Castle and Land up for grabs
By Andrew Shirley
HAMPTON COURT is for sale. Not Henry VIII”s grand palace on the banks of the River Thames south of London but a Herefordshire estate with an equally long and royal history.
The 950-acre estate at Bodenham, near Leominster, is based around a 26-bedroom castle that dates from the 15th century. Before construction started the property belonged to Henry Bolingbroke, Earl of Hereford, who acceded to the throne as Henry IV in 1399 and later bestowed the estate to one of his courtiers Rowland Leinthall.
Knighted after serving with honour at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, Sir Roland began building the castle in earnest and, in 1434, was given licence by Henry VI to crenellate and embattle the building, as well as establish 1000 acres of parkland.
Since then, the house and grounds have been remodelled by a succession of occupants including its present owner, the US-based religious organisation Sola Scriptura, which bought Hampton Court in 1994 and is headed by the Van Campen family.
Under the Van Campens, the house has been completely refurbished and modernised, while the formal gardens, which are now open to visitors, have been extensively restored.
Knight Frank is handling the 10m sale and has lotted the estate four ways.
Three cottages, the gardens and almost 90 acres of parkland are included with the castle, and agent Clive Hopkins said these could appeal to buyers attracted by their commercial potential. Including weddings and the entrance fee for the gardens, the house already earns about 500,000 each year, according to estate manager Edward Waghorn.
But Mr Hopkins reckoned local farmers and country sportsmen could be interested in the largest lot, which includes 726 acres of land and woods, farm buildings and a stone four-bedroom farmhouse. The 360 acres of arable and grassland are let to a local farmer under a farm business tenancy, and Mr Waghorn said this and environmental and woodland grants generated an annual income of 60,000.
Mr Hopkins said the layout of the woodland and topography of the surrounding land would provide excellent pheasant shooting and deer stalking. There is also fishing on the River Lugg that flows through the estate. “This is an extremely rare opportunity.”
Gavel comes down on quality property
A DIVERSE RANGE of rural property has gone under the hammer recently.
On the Shropshire/Powys border, Halls sold 200 acres of pasture at Bicton Hill, Clun, near Craven Arms, on April 4 in three lots for 294,000 (1470/acre). Local farmers were the buyers. A further 16.65 acres at Colstey Bank, Bishops Castle made 3070/acre to an equestrian bidder.
Managing director Peter Hall said: “Even in these transitional times of single farm payments, the auction result indicates that there is still strong demand for quality ground from farmers in the area who are committed to expanding their businesses.”
On April 6, Lincs firm Hix and Son set what it believes is a record for land in the area when it auctioned three arable fields on behalf of the estate of local farmer and well-known character Malcom Oldershaw who died last year.
The land at Moulton, near Spalding, was top-quality Grade 1 silt according to auctioneer Christopher Shallice and the “record-breaking” 4.8-acre parcel was bought by local landowner John King for 15,417/acre.
Moulton Bulb Company paid 60,000 for 7.85 acres and Bidwells bought 5.3 acres on behalf of a farming client, said Mr Shallice. “It was brilliant land and a pleasure to sell.”
Former poultry units have also been making good money. Savills” David Cross decided to include three in the firm”s collective London property auction on April 4 and plucky bidding pushed all over their guides, he said.
An 11-acre site near Godalming, Surrey, with two chicken sheds achieved the best result, making 263,000 against a 120,000 guide,” said Mr Cross.
Deal details are released
Andrew Pearce of Humberts” Lincoln office has released details of two sizeable private sales that have just been concluded by the firm. The largest deal was for 1220-acre Great Humby Farm, near Grantham, which included two pairs of semi-detached cottages (above) and would have been valued at about 3000/acre if it had been sold on the open market, he said.
Humberts acted as the selling agent after approaching the owner following the private circa 4000-acre sale of the nearby Ropsley Estate earlier in the year. The purchaser was a local farmer expanding their business, said Mr Pearce. The firm also acted “proactively” in the purchase of 834-acre Irby Dales and Walk Farm at Irby upon Humber, which included a large house, he added. The owners were approached on behalf of a retained client, the owner of Grimsby-based M J Wilson Fastenings, and a deal struck that enabled them to continue farming the land, again valued at about 3000/acre.