The village of Norton, two miles north of Presteigne, lies just inside the Welsh border and close to the meeting point of Shropshire, Herefordshire and Powys, 19 miles from Hay on Wye, 23 miles from Hereford and 18 miles from Ludlow. Here, Peter Daborn of Savills in Telford quotes a guide price of £2m for imposing Grade II-listed Norton Manor.
This large country house was built in 1858 for a local landowner, Sir Richard Green-Price, who was MP for Radnor from 1863 to 1869, and from 1880 to 1885. Knighted in 1874, he is commemorated by a red granite obelisk outside the village.
Previously run as a country house hotel, Norton Manor has been divided into three by the current owners, who bought it in 2014 and have painstakingly restored it. All sash windows are fitted with secondary glazing and the 16,000sq ft building is now heated by a modern biomass system.
Built of ashlar stone under a slate roof, the main house is entered by a grand entrance hall leading to the formal reception rooms.
An ornate Italianate staircase leads to seven en-suite bedrooms on the first floor — a feature which is genuinely spectacular, with light pouring in from above and a galleried landing at the top. You can just imagine the erstwhile Victorian residents of this home sweeping down to join guests at a dance.
The kitchen/living area, originally the ballroom and main restaurant for the hotel, is a vast space where the current owners mostly live.
The second part of the house has been set up as an independent holiday-letting unit that includes a modern kitchen and dining room, up to eight double bedrooms and a separate games room.
The previously derelict west wing, now wind- and waterproof, is still a ‘work in progress’, with planning consent for a further five bedrooms and two bathrooms.
So while there's certainly work to be done, the potential is huge to turn Norton Manor into one of the finest homes for miles around.
Norton Manor is for sale at £2m — see more pictures and details.
Credit: Strutt and Parker
Best country houses for sale this week
An irresistible West Country cottage and a magnificent Cumbrian country house make our pick of the finest country houses for
-
The great house that's 'a magnificent scrapbook of cherry-picked ideas', and 'one of the most compelling products of Britain’s 18th-century love affair with Antiquity'John Goodall looks at the sources of inspiration behind the design for the magnificently idiosyncratic West Wycombe Park in Buckinghamshire.
-
Rock stars and the country house: Liam Gallagher's life in the Cotswolds is in the finest tradition of music A-listers, from the Beatles to BeyoncéWhat is it about the British countryside that draws A-listers from every walk of life? With Liam Gallagher's Cotswold former home on the market, Toby Keel takes a look.
-
Rock stars and the country house: Liam Gallagher's life in the Cotswolds is in the finest tradition of music A-listers, from the Beatles to Beyoncé
What is it about the British countryside that draws A-listers from every walk of life? With Liam Gallagher's Cotswold former home on the market, Toby Keel takes a look.
-
Life on Portugal's Coast of Kings, where Ian Fleming met the triple-agent whose gambling inspired 'Casino Royale'Once a quiet fishing village west of Lisbon, Cascais became an unlikely hive of activity during the Second World War, attracting regal refugees and intelligence operatives in equal measure. Russell Higham investigates its enduring glamour — and its connection to Casino Royale.
-
An extraordinary Italian palazzo built in the heart of Oxfordshire is up for sale at £16 millionThe Palazzo Pallavicini in Genoa inspired the creation of Newington House, which is on the market for the first time in 35 years.
-
A bum deal on a bog-standard property? The former public conveniences being sold off for a songLondon has several affordable properties with enviable postcodes and great lighting... so long as you're happy spending more than a penny on a Victorian loo.
-
A castle for sale just down the road from Gleneagles, where everyone from George VI to a farmer and his pigs once roamed the grand hallsOrchil Castle has seen it all in a tumultuous century and a half — but it's getting back to its best, and now needs a brave new owner to take it on the next step of its journey.
-
Five homes with their own orchards that will be the apple of your eye (almost literally)If you've been looking enviously this year at neighbours with apple trees that have been heaving with fruit, here is the solution: five lovely homes for sale that come with their own orchards.
-
A beautiful Victorian vicarage that was home to one of the Cadbury family heiresses is on the marketPenny Churchill tells the tale of Monks Bridge in Warwickshire.
-
An outrageously opulent mansion in London's answer to Beverly Hills, with a gym that 'wouldn't look out of place in a 7* hotel''One of the finest houses in St George's Hill' is on the market. Annabel Dixon takes a look at what's on offer.
