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A Grade I-listed home in Northumberland that is both round and square, with more bedrooms than I can count

Milbourne Hall was designed by a pupil of Robert Adam, and is one of the more architecturally curious homes we've seen.

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Any property that you have to enter via a clocktower is always worthy of our attention.
(Image credit: Gary William Smith/GSC Grays)

If you were to design your dream home, what shape would it be? A simple square, with some reception rooms on the bottom and some bedrooms on the top? Functional yes, but perhaps not very creative.

Maybe you might be tempted by something rounder, something that demands flow between rooms as you circle a nice central courtyard? That courtyard could be the heart of the home, a nice open space to enjoy in the summertime. 

Observe that it is both round and square. And has lots of land.
(Image credit: GSC Grays)

Or perhaps you want both. Perhaps you want a home that resembles that Haribo Tangfastic that looks like a baby’s dummy. Well we have good news. Such a property exists and it’s named Milbourne Hall in Northumberland. It is for sale with GSC Grays for offers in excess of £3.15 million.

(Image credit: Gary William Smith/GSC Grays)

I have not seen a house that is both a square and a circle at the same time. It is not something I have ever thought about. Thankfully, someone did think about it, and that person’s name is John Paterson, the Scottish architect who designed and built Grade I-listed Milbourne Hall sometime in the early 19th century. Paterson studied under Robert Adam and the property was built for Ralph Bates, a member of a long-established Northumbrian landowning family.

(Image credit: Gary William Smith/GSC Grays)

The property enjoys many things. It has many acres (24). It has many bedrooms, so many in fact that I cannot count them all but there are more than 10. It has many stables for horses (6). Incidentally, gazing at the floorplan, it would seem that the rooms in the square part of the house are round, while the rooms in the round part of the house are square. 

A very round room.
(Image credit: Gary William Smith/GSC GRAYS)

Shrouded in woodland while overlooking fine parkland, the property is an imposing manor house in one of the more pleasant parts of the English countryside. That elegance is mirrored within its stone walls, where the interiors have been renovated and restored to provide a mix of period charm and contemporary luxury. Here are some pictures.

How about that for a bathroom.
(Image credit: Gary William Smith)

(Image credit: Gary William Smith/GSC GRAYS)

The surrounding parkland is not far from perfection.
(Image credit: Gary William Smith/GSC Grays)

It is, dare we use the word, a unique property that demands further inspection. Newcastle city centre is 12 miles away.

Milbourne Hall is for sale with GSC Grays for offers in excess of £3.15 million. For more information and pictures, click here

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James Fisher
James Fisher
Digital Commissioning Editor

James Fisher is the Digital Commissioning Editor of Country Life. He writes about motoring, travel and things that upset him. He lives in London. He wants to publish good stories, so you should email him.