Located on the north Norfolk coast between the fishing port of Wells-next-the-Sea and the sailing centre of Burnham Overy Staithe, the tiny village of Holkham was once a landing with access to the sea via a tidal creek to the harbour at Wells. Following the arrival of the pioneering Coke family in the early 1700s, the land around the creek was gradually reclaimed from the sea to form part of the now 25,000-acre Holkham estate, a thriving farming, tourism and property business, the avowed aim of which is to be ‘the UK’s most pioneering and sustainable rural estate’.
Holkham houses for sale are as rare as hen’s teeth, as the £3 million price-tag that accompanies the launch onto the market of Georgian, Grade II-listed The White House at Warham, three miles south of Wells, clearly indicates. Ben Marchbank of Bedfords in Burnham Market is handling the sale.
The White House stands in just over three acres of immaculate gardens and woodland, ‘off the beaten track’ in the ancient village of Warham, which boasts two medieval churches and the excellent Three Horseshoes pub, within the North Norfolk AONB. The house has retained its essential Georgian character, with fine sash windows, marble fire surrounds, an elegant main staircase and well-proportioned rooms, although the present owners have cleverly adapted the interior to create a spacious kitchen/family room and an additional bedroom.
In all, The White House offers 5,733sq ft of light-filled accommodation, including five reception rooms, five bedrooms, three bathrooms and a two-bedroom guest wing, the whole beautifully decorated in classic Heritage colours. Outbuildings include the original coach house and stable and a four-bay garage. There is also a heated outdoor swimming pool.
According to its Historic England listing, The White House dates from about 1750 and possesses a distinctive Dutch gable built of flint behind a later Georgian façade ‘typical of a Holkham estate gentleman farmer’s house’, which was added in about 1800 to a design by Samuel Wyatt, who oversaw the building of the estate’s Grade II*-listed Great Barn and other farm buildings.
Holkham has long been renowned for the quality of its buildings and, with 300 residential properties scattered around the estate, there is fierce competition for houses that become available for sale or rent, although the estate has a policy of not renting to people who plan to use the property as a second home.
The beating heart of the estate is Grade I-listed Holkham Hall, a grand Palladian mansion built for Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester, between 1734 and 1735, and now the home of the 8th Earl, who has inherited the Coke family’s passion for conservation, farming, forestry and gamekeeping, with the maintenance of the estate’s diverse landscape of farmland, woodland, parkland, saltmarsh and coastline. It includes the 9,600-acre Holkham National Nature Reserve, which is managed jointly with Natural England. It all makes for an idyllic coastal landscape that has been described as ‘a balm for the soul’.
The White House in Warham is for sale at £3m — see more details and pictures.
Holkham Hall: 'there are few places a modern visitor can get so close to the realities of life on the grand scale in 18th-century Britain'
John Goodall revisits the splendours of Holkham Hall in Norfolk, a celebrated house — and the seat of the Earl
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
A farmer's-eye view of Holkham, the ultimate example of profitable food production and wildlife conservation going hand in hand
Jamie Blackett leaves his Dumfriesshire farm to visit Holkham, and comes away impressed and inspired.
-
Canine muses: Lucian Freud's etchings of Pluto the whippet are among his most popular and expensive workIn the third edition of our limited series, we meet the dogs who've inspired some of our greatest artists.
-
Four country houses with their own tennis courts, as seen in Country LifeIf Wimbledon has put you in the mood for more tennis, Annunciata Elwes is here with a selection of homes with their own tennis courts.
-
Four country houses with their own tennis courts, as seen in Country Life
If Wimbledon has put you in the mood for more tennis, Annunciata Elwes is here with a selection of homes with their own tennis courts.
-
The majestic New Forest estate formerly owned by a billionaire adventurer — famous for driving 'the world's fastest kettle' — has come up for saleGreat estates in the unspoilt setting of the New Forest are always a welcome sight on the market, and Newton Park is a wonderful example with a sad story to tell. Anna White tells more.
-
A Hampshire Manor for sale that dates back to the days of Alfred the Great, with the most beautiful staircase we've seen in yearsThe ten bedroom property features an indoor swimming pool, jacuzzi, spa complex and stables, and it was restored by the same architect who worked on Downing Street.
-
The new property hotspots where you can have it all: Beautiful houses, great schools and idyllic lifestyleAcross the country people are selling up and heading to the towns where there's no compromise on dream homes, outstanding schooling and the good life, according to analysis from two of Britain's top estate agents. Anna White explains.
-
Where Venice once ruled: The roving Venetians left handsome imprints across the Greek world, from its religion to its rambling villasMatthew Dennison explores the lingering traces of Venice's vanished empire — and the best places to buy where it once stood.
-
A delightful 16th century home with some of Kent's most beautiful gardens has come on to the marketThe Grange puts the 'garden' into the Garden of England.
-
A pristine Scottish island for sale at the price of a garage in FulhamA dot on the map of the west coast of Scotland has come on to the market, where you'll be surrounded by sea, living off grid and be neighbours with the local seal colony.
-
18 beautiful homes, from charming cottages to a Highland mansion with unbeatable views, as seen in Country LifeOur look at some of the best homes to come to the market via Country Life in the past week includes Georgian manor houses, charming commutable homes and the grandest home in Newcastle.
