Regular readers of our property pages will know full well that many of the homes we feature have colourful histories. Some might have been owned by pirates or adventurers, others have links to the great, the good and the controversial.
Very often, the stories attached to such properties go back centuries; but not in the case of Rockwood Hall, a country house with 335-acres estate in the village of Brook, between Godalming and Haslemere, which is now for sale at a guide price of £20-£25 million.
It's listed via agents Clarke Gammon Wellers via OnTheMarket, whose details give the basic outline of what is for sale.
There is a 26,000sq ft main house with nine bedrooms, nine bathrooms and six reception rooms, as well as an air strip, hangar, helipad, tennis court and lake.
The main house has been completely refurbished in recent years, and as the pictures here show there is a great mix of old and new in the features: a below-floor wine cellar, free-standing metal baths in rooms with stone-mullioned, leaded windows.
There is even a complete replica of an American-style diner and bar. It's all finished immaculately.
That said, there is still potential to add value. Beyond the main house there are several other buildings on the site waiting to be transformed, several of which already have permission in place for development.
And as the images here show, there is some work which has been started and remains under way.
The work that has been done is just the latest chapter in the house's story. Built in the years before the First World War, the house made its headlines in the late 1990s and early 2000s when it was owned by Asif Ali Zardari, the husband of former Pakistan president Benazir Bhutto, and then man who himself became president after Bhutto's assassination. Zardari bought the house in 1995 via an offshore company, but subsequently denied owning it until it was sold in 2004.
Following that it earned a reputation for all manner of, ahem, 'unusual' goings-on as it was used to host parties and events which prompted a series of lurid newspaper articles in both the local and national media.
The last five years have been a time of comparative calm as the development work has gone on, and various permissions obtained.
It's now ready for new owners to begin writing the next chapter in the story — and for those looking for a truly grand estate within easy reach of London, this is likely to be ideal.
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
-
Country Life 26 March 2025Country Life 26 March 2025 issues an SOS plea to save Britain's rarest dog breeds, looks at the best bathtubs and celebrates the groundbreaking work of Edwin Lutyens.
-
The prestigious Saut Hermès was a tantalising taste of what to expect when Paris's Grand Palais reopens to the public in JuneThe Grand Palais in Paris, France, has been closed to the public for extensive renovation works since 2021.
-
This elegant Greek villa offers would-be buyers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to live in the shadow of the AcropolisAthenian Legacy consists of two houses in walking —and almost touching — distance of one of the world’s most famous and precious landmarks.
-
Six charming homes up for sale, including one dubbed 'one of the most picturesque in Dorset', as seen in Country LifeOur look at the finest houses to come up for sale through Country Life in the past week is full of delights, from a new-Georgian mansion to a perfectly-sized Hertfordshire estate.
-
A Buckinghamshire mansion built for the speech therapist who set Churchill on his path to greatnessPenny Churchill takes a look at Rignalls, a classic Arts-and-Crafts home that looks like it's stepped out of the pages of an EM Forster novel.
-
An idyllic Hampstead mansion whose price has risen nine times faster than inflation — and it's not hard to see whyCloth Hill is even more beautiful on the inside than it is on the outside.
-
Some of Scotland's most beautiful churches are being sold off for as little as £40,000 — but a word of warning before you take the plungeLucy Denton examines how best to help former church buildings thrive as times move on and property changes hands.
-
Inside the £28 million mansion designed to 'shake things up' and 're-define the English country house of the 21st century'With everything from helicopter parking and a 1000-bottle wine cellar to bespoke wallpaper designed by Christian Lacroix, Harford Manor is a country house like no other. Annabel Dixon took a closer look and spoke to the man behind its creation.
-
A blissful and beautifully named home in one of the most exclusive spots in CornwallPenny Churchill takes a look at Boswodegh, a wonderful home that makes the most of its superb location in Helford Passage.
-
A sleek, seven-bedroom villa with a wine cave, wellness space and a 20-person JacuzziIncredible attention to detail at Almancil Loulé's, an amazing home for sale in Portugal's exclusive Quinta do Lago resort.
