In Norfolk, Ben Rivett of Savills in Norwich is handling the sale of Little Massingham Manor, an impressive Arts-and-Crafts country house set in 63 acres of mature gardens, grounds, woodland and parkland in an unspoilt rural location, close to the picturesque village of Great Massingham in tranquil west Norfolk.
He quotes a guide price of £3.5m for the imposing country house, which enjoys the distinction of being situated between two excellent pubs, The Dabbling Duck at Great Massingham and the Rose and Crown at Harpley.
The manor was built in 1907 by a Harley Street surgeon who retired to the area, only to die there in 1916. When his son also died, in 1919, his widow sold the property to the Dixon- Spain farming family of west Norfolk. Requisitioned by the RAF during the Second World War, the property was sold in 1962 by the Dixon-Spains to a community of nuns, who ran it as a retreat centre until 2001.
The present owners bought the manor in 2008 and embarked on a major programme of refurbishment that included the installation of state-of-the-art electrical, plumbing and heating systems, redecoration and re-plastering throughout, with the addition of a custom-built kitchen and new bathrooms.
In all, Little Massingham Manor offers more than 11,000sq ft of pristine accommodation on three floors, including a 40ft-long reception hall, three main reception rooms
There is also a kitchen/breakfast/dining room, a study, a snug and a garden room, with 11 bedrooms and bathrooms on the first and second floors.
Outside, the Manor Cottage to the south of the main house offers further three-bedroom accommodation and the substantial stable block has potential for conversion to residential use.
To the north-east, a new formal garden of topiary yew has been created by locally based garden designer Claudia Morley.
This part of north-west Norfolk is one of the most favoured areas of the county for pheasant, partridge and duck shooting, and the shooting rights on the Little Massingham estate are in hand. Fly-fishing is also available on the nearby River Narr, a well-known chalk trout stream.
Little Massingham Manor is currently on the market via Savills at an asking price of £3.5 million — see more pictures or enquire with the agent for more details.
Great Massingham: What you need to know
Location: Located in Norfolk, Great Massingham is 13 miles east of King's Lynn and 35 miles to Norwich, in the south east.
Atmosphere: The village of Great Massingham is a peaceful, rural spot which has a post office/village store, a primary school and several large ponds (said to originate from the fish ponds for the 11th Century Augustinian Abbey) . The village has won several awards including a 'CPRE Community Open Spaces' and also has a monthly newsletter written by local residents.
Things to do: There are two highly regarded pubs nearby — The Dabbling Duck in Great Massingham and The Rose and Crown in Harpley. There is a railway station at King's Lynn with connections to London King's Cross. With excellent sailing amongst much of the coast, plus being home to some of the country's best Pheasant, Partridge and Duck shoots, there is plenty to keep you busy.
Schools: The local school is Great Massingham C of E primary with a number of other state and private schools in the surrounding area, including Beeston Hall Preparatory and Gresham's School.
See more property in the area.
Credit: Knight Frank
The best country houses for sale this week
Catch up on the best houses that have come up for sale via Country Life in the last few weeks.
-
Suit yourself: I’m a 49 year-old man-about-town and I’ve never owned a suitWhen Hugh Smithson-Wright turned up to Country Life's annual Gentleman's Life party sans suit, it sparked a passionate conversation about why the formal fashion just isn't for everyone.
-
'The ugliness and craziness is a part of its charm': The Country Life guide to BangkokWhere to stay, where to eat and what to do in the Thai capital.
-
The wave of downsizing about to hit the property market in the UKThe Chancellor of the Exchequer's Budget — and specifically the 'Mansion Tax' — has fired a starting pistol for downsizers, and the waves will wash across the entire property market. Annabel Dixon spoke to property experts across the country to gauge how it will play out.
-
A Georgian farmhouse that's an 'absolute gem' in an ancient village on Salisbury PlainJulie Harding takes a look at the beautiful West Farm in a gorgeous Wiltshire village.
-
It'd be crazy to buy this 500-year-old farmhouse just because of its utterly gorgeous Aga — so thank goodness that the rest of this place is also really nicePerry Mill Farm is an immaculate yet characterful four-bedroom dream home in the country at a price that will make city dwellers immediately start Googling 'working from Worcestershire'.
-
'A masterpiece of timeless elegance' for sale on the charmed Surrey estate once owned by Henry VIII and the Guinness familyThe Manor House in Burwood Park is a grand, enormous and undeniably impressive. Annabel Dixon takes a look.
-
A grand hall in Yorkshire with 400 years of historyCarlton Hall is a wonderful family home amid glorious gardens in a quaint village location. Penny Churchill looks inside.
-
Why don't more of us live in brightly coloured homes?It's not often that you see a home sporting the colour palette that you'd get if you hired a four-year old as your interior designer. But why not? The Blue House in Bethnal Green asks this and many more questions.
-
Five magnificent mansions, from a former monastery to an Art Deco wonder in the South Downs, as seen in Country LifeWonderful homes, including a superb beach home in Cornwall, all fresh on the market via Country Life.
-
A 14-bedroom 'miniature Downton Abbey' to call your own — and there's not a penny of Mansion Tax to be paidNorton Manor is an incredible period home that's on the market for £1.3 million.
