Perhaps the strangest thing that used to happen to me as a child was seeing a teacher outside of school. I am friends now with lots of teachers, but the idea that they could leave the school premises used to completely freak me out.
In a similar vein, may I present Kingston House, which is for sale with Knight Frank, but also belongs to someone who works there. We know people who work for Knight Frank, and other estate agents, buy and sell houses. But buying and selling their own houses? I’d never considered it.
But that’s not important. What is important is that we have a handsome Victorian manor house on the edge of the Chilterns, with 36 acres, and up to 10 bedrooms for £5.5 million. And what a beauty she is.
Originally built in 1855, the property is apparently for sale for the first time ever (which we suppose must mean that all the owners until now, including the Knight Frank employee, must either have inherited it, or won it in a game of cards, or perhaps made a cheeky under-the-radar offer at a time when the previous incumbent hadn't even thought of moving). It's steeped in history, but has also undergone a recent renovation that has left it as the perfect combination of ‘grand entertaining spaces’ and less formal family accommodation.
But there’s more. Kingston House is actually two homes spliced together, but which you can still separate, if you so desire. Kingston House itself has 10 bedrooms set over three floors (as well as a basement). Attached to it is Kingston House Cottage, which connects to the main property, but also comes with three further bedrooms and its own separate garden and outbuildings.
The property itself is approached via a long drive and through copper beech avenue, allowing the gardens and grounds to reveal themselves to you as you approach. A paved terrace wraps around two sides of the property, providing great spaces for entertaining, leading to lawn, then grass paddocks and woodland beyond.
The property also boasts a yard of some 20 stables and various other outbuildings, ideal for the equine minded. It’s well situated at the edge of the village of Kingston Blount, providing a splendid mix of amenities (such as a pub and cricket club) and rural seclusion.
I suppose if your job is buying and selling houses, you would live in one as nice as this.
A gorgeous farmhouse clinging to the western edge of Britain, yet it's all set up for working from home
Penny Churchill takes a look at Messack Farmhouse, a wonderful home for sale on the Roseland Peninsula.
Credit: Getty
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