The entire map of Britain is full of gloriously quirky place names (Auchtermuchty in Fife and Pratt’s Bottom in Kent are particular favourites), but for a constant stream of magnificently bananas places, it’s hard to beat the West Country. And the as if to demonstrate this very point, today’s property is a gorgeous house in a Somerset village called Trudoxhill, a spot wedged in between Nunney Catch and Marston Bigot. You really couldn’t make it up.
The house in question is Millards Hill House, a Grade II-listed Georgian home being sold by Alice Keith of Knight Frank, with an asking price of £3 million.
That money buys you a strikingly pretty home designed in the Classical, symmetrical style with 19th- and 20th-century additions, located in an idyllic rural spot four miles from the market town of Frome and 18 from the World Heritage city of Bath.
It's been owned for almost 40 years by the same family, and is the sort of place where even arriving is an event: you enter the 44 acres of parkland and paddocks via a long, private drive, which splits to provide access to the main entrance of the house before leading to the stable yard, outdoor school, cottage and outbuildings at the rear.
The imposing main building, which now needs updating throughout, offers 7,490sq ft of accommodation laid out in traditional country-house style, with three principal reception rooms, a conservatory, nine bedrooms and five bathrooms.
Particularly impressive is the gracious, south-facing drawing room, which opens onto a terrace with far-reaching views towards King Alfred’s Tower, a landmark 18th-century folly on the neighbouring Stourhead estate.
Millards Hill House is surrounded by established formal gardens, which include a covered swimming pool and pool house and an old tennis court that could easily be reinstated.
A two-bedroom cottage and various outbuildings could be converted to residential use subject to planning, the agents say.
Millards Hill House was originally built in the late 18th century as the dower house to nearby Marston House, which was the English seat of the Earls of Cork and Orrery from the mid 1600s until 1905 (and which was rescued from dereliction in the 1980s and 1990s, as Country Life reported in January 2018).
Millards Hill House is for sale via Knight Frank at £3 million — see more pictures and details.
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
-
An utterly charming island home in Scotland with gardens so beautiful they made the cover of Country LifeAn Cala on the Isle of Seil has a fascinating history that is only enhanced by its amazing setting.
-
The legacy od Dad's ArmyKate Green takes a look at Dad’s Army, the iconic BBC sitcom written by David Croft and Jimmy Perry.
-
An utterly charming island home in Scotland with gardens so beautiful they made the cover of Country Life
An Cala on the Isle of Seil has a fascinating history that is only enhanced by its amazing setting.
-
Soft tones and a sense of place: A Mayfair duplex that breaks the modern mouldA new designer-led residence at 60 Curzon in Mayfair reminds us that everything new doesn't necessarily have to look it.
-
'The very best North Yorkshire has to offer': The £25 million Kirkham EstateWith 1,103 acres and on the market for the first time in a century, we've got a new frontrunner for the sale of the year.
-
The reality of 20 years of house price rises in Britain, from the places that have had a charmed life to the spots where it's a struggle to move back homeAt first glance the ups and downs of the property market seem to even out over time — but dig in to the numbers and you'll see wild regional variations which paint a very difference picture. Annabel Dixon analyses new research which tells the story.
-
A historic Yorkshire hall, meticulously restored to its former 18th-century magnificenceWomersley Park is a masterpiece and one of Yorkshire's great historic houses. And it could be yours.
-
Rowing past dreams: An idyllic riverside home with a boathouse, croquet pitch and Olympic pedigreeThe Manor in Long Wittenham is a perfect Thames-side getaway. Comes with a free boat.
-
A bucolic Sussex home that's 'like stepping into a fairytale', yet just 30 minutes from central LondonFelmere House is a playground for nature and only 30 minutes from London.
-
Magnificent mansions across the Home Counties, from £3 million to £14 million, as seen in Country LifeA waterside dream home and a house and estate with over 1,100 years of history make our round-up this week.
