An English country home that dreamt it was a château has come up for sale
It might be in the heart of rural Leicestershire, but there's more than a touch of Gallic flair about Leesthorpe Hall. Penny Churchill takes a look.
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It's always a little thrill to come across an English country house built in an entirely different architectural vernacular, and Leesthorpe Hall is a wonderful example of that.
This imposing, Grade II-listed property is a striking, château-style country house set in 16 acres of immaculate park-like grounds overlooking a lake near the pretty village of Leesthorpe, five miles south-east of Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, and 10 miles north-west of Oakham, Rutland.
Built of honey-coloured dressed limestone under a hipped slate and patterned tile roof, the main house and its adjoining stable cottage date from the late 17th century, with late-18th-century alterations and extensions, as detailed in the listing at Historic England, and further additions from 1846.
Change didn't stop there. Leesthorpe has been consistently improved by the owners during their 20-year tenure, and as it stands today the hall offers elegant accommodation on three floors.
On the ground floor you'll find impressive drawing and dining rooms, a friendly panelled sitting room, a string of other reception rooms — including a library — and a well-designed kitchen/breakfast room.
The 10 bedrooms and seven bathrooms are split over the first and second floors, with the master bedroom having a separate dressing room.
There's also another bedroom with a side room currently set up as a study, though clearly you could use that however you wish.
Beneath the house there's a treat for oenophiles: a series of distinctive, brick-vaulted cellars that are ideal for wine storage.
Outbuildings house extensive garaging, stabling, offices and storage, with a hayloft converted to a gym.
And for those that need more space, there's a separate coachhouse — being sold by separate negotiation at a guide price of £1.25m — which is a fine home in itself.
It's a converted five-bedroom coach house that's an independent dwelling, to the extent that it has its own four-acre paddock and a separate driveway.
Leesthorpe Hall came up for sale in Country Life in 2003 at £2.5 million.
Leesthorpe Hall is for sale through Finest — see more details.
