-coloured mesh, floats alone among the Lego-like blocks of Botanic Square, by Canning Town. Abigail Fallis’s DNA DL90 helix, laden with miniature shopping trolleys to mark the rise of the ‘homo consumericus’, surveys a meander in the River Lea, sandwiched between an Amazon warehouse and the outline of Canary Wharf looming over the opposite bank. By Bow Creek, Eva Rothschild’s Living Spring, with its slender metal branches painted in bands

of red, black and green, deliberately bewilders viewers, challenging them to find their own interpretation for the work. And just before the Clock Mill, which has preserved the oast houses originally used to dry the grains, Tracey Emin’s moving A Moment Without You commemorates a lost friend with five diminutive birds perched on long poles.

‘Pushing the boundaries of the aesthetic and the possible, it propels art into a new dimension, which the public may love or hate’ Blink and you’ll miss the subtle piece above the nearby House Mill: it’s Virginia Overton’s Untitled, a golden weathervane, its juniper shape a tribute to the history of this Newham landmark. There were mills on site since at least 1086, but the House Mill—the world’s largest surviving tidal mill, originally used to grind flour for the bakers of Stratford— was converted into a distillery during the Gin Craze and, in 1872, became home to J. & W. Nicholson Lamplighter Gin.

Where Untitled celebrates local history, Thomas J. Price’s Reaching Out is a tribute to ordinary people: one of the very few statues of black women in the UK, it portrays a young lady absorbed by her mobile phone, exploring the concepts of isolation, connection and technology.

Up ahead, past brambles laden with ripening blackberries, Anish Kapoor’s ArcelorMittal Orbit tickles the clouds with its red metal coils, a king crowned by the dozens of cranes busily building the East Bank culture quarter, including offshoots of the V&A Museum and Sadler’s Wells, a new University College London campus and the BBC Music Studios. The UK’s tallest sculpture at 377ft tall, the Orbit is also one of its most controversial, having been variously dismissed as ‘the Godzilla of public art’ and ‘The Eiffel Tower after a nuclear attack’. But this modern Tower of Babel, with its twisting slide and views of the London skyline from The Shard to the St Paul’s, distils the essence of many of south-east London’s artworks and magnifies it to an almost monumental scale: pushing the boundaries of the aesthetic and the possible, it propels art into a new dimension, which the public may love or hate, but which won’t leave anyone indifferent.

At home in London’s art land

Greenwich, £1.15 million Set in a block that towers above the Greenwich Peninsula, this 16th-floor, 1,205sq ft apartment enjoys close up views of the O2 arena and the river.

It has three bedrooms, a large openplan kitchen, living and dining area and two balconies, plus access to a communal gym, pool and cinema.

Savills (020–7531 2530)

Stratford, £1.25 million Perfect for both the Westfield Shopping Centre and the new culture quarter, this 26th-floor, three-bedroom apartment takes in long views of Zaha Hadid’s Aquatic Centre, the ArcelorMittal Orbit and the London Stadium. The living room, in particular, opens onto a 670sq ft panoramic terrace.

JLL (020–3893 4230)

Canary Wharf, £1.675 million Designed by Pritzker-prize winners Herzog & de Meuron’s, One Park Drive is a 58-storey sculptural masterpiece of curves and boxy sharp angles and this 1,354sq ft apartment sits on the 33rd floor, taking in long views of the river. Residents have access to a cinema, gym and 65ft swimming pool.

Knight Frank (020–7861 5348)

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MONTPELLIER ROW, SE3 £3,450,000

FREEHOLD

[5 bedrooms] [4 reception rooms] [4 bathrooms] [landscaped gardens] An elegant Grade II Listed Georgian Townhouse with period features that has been recently refurbished to meet the needs of a modern family. The generous accommodation includes a guest suite that can be re-configured as a self- contained flat. Council Tax Band H HAMPTONS BLACKHEATH 020 3918 2883

HAMPTONS.CO.UK

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Yasmin and Amber Le Bon wear ASHOKA

LONDON LIFE

The great and the good

Seasonal suggestions

Partridges

Here’s looking at The Royal Lancaster London

• The Royal Lancaster hotel opened in 1967 on Hyde Park’s northern fringes, but was named after a town far from the capital in the north-west of England. It was home to the influential House of Lancaster, the championing faction in the War of the Roses • Although the male Lancaster line ended with the death or murder of Henry VI, Henry Tudor, descended from the house through his mother, picked up its political cause, amalgamating the titles and heritage into the British monarchy when he was crowned Henry VII. Although the Dukedom of Lancaster is now extinct, the title is still used to refer to the reigning monarch. In fact, during Queen Victoria’s reign, one of the entrances to Kensington Gardens was christened Lancaster Gate in her honour • The hotel’s official symbol, a stylised red rose, isn’t its only nod to royalty. The Nine Kings Suite is named in honour of the nine English kings that immediately followed John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster. The Westbourne Suite takes its name from the Westbourne river—dammed in 1730 to create the Serpentine on the orders of Queen Caroline—that now flows deep beneath the building • Remarkably, the hotel was never meant to be a hotel. It was built by Richard Seifert (1910–2001), but was originally intended to house the Rank Organisation’s offices.

Increasing numbers of tourists, a scarcity of hotel rooms and lucrative Government grants caused him to change his mind • The Royal Lancaster opened to much buzz: The Beatles held the release party for their Yellow Submarine film in it, several scenes of The Italian Job were shot in room 1720 and Cary Grant married the hotel’s then PR executive, Barbara Harris

Shop of the month

2 – 5, DUKE OF YORK SQUARE , SW3

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HIS independent, family-owned grocery store has been trading in gunpowder tea and frozen jugged hare since 1972, when Sir Richard Shepherd (then barely out of his twenties, who would go on to become a Tory MP for 36 years) had an idea for a fine-foods shop that would sell ‘good things for the larder’. He hung a shingle out near Sloane Square, in a former automobile showroom. ‘Richard chose a name that he thought sounded like the archetypal village grocer—Partridge—which became Partridges,’ says John Shepherd, Sir Richard’s brother and managing director. ‘One of his close friends from university suggested calling it Grouse. Thank goodness he didn’t listen to that suggestion.’

In addition to domestic delicacies, Partridges is a back-pocket resource in expat circles for international groceries, particularly

from the US—expect to see Americans cupping jars of Koeze Cream Nut Peanut Butter on any given Wednesday and dismantling towers of tinned pumpkin before Thanksgiving. The shop has held a Royal Warrant since 1994 and, in 2005, it launched the Duke of York Square Fine Food Market. Jo Rodgers

Open Monday to Sunday, 8am–10pm (020–7730 0651; www.partridges.co.uk)

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Illustration by Polly Crossman; Getty; Alamy; Jaap Buitendijk

Sunflowers are at their best in August and, although you’ll be hard pressed to find any in London’s centre, there are fields upon fields of the sunny-looking flowers on the city outskirts. There are three huge sunflower fields at Garsons Farm in Esher, Surrey. Entry is £4 and the cost is deducted from your ‘pay and weigh’ bill at the end (www.garsons. co.uk). Sunflowers and lavender grow side by side at Hitchin Lavender in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. Entry is from £5.50; remember to pick up a paper bag at the entrance and take a pair of scissors (www.hitchinlavender.com).

Chichester Festival Theatre’s revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific is in London until August 28, as part of a UK tour, starring Julian Ovenden of Downton Abbey fame (www.sadlerswells.com).

The great and the good

LONDON LIFE

M Y P L AT E O F V I E W

Kolamba, 21, Kingly Street, W1

A green space THE DIAMOND GARDEN, BUCK I NG H A M PA L ACE , SW1

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F I SAY ‘gardens’ and ‘Buckingham Palace’ your mind likely goes to the flowerbeds encircling the Victoria Memorial. In spring, they’re bursting with tulips and wallflowers; in summer, it’s salvias and scarlet geraniums to match the tunics of the Queen’s Guard.

But there’s another garden worth your attention, just around the corner: The Diamond

Garden, designed by Nigel Dunnett for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. It offers a quieter and more understated beauty.

Here, under the spreading boughs of two London planes, you’ll find an ever-changing mass of brunnera, ferns, lamium, luzula, cowslips, geraniums, euphorbia (above) and epimediums. A masterclass in low-maintenance design and dry, shady planting, it demands closer inspection and enchants all year round.

Natasha Goodfellow is the author of ‘A London Floral’ and ‘A Cotswold Garden Companion’, out now (www.finchpublishing.co.uk)

Psst... pass it on

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Illustration by Polly Crossman; Getty; Alamy; Jaap Buitendijk

O celebrate The Railway Children Return (a long-awaited sequel to the 1970 release The Railway Children), the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, NW1, is laying on train-themed afternoon teas and a selection of curated experiences.

Available until September 15 (www. marriott.com/en-us/hotels/lonpr-stpancras-renaissance-hotel-london)

London curiosities BRANCHING OUT

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T the north end of Marylebone High Street, the Marylebone Elm has survived bombs and Dutch elm disease to become what is probably central London’s oldest elm, at about 150 years old. Recline under its shade in the Garden of Rest behind it, on the site of the original parish church (which was less fortunate in dodging the bombs). Jack Watkins

It used to be that if you were in Soho with a vegan, you went to Mildreds. This tiny Lexington Street restaurant put plant-based eating on the map long before it had a hashtag. The queue was Glastonbury-length in the evenings, but you tolerated it for the rainbow-bright menu and deliciously strong cocktails.

That was then, however, and this is now—a now when you’re more likely to find tempeh and tofu on a Soho menu than you are trattoria classics. Even Bar Italia serves a vegan pizza. And then there’s Kolamba. Although not by any means vegan or even vegetarian, this newish Sri Lankan opening on the fringes of Carnaby Street makes it easy to imagine a—delicious—future in which you’re either of those things.

Huddled around a terrazzo tabletop in a low-lit room that’s as much a bar as a restaurant, we snack on paniyaram, crispy little one-bite morsels of fried riceflour batter, served with fresh chutneys, as we tackle the menu. Nearly half is entirely vegan and much of it might be new to first-time visitors. Sambols, between a relish and a small salad, run the gamut from heritage tomatoes with chilli and lime to freshly scraped coconut. Hoppers, the catcher’s-mitt-shaped pancakes that lent their name to another hit Soho restaurant, come with or without a soft-yolked Cacklebean egg baked inside them. Then there are string hoppers (soft noodle nests) and pol roti (homestyle coconut flatbreads flecked with chilli and onion). All that before we even got to the curries. The headlinegrabber is a cashew fry, with tender, almost sweet nuts sent for a brisk trip around a smoking-hot pan with onions and curry leaves. It’s unbelievably moreish, interspersed with forkfuls of flash-fried, coconut-sprinkled green beans, and an almost meaty (but completely meat-free) breadfruit curry, spices cutting through the coconut milk.

We leave groaningly full, but already swiping through the weekend brunch menu. There’ll always be a place in my heart for Mildreds, but of all the places in W1 where diners of all stripes truthfully won’t miss meat, Kolamba tops the bill for me. Emma Hughes

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LONDON LIFE

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LONDON LIFE

Get the scoop Rising temperatures mean many of us will find ourselves reaching for an ice cream. Jack Watkins traces the sweet treat’s roots and discovers that its popularity owes a lot to London’s ingenious residents and Regent’s Canal

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HARLES II has had his critics down the centuries, but he wasn’t called the Merry Monarch for nothing and it seems highly fitting that the first time ice cream appeared on the menu in this country came during his reign. In fact, the King himself was probably among the first to savour it, when it was served at a Windsor Castle banquet in 1671, held to mark the Feast of St George. Sadly, the delectable treat was only destined for royal and aristocratic taste buds for some time, simply because, for years after, the difficulty of storing ice ensured it remained a rare luxury, largely confined to estate owners with ice houses.

It’s probably fair to say, therefore, that Covent Garden’s third annual Cool Down icecream festival (August 19–September 4) is more the spiritual descendent of the so-called ‘Ice Cream King’ of Victorian London, the entrepreneur Carlo Gatti (1817–78). Born in Ticino, a poor Italian-speaking region of Switzerland, Gatti had headed for Paris at the age of 12, where he became involved in several small business ventures, before finally arriving in England in 1847. He settled in London’s Little Italy, an area of Clerkenwell that was home to many Italians escaping the economic and social turbulence of their homeland. At first, he sold waffles from a cart, but, within two years, he’d opened a coffee house in partnership with a fellow émigré from Ticino, Battista Bolla. The shop made its own chocolate, drawing in curious customers by showing the cocoa roasting behind the shop window.

No summer holiday is complete, in the 1930s or now, without pure ice cream

In 1851, Gatti and Bolla exhibited their chocolate-making machine, which had been imported from France, at the Great Exhibition staged in Hyde Park’s Crystal Palace. Gatti’s greatest initiative, however, was to sell ice cream, possibly making him the first person in London to sell the product to the general public. Initially, he sold it from a stall in Hungerford Market—a former produce market close to Charing Cross—before opening a Continental-style café. He employed two nephews as waiters, the ices being served in little shells. It has been claimed that, by 1858, Gatti was selling up to 10,000 penny ices a day.

‘It was reported that children “buzzed around” the ice men’s carts “like flies around a sugar barrel”’ Key to the success of Gatti’s business was his investment in ice wells. One of these, at 12–13, New Wharf Road, N1, on the Regent’s Canal, is now the home of the Canal Museum (www.canalmuseum.org.uk). These wells made the importing of large consignments of Norwegian ice and the sale of ice cream economically realistic for the first time. Gatti had several other wells built along the Regent’s Canal and a green plaque marks the spot on the Caledonian Road, just north of Market Road, where one was built to store 1,500 tons of ice.

Building on Gatti’s success, London began to see proliferating numbers of ice-cream

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LONDON LIFE

Gelupo Gelati and sorbetti specialist in the heart of Soho, home to the unbeatable ricottasour-cherry flavour. Its chef Jacob Kenedy has written a book, Gelupo Gelato, ‘a rainbow spectrum’ of gelato recipes (www.gelupo.com) Amorino Multi-national chain of gelato boutiques with several shops in London, including one on Garrick Street, WC2, which features in the Cool Down festival.

Claims to be a leader in promoting organic gelato (www.amorino.com) Morelli’s Family business selling gelato since 1907.

At the festival, their bijou shop in the Market building is offering charcoal icecream and blue-blood flavours, alongside traditional sorbet and soft-vanilla favourites (www.morellisgelato.com) Soft Serve Society Has ice-cream bars in Covent Garden’s Seven Dials Market and Shoreditch, which offer wild flavour combinations, via cups, cones, sundaes or freakshakes (www.softservesociety.com)

parlours, as well as coffee and chocolate shops that also offered ice cream to customers.

Meanwhile, many street vendors caught on and, by the late 19th century, in a trade almost entirely dominated by Italians, the number of street sellers offering half-penny, penny and sometimes even two-penny licks was in excess of 300 in the Holborn district alone.

The men would collect the ice from the Gatti wells at dawn, mixing in milk, strawberry or lemon flavourings, and then wheel their carts as far as 10 miles to their pitches in various spots around the capital. It was reported that children ‘buzzed around’ the ice men’s carts ‘like flies about a sugar barrel’. The vendors advertised their arrival by calling out ‘Gelati, ecco un poco!’, or ‘O che poco’ (‘Oh, how cheap’), from which the cry ‘hokey pokey’ is said to have derived. Tatty as some of the vendors looked, several did well enough out of their summer trade to spend winters back in Italy and social historians have cited this as an early example of the Continental impact of immigration on the changing diets of Londoners.

However, there were downsides.

The licks were served in glasses that had thick bases to make the scoops of ice cream appear more

generous than they actually were. And, in a reflection of the era’s more lax concept of public hygiene, the glasses were merely given a dab with a cloth before being reused. There were fears in the 1890s that the practice was contributing to the spread of tuberculosis and it was eventually banned, although some characters went on selling ice cream via the unsanitary glasses into the 1930s.

By then, other vendors were experimenting with placing ice creams between two pieces of sweetened wafers and, by 1923, Wall’s icecream tricycles, stamped with the slogan ‘Stop Me And Buy One’, were trundling the streets, offering a wider array of choices, from large and small bricks, to tubs and chocolate bars.

In the Second World War, the tricycles were requisitioned and, after it, Wall’s began investing in electric freezers for shops that sold ices. Ice-cream vans arrived in the 1950s, announcing their presence in London’s suburban districts with the cheerful jingles that instantly transport anyone within hearing distance back to the days of childhood even now. Meanwhile, in central London, ice-cream parlours seem to be booming, with a variety of flavours on offer of which Gatti could scarcely have dreamt.

Getty

Cone or cup? The best icecream parlours in London

Age is never a barrier to enjoying the treat: shoppers queue on the Finchley Road in 1938

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CIRCUS STREET, SE10 £2,500,000

FREEHOLD

[5 bedrooms] [3 reception rooms] [3 bathrooms] [off-street parking] A stunning double fronted Georgian house in the heart of West Greenwich, full of period features including original shutters, fireplaces and wooden floors. There is a very private south and west facing garden and super views towards Canary Wharf. EPC E: Council Tax Band H. HAMPTONS GREENWICH 020 3918 7641

HAMPTONS.CO.UK

LONDON LIFE

How are you finding your new role at Classic FM after 25 years at the BBC? It was a real wrench to leave the BBC. I will love it and defend it until my last breath, but after being there for a quarter of its 100 years, I felt it was the right time for a new chapter.

Taking over from John Suchet at Classic FM [Mr Soanes presents Smooth Classics at 7pm every weekday] was a great, if daunting honour. I had my leaving drinks in the pub in which I was offered my job at Radio 4—after a formal interview, I should add! (The Yorkshire Grey, 46, Langham Street, W1.) It was a good old-fashioned BBC farewell, with friends and colleagues from throughout my career, and may have set a new record, lasting from noon until midnight.

Does your new gig mean you’re invited to all the best concerts and productions?

It hasn’t been a bad first couple of weeks. I was invited to hear the London Symphony Orchestra play Berlioz’s Grande Symphonie Funèbre et Triumphal conducted by Sir Simon Rattle under the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral, then celebrated Classic FM’s 30th birthday in the Speaker’s House in the Palace of Westminster.

In terms of favourite venues, there’s nothing like a packed Albert Hall, but the acoustic wasn’t designed for music. Kings Place (90, York Way, N1) is a wonderful space where I never need a microphone.

Whereabouts in London is home?

Islington, in the De Beauvoir neighbourhood.

I bought my flat 16 years ago; I was set on

‘Gaspard the Fox transformed my life by inspiring me to become a children’s author’

T H E C A P I TA L A C C O R D I N G T O ...

Zeb Soanes

The broadcaster and children’s author talks to Flora Watkins about finding inspiration in Islington and buzzing about on his Brompton

buying in Camden or Primrose Hill, so I could walk through Regent’s Park to Broadcasting House. But eventually, utterly fatigued by viewings, I spotted this place in an estate agent’s window on Upper Street. It was bathed in sunlight and said ‘Hello’ to me as I walked in. It’s set in a quiet, tree-lined street, which suited my early shifts for Today, when I had to get up at 3.30am.

Now, I can’t imagine living in any other part of London. There’s an entire wall of lithographs by John Brunsdon, which reminds me cheerfully of my family home on the coast in Suffolk. My partner, Christophe, an architect, completely remodelled the interior of the flat. Being a Parisian, he is used to making the most of limited space.

Was it here that you met Gaspard the Fox, the inspiration for your children’s books?

One evening, Gaspard the fox introduced herself to us and transformed my life by inspiring me to become a children’s author. The first book came out of a spiteful piece in the Daily Mail, about our encouraging her [by feeding].

When the book was published, it felt as if I’d made lemonade from some very sour lemons!

How do you get about town?

My Brompton folding bicycle; I call it my car.

I’ve customised it with a lovely leather saddle and Game Bag on the front. I probably looked like a W1A cliché arriving at the BBC, but I had it long before the show aired. Hugh Bonneville once stood behind me as I folded it, waiting to film a scene, and said: ‘That’s how you do it!’

How has swapping early shifts for the evening affected your social life?

I’m slowly restructuring my social life, so I meet friends for lunch and keep weekends for relaxing and the odd concert appearance. Locally, I love the Rosemary Branch pub (2, Shepperton Road, N1), which has a theatre upstairs. My friend Cleo Sylvestre sings the Blues there on the last Friday of each month. My neighbour, the actress Selina Cadell (Mrs Tishell in ITV’s Doc Martin), and I often meet in our ‘office’, Hector’s Wine Bar (49a, Ardleigh Road, N1).

Further afield, for a dress-up evening, I love Bellamy’s (18, Bruton Place, W1). Gavin Rankin is the most wonderful host and the staff make a terrific martini. For informal dining, I head to Andrew Edmunds (46, Lexington Street, W1); I’ve never had a bad meal there.

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WARWICK LODGE, SW1V £10,000,000

The historical family home of Thomas Cubitt, Warwick Lodge is situated on the corner of London’s Warwick Square and has access to the largest walled residential garden in Pimlico.

Providing 7,000 sq ft of living space and 1,005 sq ft of balconies and terraces, the magnificent Warwick Lodge is a seven bedroom house with what is believed to be the largest garden in Pimlico. Fully modernised and offering substantial accommodation over lower ground, ground, first and second floors. Warwick Lodge is a grand white-stucco Victorian house with large bay windows, opening onto a walled garden, measuring 70 ft by 60 ft, with a terrace for al fresco dining and entertaining.

Bedrooms: 6-7 / Bathrooms: 6 / Reception Rooms: 2-3 / Size: 7,000 sq ft / Outside Space: 70 ft by 60 ft garden / Parking: Resident Parking Permit / Tenure: Freehold and share of freehold

Contact us on 020 3876 0280 to discuss selling or letting your home. facebook /radstockproperty

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instagram /radstockproperty

Property market

Penny Churchill

The only way is Essex Two starring country houses with ancient origins have recently been rescued and another has emerged unscathed from wartime action

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ACK in November 2015, the picturesque village of Earls Colne in the scenic Colne Valley, 3½ miles from Halstead and 10 miles from Colchester, was judged the best in Essex in a COUNTRY LIFE survey of commuter hotspots within easy access of the City of London. The same survey saw Grade II-listed Colne Priory, set in 24 acres of gardens and grounds on the banks of the River Colne, named Earls Colne’s best address.

Now for sale through Strutt & Parker (020–7318 5025) and Knight Frank (020–7861 1114) at a guide price of £7 million, the imposing, red-brick country house was built in about 1825 in the Strawberry Hill Gothic style for Henry Holgate Carwardine. It was the last of a series of manor houses built on the site of a Benedictine priory founded by the de Vere family, Earls of Oxford, in the early 12th century, the remains of which lie buried under

lawn in the grounds of Colne Priory and are designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Following the dissolution of the medieval Colne Priory in 1536, its land and buildings were granted to John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford, who demolished the priory church and built a manor house on the site. In 1583, the 17th Earl, Edward de Vere, a notorious spendthrift, sold the manor of Earls Colne to his steward, Roger Harlackenden, whose

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Find the best properties at countrylife.co.uk

A former care home, Westwood Park is now a 23,760sq ft country house with 52 acres. £6.5m

son, Richard, bought the adjoining manor of Colne Priory in 1592.

Colne Priory remained in the Harlakenden family until 1672, when it passed by marriage to the Androwes family and later, in the early 18th century, to one John Wale, who demolished what remained of the medieval buildings and remodelled the old de Vere house in about 1740, reputedly furnishing it with ‘chimney pieces made from the ruinated tombs of the Oxfords’.

Above and below: Built in 1825 in the Strawberry Hill Gothic style, but with Norman origins, Grade II-listed Colne Priory has been masterfully restored and offers 24 acres. £7m

That house survived for another 100 years before passing, by marriage and inheritance, to Henry Holgate Cawardine, who demolished the house built by Wale, incorporating parts of it within his new Colne Priory. The house was extended in the late 19th century and again by the current owners, who bought Colne Priory as their family home in 2007 and are now looking to downsize.

Still clearly the best house in the village thanks to an inspirational renovation, Colne Priory offers more than 14,600sq ft of sumptuous accommodation on three levels, including entrance and reception halls, four main reception rooms, a large kitchen/ breakfast room, billiard room, cinema and gym on the ground floor; staff flat and cellars on the lower ground floor; and six bedroom suites on the first floor.

Ancillary buildings include a cottage, stabling, car museum/party barn, greenhouse/ conservatory, workshops and extensive storage. Amenities include a tennis court, swimming pool, large lake and beautifully maintained gardens and grounds with extended lawn areas where the last remnants of the medieval priory can still be seen.

A few miles east of Earls Colne, Grade II*listed Westwood Park at Great Horkesley, four miles north of Colchester, is another ruin-to-riches story that has seen the transformation of a rundown former care home and wedding venue into an impressive, August 3, 2022 | Country Life | 89

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Property market 23,760sq ft, country house. For sale through Tim Phillips of Savills (020–7016 3780) at a guide price of £6.5m, Westwood Park stands in 52 acres of historic formal gardens and parkland, within the lovely Stour Valley immortalised in the paintings of John Constable.

According to British History Online, the Westwood Park estate was built up around the villages of Great and Little Horkesley by one William Lynne in the course of the 17th century—the inscription on a rain-head dates the original house to 1692. It remained in his family until the late 18th century and was sold several times in the 1800s, lastly

by William MacAndrew, who sold it in 1906 to W. J. M Hill, who rebuilt the house in its original Elizabethan style in 1908. It was later owned by C. H. Brocklebank before being acquired by R. J. L. Ogilby in 1937.

In its Victorian heyday, the parkland surrounding Westwood Park covered 65 acres,

The Castle saw action again in June 1941, when two German bombs fell in the garden of Upnor Castle House with a further nine acres of gardens and pleasure grounds; the north and south lodges, designed by Raymond Erith to match the house, were rebuilt by Ogilby between 1938 and 1940. Following his death, the mansion was bought by Essex County Council as a care home, which eventually closed in 1987. The house was then sold once more, first as offices and then to a firm of developers, which

collapsed when it failed to gain approval for a leisure development at Horkesley Park.

The house and grounds were in a sorry state when, in 2015, the present owner bought Westwood Park and embarked on a massive renovation of the house and its secondary buildings, thereby restoring it to its original use as a private family home.

Since then, he has painstakingly restored the Elizabethan interior, comprising a grand, panelled reception hall, six reception rooms, a cinema, gym, two kitchens and various utilities on the ground floor, with the principal bedroom suite, three further bedrooms, three bathrooms and a games room on the first floor, and a further five-bedroom apartment on the second floor. Other parts of the house have been reconfigured as separate houses or apartments, with a range of offices and cottages in the grounds available to let on short-term rentals that provide a useful income.

Rule Britannia

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AWN CARRITT of Jackson-Stops (020–7664 6646) is handling the sale of Upnor Castle House at Upnor, near Rochester, Kent—a Georgian gem that has never before been seen on the open market, with a guide price of £2.25m. This charming Grade II-listed country house is set in four acres of mature private gardens behind Upnor Castle, a rare Elizabethan artillery fort built in 1559 on the banks of the Medway to protect warships moored at the nearby Chatham dockyards.

Built to accommodate the senior officer in charge of Upnor Castle, the original house on the site was probably a small two-storey cottage that is included in the sale, but now needs restoring. The elegant main house, which dates from the mid 17th century, was enlarged and re-fronted in the 18th or early 19th century. It offers some 5,640sq ft on three floors, including three main reception rooms, a kitchen/

breakfast room, master suite, five/six further bedrooms and three bathrooms. The property also includes a two-bedroom holiday cottage, garden room, swimming pool, grass tennis court and croquet lawn.

In 1667, Upnor Castle famously saw action against the Dutch who, having captured Sheerness, sailed up the Medway to Upnor and captured a number of English warships at anchor at Chatham. It was perceived as the worst naval defeat ever suffered by England, after which it was decided to build new forts further down the Medway, with Upnor Castle taking on the role of a major supply depot. The

Castle saw action again in June 1941, when two German bombs fell in the garden of Upnor Castle House. Luckily, the house emerged largely unscathed, although pieces of shrapnel can still be found in the door frame and shutters of the guest bedroom.

After the war, the Castle was decommissioned and Upnor Castle House was handed over to the Royal Engineers. In the mid 1980s, the MoD offered the house for sale to any senior officers who might be interested. It was duly purchased by the current owner’s family and has remained in their hands ever since.

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LOOKING FOR AN EQUESTRIAN PROPERTY?

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Come and see us at this year’s Magic Millions Festival of British Eventing, and have a chat with the experts that make up our specialist Equestrian department. www.hamptons.co.uk/gatcombe-2022

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OU would have to be a cricket lover to take on this property,’ says Sarah Roué, director at Savills’ rural division in Exeter (01823 445034), ‘because every Sunday you will look directly out onto a cricket match.’

This is aptly named Cricket House, a handsome cottage set right against the pitch boundary in the deer park of the ancient Boconnoc estate in Cornwall, formerly the seat of the Pitt family. An unusual, rustic dwelling, ‘a quirky, historic building in a very special location,’ continues Mrs Roué, ‘it will attract a very different sort of interest’.

The market for tenanted homes on estate domains is currently riding very high, buoyed by the exodus from London during the pandemic and the machinations of the buying sector, which are slowing down transactions.

‘The competition for estate lettings is extremely hot,’ explains Rob Jones-Davies, a director of the RJD Consultancy (01249 723708). ‘You’ve

Annunciata Elwes

A new lease of life

Lucy Denton examines the highs and lows of renting an estate property got to find a property, move fast, and then expect to be scrutinised more diligently than for a standard rental.’

Living within the precincts of a country estate is a desirable prospect, increasingly so, as current trends would suggest—and the cachet derived from a rich historic provenance, a robust sense of identity (think Cowdray’s yellow window frames in West Sussex), good-looking

buildings and scenic backdrops only adds to the allure. Much depends on the owner, their commercial interests and diversification of the estate, but they tend to pursue a more proactive approach than private landlords and the benefits for both parties can be considerable, promoting long-term occupancy, an interactive community and access to a range of facilities not on offer elsewhere. Some estates provide gardening services, others discounted firewood; most have building-maintenance staff on call and some put on events —such as for the recent Jubilee celebrations.

At the moment, what might be available to let could be more accessible than prohibitively expensive equivalents to buy. Grade II-listed Beamsley Hall, for example, is a striking mini mansion on the Duke of Devonshire’s Bolton Abbey estate in North Yorkshire. Outwardly a 19th-century rebuild, it actually contains evidence of Norman origins and

Top and above: For cricket lovers only—the Cricket House on Cornwall’s Boconnoc estate boasts front-row views over the idyllic ground

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Alamy

Property comment

The joys of renting on an estate

16th-century fabric, with deeds dating back to 1400. ‘This is an exceptional property in one of the most beautiful places in Britain,’ says estate manager David Barrett. Its recent re-emergence on the rental market for £9,500 pcm, including gardener (Savills; 01904 617837), follows investment of time and money upgrading the structure.

Estate landlords often put in considerable effort to maintain what is usually an older stock of housing, going well beyond the norm in management standards—‘we also clean gutters and sweep chimneys,’ adds Mr Barrett, ‘and the estate assumes much of the day-to-day maintenance, which, by rights, would fall to the responsibility of the tenant’.

However, there are downsides. Less and less might be done the longer a tenant stays.

‘Sometimes, properties can be tired,’ warns Alice Protheroe, director and head of Cotswolds lettings at Strutt & Parker (01295 277161), ‘and it is not until someone leaves that the estate might replace or upgrade.’

Refurbishing what is often a substantial property holding is a serious investment, with landlords bearing the financial load for the upkeep of historic buildings, which are often less well insulated, usually with single glazing, then encumbered with modern energy-efficiency requirements, so be aware of a landowner’s long-term plans. Roger Tempest, the custodian of the Broughton Hall estate in North Yorkshire, has limited his residential lettings, cautioning that, at times, returns are low for landlords, especially after taking into account maintenance costs, including rewiring, reheating and reroofing.

‘It’s not necessarily a great business,’ he says, although rentals ‘are part of the social provision on the estates who don’t want to sell.’

9000

Alamy

Park View at Blenheim comprises new-build houses designed by Adam Architecture

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If some estates are restricting lettings, others are now engaging in the socially responsible approach, ingeniously being pursued at Blenheim Palace, where a pioneering legacy development, Park View, comprises brand-new houses to buy alongside dozens of both market and affordable rents, an arrangement made possible via collaboration with West Oxfordshire Council.

Each house designed by Hugh Petter and the team at Adam Architecture acknowledges the Woodstock aesthetics, with a varied palette of materials and colours, avoiding bland uniformity, and the work revives traditional skills, including dry-stone walling. This project, which should be completed within the

• Each estate has individual character and is linked to the community.

Estates are likely to look for long-term tenants who might work locally, could contribute to the social environment, including populating rural schools, and care for often older properties and gardens • An estate landlord is usually: less absentee, more hands-on and more proactive than ‘conventional’ private lettings; more likely to consider changes to properties for mutual benefit; relaxed about pet ownership • Although demand for estate properties is still very high post-pandemic—many properties could be ‘let several times over’, especially within range of London —once you’re in, you can hope to stay put for a while • Most estates adopt the conventional assured shorthold tenancy agreements, although tenants could be asked to sign up for two years initially, sometimes longer, to ensure continuity

next two years, ‘is to support the local community’, says Gemma Else, Blenheim Palace’s marketing manager. ‘We have already been in consultation with other estates to consider our blueprint of what has been done, and successfully achieved.’ Time for a new lease of life.

The ‘striking mini-mansion’ of Beamsley Hall at Bolton Abbey in North Yorkshire

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