An Art Deco delight with a walled garden, a 17th-century rose parterre and its own boating lake

In leafy east Hertfordshire, Mark Rimell of Strutt & Parker quotes a guide price of £2.495 million for Broadfield Hall in the hamlet of Broadfield, which stands in some 15½ acres of formal gardens, paddocks, parkland and farmland, a mile or so north of the village of Cottered and three miles west of Buntingford.

Once part of a moated manor estate, the hall’s formal grounds include extensive Yorkstone terracing, a walled garden, a 17th-century rose parterre and a boating lake. Established planting includes a wealth of mature trees and a rare tulip tree.

In the late 1500s, Sir John Brockett of Brockett Hall and his wife, Ellen, sold their interest in the manor of Broadfield to Edward Pulter, who settled it on his son, Litton Pulter. He died in 1608 in his father’s lifetime, leaving a son, Arthur, aged four. Arthur went on to hold a prominent position in the county, becoming a magistrate, a captain in the militia and High Sheriff for Hertfordshire.

At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1642, he retired from public life and, with his wife, Lady Hester Pulter — the daughter of James Ley, created 1st Earl of Marlborough in 1626 — set about rebuilding Broadfield Hall. The building was still unfinished when Pulter died in 1689, but was completed a year later by his grandson, James Forrester, who also commissioned the young Nicholas Hawksmoor — at that time a junior draughtsman for Sir Christopher Wren — to design Broadfield Hall’s impressive Grade II*-listed stable block, which was built in about 1691, according to its Historic England listing.

Forrester’s grand house was demolished in the mid 19th century, rebuilt in 1882 and eventually replaced in 1939 by the present unlisted Broadfield Hall, built by William Harston in the Art Deco style.

It retains many period details, including a grand cantilevered staircase with a vaulted ceiling, beautiful fireplaces throughout and original 1930s mahogany joinery.

For much of the 20th century, it was lived in by Prince George of Denmark and his wife, Anne Bowes-Lyon. She was a niece of the late Queen Mother, who was a regular visitor, as was the present King.

The main house provides 6,000sq ft of light-filled living space with additional accommodation available in the converted coach house.

The ground floor boasts three enormous reception rooms, a huge kitchen/breakfast room and a family room/study.

A delightful sun room overlooks the parkland and formal gardens and there’s a gym to relieve City stress.

The first floor offers five bedrooms and three bathrooms, with the principal bedroom suite enjoying the luxury of a dressing room and roof terrace.

For sale via Strutt & Parker — see more details.