In a leafy corner of Buckinghamshire, Paddy Dring of Knight Frank’s country department is handling the re-launch onto the market of charming, Grade II-listed Turville Grange in the village of Turville Heath, seven miles from Henley-on-Thames and 14 miles from High Wycombe.
Paddy quotes a guide price of £12.75m for the pretty 18th-century house set in some 49 acres of gardens, grounds and heathland in a part of the Chilterns renowned for its beauty, where the presence of a number of substantial private estates ensures that the countryside thereabouts is maintained in immaculate order.
The elegant, two-storey, main house has changed much in its 200+ years, but as it stands now offers some 8,000sq ft of friendly living space including a reception hall by Renzo Mongiardino, three principal reception rooms, a kitchen/breakfast room, various domestic offices and four bedroom suites, with two further bedroom suites off the nearby courtyard.
Outside, in a quiet, tree-lined area of the grounds, the former pool house has been rebuilt to provide a further guest suite within a state-of-the-art gym and swimming-pool complex.
The Grange is described in its listing as a mid- to late-18th-century house ‘much refurbished, altered and extended circa 1890 for Stephen Smith, with further extensions in the 20th century’. A parallel wing to the rear was added by Walter Tapper in the 1900s.
In the early 20th century, the Marquis and Marquise d’Hautpoul bought the house, added a further wing and erected lacy wrought-iron entrance gates given to them by Queen Alexandra, who was a close friend and a regular visitor.
Some 50 years later, owners Lord and Lady Esher — he being a chairman of the National Trust, she an American heiress — asked their architect son, Lionel Brett, to improve the place.
This he did with some distinction, adding, among other things, a splendid Georgian front-door surround, cutting several dormer windows through the old tile roofs, and adding a Tuscan-columned loggia to one side.
By 1966, Brett had become the 4th Viscount Esher, with a fine country house of his own, and was happy to sell Turville Grange and its 51-acre estate to Jacqueline Kennedy’s younger sister, Lee Radziwill, and her husband, Prince Stanislas Radziwill, for £55,000.
Renovations at the Radziwills’ country retreat continued with a floral re-design of the entrance hall by Mongiardino, who also decorated the couple’s London residence, with further contributions by stage designer Lila de Nobili and landscape designer Lanning Roper.
Since the Radziwills’ day, the house has been owned by the family of a well-known American businessman, who has further improved the house and grounds.
Turville Grange is for sale via Knight Frank — see more pictures and details.
-
The ring ouzel: The mystery behind the common blackbird's feral twinA master of disguise, inexplicably shy and unpredictably wild, the increasingly rare ring ouzel warrants giving any blackbird a second glance.
-
In our built heritage, is the truth stranger than fiction?Athena considers how our historic buildings are presented in an age of film and television.
-
Location, community and charm: the enduring desirability of London's mews housesFrom birds, to horses, to beautiful family homes, the mews of London are some of the nation's most sought-after homes. But why?
-
The distinctive and historic home that might just be 'one of Dorset’s most picturesque'Grade II*-listed Manor House, set in just under eight acres, dates from the 16th century.
-
A 17th century farmhouse in Surrey with one of Britain's oldest squash courtsFords Farm is on the market for the first time in over half a century.
-
The 15 best-value commuter towns for people working in London, according to new research from one of Britain's top estate agentsSavills have released their list of the best-value commuter towns in Britain. But do the sums add up? Toby Keel takes a look.
-
What everyone is talking about this week: Where are the new Cotswolds?The appearance of American Vice President J. D. Vance in the Cotswolds is a sure sign that they're saturated, but where else can you escape to that has the same charm?
-
19 outstanding country homes, from £450,000 to £20 million, as seen in Country LifeA spectacular country house in Yorkshire and an enormously impressive Channel Islands retreat are among the stand-out homes on the market this week.
-
Three homes down by the Thames, perfect for those who love messing about on boatsThis summer’s scorching temperatures will no doubt have endorsed the perennial appeal of Thames-side houses with frontage and private access to the river. Penny Churchill and Toby Keel pick out some prime examples.
-
A pavilion, pool and pleasure gardens at this Devon country house 'with not another building in sight'Ebberly House is a majestic country house in Devon built by one of John Soane's pupils — and as it comes to the market, it's a place Penny Churchill knows well.
