In the lovely Cotswold village of Churchill — 1½ miles east of Kingham and three miles south-west of Chipping Norton — lies the intriguingly-named, Grade II-listed Hackers House. It’s come to the market, with Knight Frank’s Stow-on-the-Wold office handling the sale at a guide price of £5.5 million.
According to its listing, the original Hackers House was built in the mid 17th century with later additions and alterations, and ‘considerably extended in the early 20th century’. An advertisement in Country Life (September 16, 1939) announced the sale of the ‘well known Cotswold property, Hackers House, Churchill, having just been “judiciously modernised”, and within four miles of the kennels of the Heythrop’.
Knight Frank's details show that the house has been 'judiciously modified' once again since those days — indeed, it's had a complete renovation and now offers bags of period charm alongside modern touches such as a Sonos system wired throughout.
Alongside the leaded windows, Aga and sweeping staircase curving up to a galleried landing, there are also some very 21st century decorating touches in a bright, modern interior.
It now provides 7,538sq ft of internal floor space in the main house, with a converted barn and outbuildings making a total internal floor area of 10,695sq ft.
The house wraps around a central courtyard with a pond at its centre, an ideal sheltered spot for eating and entertaining outdoors, and given the U-shaped configuration allows you to wander straight off into the 1½ acres of formal and informal gardens.
Internally it boasts light and spacious accommodation, including a reception hall, drawing room, formal and informal dining rooms.
Upstairs, there is a master bedroom suite, five further bedrooms and four further bathrooms.
There is also a kitchen/breakfast room and two sitting rooms, while below stairs is a wine cellar with storage for 2,000 bottles. We could have all used that before lockdown started.
The original village of Churchill was largely abandoned at the end of the 17th century, following a disastrous fire in 1684 — allegedly caused by a baker trying to avoid the chimney tax. Thereafter, the villagers moved up the hill to the present site and sensibly built in stone rather than timber.
Hackers’ House is for sale at £5.5m via Knight Frank — see more details and pictures.
-
How to keep your dogs — and other wildlife — safe on Bonfire NightAnyone who’s ever owned a dog will remember, remember the 5th of November — not just for the Gunpowder Plot, but for the nervous wrecks it turns our dogs into.
-
Man's (new) best friend: Slinky, swift and sweet, a furry ferret is a worthy household companionFerrets are a perfect pet — just don't let them loose in the British Museum, Octavia Pollock writes.
-
A Tudor Revival home built by a Victorian adventurer, with beauty, grandeur and its own putting greenFulford Hall is an idyllic country home, yet is situated less than a dozen miles from Birmingham. Penny Churchill tells more.
-
Five glorious properties for sale from the 11th to the 21st centuryA tithe barn, a Grade I-listed Norman keep, and a Georgian masterpiece all graced the pages of Country Life this week
-
You can now rent King William IV’s former home in London’s Mayfair — for a princely sumThe London property — with royal lineage — is on the market with the estate agency Wetherell for £25,000 a week.
-
Dream of revolution inside the 18th-century villa once occupied by Napoleon's French troopsAn apartment inside historic Villa Gnecchi Ruscone is on the market and it comes with a grand ballroom rumoured to have been frequented by Napoleon.
-
May the force be with you if you move into this London apartment block that Obi-Wan Kenobi (and Cher) once lived inOliver’s Wharf was once the residence of megastar Cher and the actor Sir Alec Guinness — as well as Mark Knopfler of the Dire Straits.
-
125 glorious acres of Elizabethan elegance for sale in Cheshire that comes with a moatIs this real life? Is it just fantasy? No, it's Holford Hall.
-
Look around this James Bond-themed house for sale in Nottinghamshire and release your inner MI6 agentNow, come, come dear reader, you get as much fulfilment out of Skyfall as I do, so why don't you admit it?
-
The eclectic New York townhouse that Lily Allen sings about in her new, headline-making album is for sale381, Union Street is on the market just days after the singer’s latest album details the alleged infidelity in her marriage.
