Kylie Minogue bids for country seat?
Kylie Minogue bids for country seat?
By Andrew Shirley
KYLIE Minogue, the Australian pop star, is locked in a fierce battle with the National Trust to buy a 760ha (1870 acre) estate in Somerset, according to newspaper reports.
The Tyntesfield Estate in the village of Wraxall, near Bristol, has been surrounded by a frenzy of media interest since the story leaked out last week. A group of local residents, worried about the impact on their rural idyll, has even reportedly started a "Keep Kylie Out" campaign.
But a spokeswoman for London estate agents FPDSavills, which is selling the property for £14.5m, said the speculation was simply conjecture. "I can categorically say that no individual has even looked around the estate yet, even Kylies agent has phoned up to complain about the rumours."
So far, only the National Trust has been given the opportunity to look at the estate, said Mark Syrett, the agent handling the sale. "A charity needs more time to put together a bid of this size than a private individual." A spokeswoman for the Trust added: "We recognise the estates importance and would hate to see it split up."
Tyntesfield was assembled in the 1800s by the Gibbs family, using the profits from its successful guano business, which involved importing South American bird droppings to be used as fertiliser in Victorian gardens. It is so historically important that even some of the wallpaper is listed.
Mr Syrett, who has managed the estate for the past ten years, said it was difficult to summarise the estate without concentrating on the principal house but reckoned it offered something for everybody. "There are buildings to renovate, lots of cottages, two commercial farms and some very large houses."
It would, however, be extremely difficult to ignore the main residence, inhabited by the late Lord Wraxall until his death last year. One of the best examples of the Victorian Gothic revival style, it will not be to everybodys taste. But with 43 bedrooms and a private chapel the size of a parish church it is certainly an imposing residence.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Mr Syrett is predicting that the sale will take some time to unravel. "It will be extremely complicated but I am looking forward to the challenge," he said. But whether this will include a viewing with the diminutive Miss Minogue remains to be seen. *