A sprawling and beautiful estate with a magnificent house at its centre, for sale for the first time in a quarter of a century
Blenkinsopp Hall looks and sounds like the sort of grand country seat which would feature in a PG Wodehouse story. Penny Churchill takes a look.
It’s hard not to be bowled over by the scale of the opportunity when a property such as the gloriously scenic, 540-acre Blenkinsopp estate arrives on the market.
The estate — near Haltwhistle, Northumberland — nestles in a wooded, south-facing valley bounded to the north by Hadrian’s Wall and to the south by the River South Tyne, tributaries of which, the Tipalt and the Painsdale Burn, traverse its land.
This is Reiver country, a Border region of wild beauty rich in history and folklore, although the estate’s sheltered location and well-managed landscape — a mix of rolling grassland, ancient woodland, young trees and winding burns and lakes — provide an altogether more intimate setting for the handsome stone manor at its heart.
For sale for the first time in 145 years, at a guide price of £4.85 million through Knight Frank in Melrose, the estate is centred on Grade II-listed Blenkinsopp Hall, a handsome castellated structure built by Col John Blenkinsopp Coulson in the early 1800s on the site of an ancient pele tower, one of two border forts controlled and defended by Blenkinsopps since Norman times.
One was Bellister, which became the seat of the younger branch of the family; the other was Blenkinsopp Tower, previously called Dryburnhaugh, which was incorporated into the new Blenkinsopp Hall.
Designs for the improvement of Dryburnhaugh were sought from J. White Junior in 1806 and, in 1835, the noted Northumbrian architect, John Dobson, added the south-east tower (later demolished), the stables and the interiors seen today. In 1840, the hall was described in glowing terms by the Rev John Hodgson: ‘Seated on rich ground, at the opening of a woody glen it smiles sweetly on the eye of day, and stretches out its towered walls and long-extent of front to the noon-tide sun. The entrance hall and dining room occupy the ground floor of the centre of the front.’
The hall’s present custodian, Mrs Fiona Lees-Millais (neé Joicey), who has lived there with her husband, Patrick, and their sons, Marcus and Rory, since 2001, remembers being told that the old entrance hall, now the dining room, was the original footprint of Dryburnhaugh, as the thickness of its walls suggests.
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
The Blenkinsopp estate has been owned by her family since July 1875, when it was bought by Edward Joicey of Whinney House, Gateshead. Since then, it has been lived in by family members, who have executed a number of extensions and alterations. In the early 1900s, a new frontage was added to the stable block to create an enclosed stable yard with a handsome clock-tower.
Blenkinsop Hall itself offers more than 14,000sq ft of living space on two floors and comfortably sleeps 20 people. The interior is largely original and includes four main reception rooms, 10 bedrooms, four bathrooms, a conservatory and an integral flat.
The estate comes with 11 estate houses and cottages, most in good condition and let on Assured Shorthold Tenancies. The stableyard includes two cottages, six working stables, an office and a game larder.
A wide variety of trees and shrubs in the hall’s well-tended grounds offer a constantly changing scene throughout the year. The garden is especially noted for its daffodils, azaleas, rhododendrons and herbaceous borders. Although no longer in use, there is also an impressive walled garden.
Some 84 acres of pasture are let annually to neighbours, with a further 98 acres forming part of a Farm Business Tenancy that terminates in 2023. The balance of the tenancy comprises 116 acres on Blenkinsopp Hill, on the northern edge of the estate close to Hadrian’s Wall, an area suitable for tree-planting or re-wilding.
Throughout the estate, some 218 acres of mixed woodland provide shelter and privacy, as well as forming the basis of a well-established pheasant shoot. Other sporting amenities include fishing on the River Tipalt and roe-stalking.
Blenkinsopp Hall is for sale via Knight Frank at £4.85m — see more details and pictures.
Spectacular Scottish castles and estates for sale
A look at the finest castles, country houses and estates for sale in Scotland today.
The Northumberland Coast AONB: Just bring a pair of good boots and a fondness for untamed natural beauty
Giles Kime continues our series on Britain's Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty with a look at the Northumberland Coast.
The Chichester Harbour AONB, a slice of Sussex where nature, beauty and history come together
Rosie Paterson takes in the all-too-often overlooked Chichester Harbour.
-
The quaint Alpine village that got taken over by The BeatlesThe Beatles visited the Austrian resort of Obertauern to film their 1965 film Help!. Despite a distinct lack of prowess on the slopes, the Fab Four got by with a little help from some new-found friends, discovers Russell Higham.
By Russell Higham Published
-
The rapid decline of our local abattoirs means we can no longer claim to be a country with leading animal welfare standardsOnce the backbone of ethical, small-scale meat production, these essential processors are disappearing fast.
By Julie Harding Published
-
The quaint Alpine village that got taken over by The BeatlesThe Beatles visited the Austrian resort of Obertauern to film their 1965 film Help!. Despite a distinct lack of prowess on the slopes, the Fab Four got by with a little help from some new-found friends, discovers Russell Higham.
By Russell Higham Published
-
The ultimate treehouse escape, where you can have a sauna and hot tub 12 metres above the forest floor, is for sale in DorsetGuy Mallinson's award-winning treehouses in Dorset are a true escape from the world. Anna White takes a look.
By Anna White Published
-
20 breathtaking country homes for sale, as seen in Country LifeWe take a look at some of the finest houses to come to market via Country Life in the past week.
By Toby Keel Published
-
The elegant country home of a motor racing daredevil who drove round the world in a 1936 Bentley and crashed a Range Rover into his own front porchPeasemore House, with its collection of barns, workshops, stables and more, is an ideal home from which to plan an adventure — something that was a passion of its present owners. Penny Churchill explains more.
By Penny Churchill Published
-
The wisteria clad cottage where Noël Coward and Ivor Novello held court at the height of their fameThe 17th-century Follejon Cottage just outside Windsor was a perfect escape from the city for Noël Coward and his circle of friends. As it goes on the market, Penny Churchill takes a look.
By Penny Churchill Published
-
A Cotswolds property that's the strangest mix of old and new we've ever seen... and yet somehow, it all worksThe Gasworks is a house quite unlike anything you've seen before — or at least anything you've seen all in one place. Toby Keel takes a closer look.
By Toby Keel Published
-
A country house near Windsor that could be straight from the pages of a Jilly Cooper novelPenny Churchill looks at the beautiful polo-lover's sanctuary that is Barkham Square Park.
By Penny Churchill Published
-
The factory that once fuelled the Victorians' insatiable appetite for pianos has become a set of gorgeous, characterful apartmentsChappell & Co were a huge name in 19th century music, even working with Beethoven. Today, one of their old factories in Camden has become a series of beautiful apartments.
By Toby Keel Published
