A country house escape where 'legend has it that Shakespeare came to stay' while writing The Tempest

The history of a country house is almost always part of its charm — and when that history draws upon the lives of the great, the good and the powerful, the effect is only intensified. And understandably so: the idea of owning a cottage where Queen Victoria and Prince Albert stayed, a house where Churchill and Charles de Gaulle talked strategy during the Second World War, or an apartment where Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn held illicit trysts, is a fascinating idea. We may not share the same era as such people, but the idea that we can share the same space is intoxicating.

In the case of Standen House — for sale at £2.3 million — just outside Newport on the Isle of Wight, those links to the past reach a height that we don't really recall having seen before: 'Legend has it,' say agents BCM Wilson Hill, 'that William Shakespeare may have stayed here in 1610 and written sections of The Tempest in the oak panelled bedroom.'

Considering the debate that rages even 400 years later about the authorship of Shakespeare's plays, pinning one down to not just a place, but a specific bedroom, feels like a big call.

And given that just last week, we were trawling 17th century archives to investigate a barn in Buckinghamshire said to have been built using the timbers of The Mayflower, we couldn't really let this one go unchallenged. What's the story?

It was the mother of Standen Houses's current vendor who was told of the Shakespeare link, a story which has seemingly been passed down in the local lore of the island. The vendor then started his historical research and discovered the link — the very well-established and documented link — between Shakespeare and one of his most celebrated patrons, Henry Wriothesley, better known as the Earl of Southampton.

By the time The Tempest was written (which couldn't have been before 1610, according to the RSC) Shakespeare and Wriothesley had been acquainted for around two decades: the playwright's first printed works, Venus and Adonis (1593) and The Rape of Lucrece (1594) were both dedicated to Henry, who had become Earl of Southampton at the age of just eight, after the early death of his father.

Wriothesley used his notoriety and wealth to lead a fascinating life at the heart of Elizabethan and early Stuart England, getting involved in expeditions, military campaigns and political intrigue — including, most famously, the Essex Rebellion, which saw him condemned to death in 1601. His sentence for treason was commuted to life imprisonment, and on the accession of James I he was not just released, but had his forfeited title and lands restored, and was even given a new job: Captain of the Isle of Wight. The role focused on the island's defences, centred on nearby Carisbrooke Castle, but the Earl owned other land on the island too.

Did he own Standen House? Well, the land perhaps, but not the house as it stands today, since it dates to the 18th century. It was built when the banker Henry Roberts transformed an earlier building into the fine Georgian pile which it is today. It's Grade II*-listed, and has been so since 1957, but Historic England have few details, and don't confirm anything beyond Standen House's mid-18th century construction. One intriguing details is noted: 'Fine contemporary staircase seen, but access refused'.

We rather love the idea of a listed buildings inspector peeking through the letterbox to pick out interesting details; here's a picture of what they were refused access to:

Though Historic England don't discuss older parts of the house, the agents note that the grey-stoned rear section — with its paved terrace and lawned banks behind — dates from the Jacobean era, and it has several architectural similarities in common with some other 17th century homes we've seen recently.

So what of the claim that Shakespeare visited, stayed here and wrote here? That's several leaps of faith, to say the least, for while Shakespeare's plays have been pored over for centuries, details of his life and movements have always been nigh-on-impossible to nail down. There are records here and there of his house purchases, and hints about some of his movements — but even the exhaustive efforts of Shakespeare scholars produce not much more than a series of educated guesses.

In other words, the phrase 'legend has it' has rarely been more appropriately applied than in this case. But while we can't say whether Shakespeare did, or didn't visit, what we can say for certain is that Standen House is a very fine country house indeed.

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Beyond the hallway there are rooms full of character, with original cornicing, architraves, wooden window shutters, built in dressers and fine proportioned throughout.

There are 12 bedrooms and almost 9,400sq ft of floorspace, with everything from a drawing room and ballroom for entertaining, to wine cellars, attic rooms and a kitchen with a vintage cream Aga.

The views from the huge windows across the valley are gorgeous, and much of what you can see comes with the property: there is a huge walled garden, woodland, lawns, pasture and more, totalling about 19 acres.

As well as the main house there are also two partly-converted cottages, and plenty of scope — subject to all the relevant permissions — to do much more with the range of agricultural buildings which are part of the property. Some are in good shape; others, er, less so.

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There is work to be done, then, but huge potential, and the prize at the end will be a wonderful country home that'll be ideal for family living, lavish entertaining — and perhaps even inviting a budding young playwright to come and stay.

Standen House is for sale at £2.3 million — see more pictures and details.