A heartbreakingly idyllic home for sale in the village where an amateur detectorist found a £4m hoard of gold
In the heart of Suffolk, this delightful former vicarage has come to the market.

Anyone who watched the brilliant BBC series The Detectorists will be able immediately to call to mind an image of what to expect of a home in Hoxne, Suffolk. The village is best known as the location of The Hoxne Hoard, whose discovery is exactly the sort of story that inspired Mackenzie Crook's eccentric, bucolic masterpiece.
The tale goes that a local farmer named Peter Whatling had lost a hammer, and asked his friend Eric Lawes — a retired gardener and amateur metal detectorist — to see if he could find it. What Lawes turned up was something totally different: the largest collection of late-Roman gold and silver ever found in Britain, with over 15,000 items and a value (in today's prices) of almost £4 million.
Best of all, Eric even found the hammer as well. It, as well as the hoard, is now on display in the British Museum.
Finding such a hoard wouldn't be a bad way to go about funding the purchase of a fine country house in the area, as it happens. The market in this part of the world is currently being driven by downsizers, according to Peter Ogilvie of Savills in Ipswich. One such home for sale has come on to Peter's books this week: he is handling the listing, at a guide price of £1.5m, of The Old Vicarage in Hoxne, a very pretty Grade II-listed home.
The house stands west of the medieval church of St Peter and St Paul in the delightful village that is Hoxne, five miles south-east of Diss and half a mile south of the River Waveney.
Originally built in about 1470 and home to the vicars of Hoxne for more than 500 years, the former vicarage was bought from the Church by its present owners, who have restored it and excavated its historic moat, which is a Scheduled Ancient Monument in its own right.
Set in 3¼ acres of moated grounds with views to the rear over the Waveney Valley, the house offers 4,783sq ft of unexpectedly light and bright accommodation for a building of its age, including four reception rooms, a kitchen/breakfast room, six bedrooms and four bathrooms.
Sign up for the Country Life Newsletter
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
That only leaves one question: is there any chance a new hoard might be found in those three acres around the house? Well, probably not. But on a long, sunny, summer's day, it might be fun to have a look in any case.
The Old Vicarage in Hoxne is for sale at £1.5m — see more details and pictures.
Reporting by Penny Churchill/Toby Keel
In Focus: The oldest known map of the cosmos, and the detectorists who sold an £8m find for just £13,000
A bronze ‘sky disc’, thought to be the world’s oldest map of the cosmos, is the star attraction of the
The Saxon treasure hoarders 'have been convicted of a crime that they needn’t have committed'
Treasure theft made the headlines after two metal detectorists were convicted of stealing a £3-million Viking hoard, but an expert
Credit: Finest Properties
A Northumberland farmhouse for sale which one gave up a forgotten hoard of medieval gold
This charming, Grade II-listed farmhouse combines fine views with the ruins of an ancient tower and lovely grounds.
Country Life Today: Why keeping your dog healthy means looking after yourself, and the discarded coin sold for £550k
Today's news round-up looks at how dogs take on our own stress levels, tells the tale of a chance find
Toby Keel is Country Life's Digital Director, and has been running the website and social media channels since 2016. A former sports journalist, he writes about property, cars, lifestyle, travel, nature.
-
Ford Focus ST: So long, and thanks for all the fun
From November, the Ford Focus will be no more. We say goodbye to the ultimate boy racer.
By Matthew MacConnell Published
-
‘If Portmeirion began life as an oddity, it has evolved into something of a phenomenon’: Celebrating a century of Britain’s most eccentric village
A romantic experiment surrounded by the natural majesty of North Wales, Portmeirion began life as an oddity, but has evolved into an architectural phenomenon kept alive by dedication.
By Ben Lerwill Published
-
A mini estate in Kent that's so lovely it once featured in Simon Schama's 'History of Britain'
The Paper Mill estate is a picture-postcard in the Garden of England.
By Penny Churchill Published
-
Hidden excellence in a £7.5 million north London home
Behind the traditional façades of Provost Road, you will find something very special.
By James Fisher Published
-
Sip tea and laugh at your neighbours in this seaside Norfolk home with a watchtower
On Cliff Hill in Gorleston, one home is taller than all the others. It could be yours.
By James Fisher Published
-
A Grecian masterpiece that might be one of the nation's finest homes comes up for sale in Kent
Grade I-listed Holwood House sits in 40 acres of private parkland just 15 miles from central London. It is spectacular.
By Penny Churchill Published
-
Some of the finest landscapes in the North of England with a 12-bedroom home attached
Upper House in Derbyshire shows why the Kinder landscape was worth fighting for.
By James Fisher Published
-
Could Gruber's Antiques from Paddington 2 be your new Notting Hill home?
It was the home of Mr Gruber and his antiques in the film, but in the real world, Alice's Antiques could be yours.
By James Fisher Published
-
What should 1.5 million new homes look like?
The King's recent visit to Nansledan with the Prime Minister gives us a clue as to Labour's plans, but what are the benefits of traditional architecture? And can they solve a housing crisis?
By Lucy Denton Published
-
Welcome to the modern party barn, where disco balls are 'non-negotiable'
A party barn is the ultimate good-time utopia, devoid of the toil of a home gym or the practicalities of a home office. Modern efforts are a world away from the draughty, hay-bales-and-a-hi-fi set-up of yesteryear.
By Madeleine Silver Published