It is of vital importance both to Country Life the magazine (and any online iterations thereof) and to the wider world in general to protect oneself from the devil. This is one of two things that we share in common with the Rev Jeremiah Trist, the other being a passion for pleasant countryside homes.
Back to the first thing. In the village of Veryan, in Cornwall, are five distinctive round houses, all of which are listed. These were built in about 1820 by Hugh Rowe, for Rev Trist, for his five daughters. Supposedly, they were so designed to deter the devil himself.
The second thing is the vicarage at Veryan Green, built in about 1810 by Rev Trist, and now known as Parc Behan and for sale with Luxury Property Partners for £3.5 million. The property is a spacious family home that was owned by the National Trust until 2001. It had been converted into five apartments, but at that time was in a state of disrepair.
That was, until, the current owners took on the project of restoring the property. Spending 2.5 years renovating and refurbishing, it has been a much loved family home for the past two decades, and is presented now as an eight bedroom home finished to an exceptionally high standard. It also comes with some 12 acres of gardens and grounds, a large heated outdoor pool and a separate three-bedroom cottage.
According to the agents, ‘no expense has been spared’, and that certainly seems to be the case. It doesn’t seem to have a fleck of paint out of place, and many of the rooms seem to have been decorated extremely recently, in a pared-back country house style. Bathrooms, of which there are five, are all achingly modern, and the kitchen has also been recently redecorated in the farmhouse style with a large central island/breakfast bar. In total, the property offers more than 8,500sq ft of living space. A furthe 2,500sq ft of space can be found in the guest accommodation.
As well as exceptional devil defences, the villages of Veryan and Veryan Green offer amenities such as a pub, hat shop, village stores and post office, primary school and bowls and tennis club.
As for those beaches? One is Carne Beach, famously beautiful and unspoilt, being on National Trust land.
The other, Kiberick, is a wonderful secret spot accessible only via the South West Coastal Path.
Enough said.
Credit: Knight Frank
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