Yahoo Finance Property: 8 budget busting stately homes for sale
Money can’t buy happiness but it can buy a very big house, and they don’t get much grander or more prestigious than stately homes. Rich in history, with imposing exteriors and opulent interiors, they were built to impress – and to last. You’ll need to dig deep to afford one, though an apartment or wing in a converted mansion may be a less expensive option. From palaces and manor houses to castles and country estates, all these prime properties are for sale right now.
1. Whitbourne Hall, Whitbourne, Herefordshire, offers over £400,000
Live like a Lord or Lady for less in this sumptuous triplex apartment in Palladian-style, Grade II* listed Whitbourne Hall, which was built for a local vinegar magnate in 1862. It includes four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen/dining room, a utility and a sitting room with countryside views, and residents have their own kitchen garden area and access to nine acres of manicured grounds. Through Fine & Country.
2. Palazzo Raggi, Rome, Italy, from 1 million euros (approx. £874,888)
Centrally located just five minutes from the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain, this 18th century palazzo – once owned by a Roman noble family – is being transformed into 30 luxury apartments. Those on the top floor incorporate large terraces, and no two layouts are the same. The façade has already been restored, and interiors will be finished in either a classic or contemporary style, with original features retained and enhanced. Currently available off plan, they’re expected to complete in mid-2024. Contact Italy Sotheby’s International Realty.
Read more: 8 homes that earn their keep
3. Cairness House, Fraserborough, Aberdeenshire, offers over £1.25m
Late 18th-century, Grade A listed Cairness House, regarded as one of Britain’s best examples of Neoclassical architecture, was designed by James Playfair and completed by Sir John Soane. Sitting in 16 acres of land and approached by a long drive, it’s laid out over four floors and has 10 bedrooms, nine bathrooms and seven beautifully-proportioned reception rooms. The Egyptian room, adorned with a number of hieroglyphic symbols, is the oldest of its kind in the world. Find out more from Knight Frank.
4. Northwick Park, Blockley, Moreton in Marsh, Gloucestershire, £1.35m
A magnificent four-bedroom apartment in Grade I listed Northwick Park, a Jacobean mansion formerly owned by Sir James Rushout, Member of Parliament for Evesham in the 17th century, and his descendants. More recently it was home to Edward Spencer-Churchill, a cousin of Sir Winston Churchill who was a frequent visitor and is believed to have held D-Day planning sessions with General Patton there. An elegant drawing room – currently a billiard room – and a sitting room in one of the distinctive bays make the apartment ideal for entertaining, and residents have 35 acres of parkland, all-weather tennis courts and an outdoor swimming pool to enjoy. Via Pritchard & Company.
Read more: 8 spooky homes for sale
5. The Mansion at Sunridge Park, Bromley, Kent, £1.75m
At nearly 3,500 square feet, this apartment is much more substantial than a typical two-bedder and the setting is far more sumptuous too. For it’s part of Grade I listed Sunridge Park, a magnificent mansion in a 300 acre estate, built in 1790 and now divided into 26 homes. The apartment is arranged over two floors and incorporates a drawing room with original plasterwork and three sets of French doors leading out to a terrace, a second terrace accessed from both bedrooms, and the mansion’s original circular wine cellar. All residents are given free social membership of Sundridge Park Gold Club. Get in touch with City & Country.
6. Blackwater Castle, County Cork, 2 million euros (approx. £2,067,473)
One of the oldest continuously occupied properties in Ireland with habitable rooms dating from the 15th century, Blackwater Castle includes a 12th century round tower, defence walls and stone sculptures that are considered to be fertility symbols. It was captured by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1580, besieged by Oliver Cromwell in 1649, and has hosted nobility, a US president and Michael Jackson, who stayed for three weeks in 2006. A river with fishing rights runs through the estate, and the nine bedroom suites sleep up to 23 people. Via Christie’s International Real Estate.
Read more: 10 listed homes that make the grade
7. Everleigh Manor, Marlborough, Wiltshire, offers over £6m
This Grade II listed Georgian country house has long links with royalty, as it’s on a site once occupied by a Saxon king, was owned by the Crown during the reigns of Henry VI, Henry VIII and Elizabeth I and secretly visited by Mary, Queen of Scots. The current owners bought it in 1999 and carried out extensive refurbishment work, and it now includes an eight-bedroom main house with a swimming pool, gym, steam room and sauna in the orangery. 10 further bedrooms are in the in the West Wing – run as a B&B – and there’s a separate one-bedroom cottage, all in over 30 acres of grounds. Through Fine & Country.
8. Lawn House, Inverforth House, Hampstead, London NW3, £15m
Soap tycoon Lord Leverhulme and Lord Inverforth, who served in prime minister David Lloyd George’s cabinet and gave the property its name, are among the previous owners of Victorian mansion Inverforth House. Following a spell as a hospital in the second half of the 20th century, about 20 years ago it was converted into seven apartments and each wing became a spectacular self-contained five bedroom house with direct access on to adjoining Hampstead Heath. One of the two, Lawn House, is on the market and features the original reception rooms where high society gatherings were once held, a galleried library, an art deco cinema room, an indoor swimming pool and period details throughout. Via Beauchamp Estates and TK International.
