Wytham Abbey is a showstopper — and always has been. 'One of the most beautiful places in the vicinity of Oxford,' noted Country Life back in 1923, shortly after it was sold by the Earl of Abingdon. Back in 1991, The Times went further still, calling it ‘one of the loveliest houses in England’. With another few decades having passed since then, perhaps we should up the ante still further and declare it 'the most gorgeous home in Europe' or some such, but I think that gives you the idea.
What's even more exciting than Wytham Abbey's mere existence is the fact that it's for sale. True, the asking price — it's on the market for £15,000,000 — might rule some of us out before the starter has even fired his pistol. But for those who can stretch their budgets to such places? Well, what a place this is.
This sprawling, Grade I-listed abbey dates back to 1480 when it was built by the Harcourt family, and still has plenty of features from its original era: there is a Tudor-arched doorway, oriel windows, stained glass panels, turrets and battlements.
If you're thinking it looks in remarkably good condition for a place that's 500 years old, there's a very good reason: the third Earl of Abingdon — aka the wonderfully-named Willoughby Bertie — spent a huge amount of money and materials on improvements in the 18th century.
Yet he only did so because of blind fate: a fire had destroyed the family's previous principal seat, Rycote, and according to a Country Life article of 1943, Willoughby 'threw a stick in the air' to decide which of his remaining estates to live in. A wayward and contrary soul, the stick actually told him to repair Rycote — so he did the complete opposite, and lavished a decent chunk of his fortune on Wytham instead.
Subsequent owners have followed Willoughby's lead, and today Charles Elsmore-Wickens of Savills is quite rightly talking the place up, calling it 'a magical building' , with its turrets and castellations, it's graceful windows and elegant floors and its 27 bedrooms. It even has a gorgeous location in the village of Wytham, set high above the River Thames, with uninterrupted views across to the spires of Oxford.
Many of the building’s significant features, including the entrance hall, stair hall and library, were created in 1809. And much of the building’s exterior had been altered in a ‘sensitive collegiate Gothic style’ by the end of the 1820s.
All this has been appreciated by some very high profile visitors to Wytham Abbey over the years: Queen Elizabeth I, Oliver Cromwell and Queen Victoria all visited this house of marble fireplaces, oak staircases, grandly-proportioned rooms and secret doorways disguised as bookcases.
Mr Elsmore-Wickens notes that Wytham Abbey's secluded location is ‘exceptional... although the house is only a few miles from the city centre, Wytham is protected by countryside on the city side by Port Meadow, the largest area of common land in the county, and on the other by fine open parkland and Wytham Woods.’
So, what does the future hold for Wytham Abbey? The building has recently been used as an events venue, but with 27,000 sq ft of accommodation, Oxford just three miles away and easy access to London, there are plenty of angles here.
Either way, thought, it's probably best to move quickly since this is a house which is drawing plenty of attention, with property portal Rightmove declaring it one of their top-five most viewed homes of 2024.
Wytham Abbey is on the market for £15,000,000 via Savills — see more details and pictures.
Credit: Strutt and Parker
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