Country houses for sale

A former National Trust stately home for sale, within a mile of two of Cornwall’s most beautiful beaches

Parc Behan is Grade II-listed manor house mere miles from the Roseland Coast Cliffs, and was once in the care of the National Trust.

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 heated outdoor pool. Should you get bored of it, the beach is only a mile away.

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.

The spacious farmhouse-style kitchen.

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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. 

There’s something about this bedroom I just love.

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.

The study. Note the desk for doing Zoom calls and the TV/sofa for the rest of the time.

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.

Carne Beach on the Roseland Peninsula, Gerrans Bay, Cornwall.

The other, Kiberick, is a wonderful secret spot accessible only via the South West Coastal Path.

Kiberick Cove, Cornwall.

Enough said.

Parc Behan is for sale with Luxury Property Partners for offers over £3.5 million. For more information, and more pictures, click here