Any property that survives for more than 700 years will have plenty of stories to tell. In the case of Bolehyde Manor, in the village of Allington not far from Chippenham, several of those stories revolve around the Royal Family over the past few years. This was the home of the Duchess of Cornwall while she was still Camilla Parker Bowles and married to her first husband, Andrew.
In 1986 it came to the market just as Prince Andrew was about to marry Sarah Ferguson, and was rumoured as a possible family home for the new royal couple (as was every other property within on the market near of Prince Charles's home at Highgrove and Princess Anne's house, Gatcombe). A new royal connection was rumoured in 2011 when it was reported that the Duchess of Cambridge's parents, the Middletons, were tipped as its next owners. Needless to say, neither of these potential sales went ahead.
Today, Bolehyde Manor is up for sale again, with Savills quoting a guide price of £3.25 million. That's £2.65 million more than was being asked in 1986 and (if tediously gossipy reports such as this one are to be believed) £1.5 million less than was reportedly being asked nine years ago. As the pictures on this page show, there's clearly a bit of TLC required here and there, but this will only add to the possibilities and potential for a new owner.
The building itself has an equal number of stories to tell. Back in 1948 Country Life's erstwhile architecture editor Christopher Hussey paid a visit to write a two-part article in which, after an opening description, he wrote:
This cursory view establishes that it is a very old site and the house, of various dates, shaped like a U lying on its side of which the lower stroke, forming the south entrance front, is longer than the upper; but that it was formerly approached from the east. The gables, crowned with little gablets, might be 16th-century; the curious east lodges to the courtyard are possibly older; and the later gate-piers, gazebos and porch are evidently of late 17th-century date. The archway connecting chapel and house, though of Tudorish character, is in fact modern. What do we make of it all?
Hussey's conclusion was that it's essentially a medieval house greatly expanded in the 17th century, with several additions made since then. Exactly what was built when is hard to pin down, however, since patchy records remain from the tenure of the Gales, who owned Boleyhyde for three centuries. 'History is not helpful,' Hussey added, somewhat ruefully.
We can speak for certain as to how the house stands today, however: it's a Grade II*-listed manor house with four reception rooms, eight bedrooms, described by the agents as a house 'with the history of the ages knitted into its very fabric but with a heart that is unreservedly designed around both family living and formal entertaining.'
Period features abound from the moment you open the heavy oak front door and step into a flag stone floor hallway. There are open fires, stone mullioned windows and oak panelling, plus an ornately carved staircase.
A courtyard accessed via the reception hall or kitchen is an ideal spot for al fresco dining.
Beyond that there are simply magnificent grounds ('a veritable succession of secret gardens' as the colourful agents details note), stables, outbuildings and 80-odd acres of arable land.
All this and we've not yet mentioned the moat, swimming pool and tennis court. Bolehyde has all three.
As well as the main house there is also a three-bedroom annexe and three cottages — truly a small estate rather than just a large house. Given its easily-accessible Cotswolds location and huge potential for improvement, as well as its fascinating history, we'd foresee an awful lot of interest.
Bolehyde Manor is for sale via Savills at £3.25 million — see more pictures and details.
The Prince of Wales's garden at Highgrove: Flowers galore, a wildflower meadow and a treehouse once used by Prince William and Prince Harry
HRH The Prince of Wales's famed garden is open to the public now until October. Country Life's gardens editor Tiffany
Credit: Humberts
A magnificent lakeside home near Princess Anne's Cotswolds estate
This beautiful 19th century house lies on Gatcombe Water, just around the corner from HRH Princess Anne's Gloucestershire home.
Princess Anne's guest-edited issue of Country Life: What you'll find inside
HRH The Princess Royal has guest edited the July 29 issue of Country Life magazine.
Peter Phillips: ‘People go to things because they’re an “event” and that’s the point – it’s what you create around a sport that matters’
The son of HRH The Princess Royal and Capt Mark Phillips is now running the Festival of British Eventing, started
-
‘Once upon a time they covered an area the size of Ireland’: The restoration of Britain’s native oyster reefs is shaping future marine projects around the worldJane Wheatley reports on an innovative project to restore Britain’s once plentiful native oyster reefs in Tyne & Wear.
-
What connects Brutalism and fancy pink diamonds? The Country Life Quiz of the Day, October 17, 2025Featuring more questions on collective nouns. The perfect way to start a weekend.
-
Life on Portugal's Coast of Kings, where Ian Fleming met the triple-agent whose gambling inspired 'Casino Royale'Once a quiet fishing village west of Lisbon, Cascais became an unlikely hive of activity during the Second World War, attracting regal refugees and intelligence operatives in equal measure. Russell Higham investigates its enduring glamour — and its connection to Casino Royale.
-
An extraordinary Italian palazzo built in the heart of Oxfordshire is up for sale at £16 millionThe Palazzo Pallavicini in Genoa inspired the creation of Newington House, which is on the market for the first time in 35 years.
-
A bum deal on a bog-standard property? The former public conveniences being sold off for a songLondon has several affordable properties with enviable postcodes and great lighting... so long as you're happy spending more than a penny on a Victorian loo.
-
A castle for sale just down the road from Gleneagles, where everyone from George VI to a farmer and his pigs once roamed the grand hallsOrchil Castle has seen it all in a tumultuous century and a half — but it's getting back to its best, and now needs a brave new owner to take it on the next step of its journey.
-
Five homes with their own orchards that will be the apple of your eye (almost literally)If you've been looking enviously this year at neighbours with apple trees that have been heaving with fruit, here is the solution: five lovely homes for sale that come with their own orchards.
-
A beautiful Victorian vicarage that was home to one of the Cadbury family heiresses is on the marketPenny Churchill tells the tale of Monks Bridge in Warwickshire.
-
An outrageously opulent mansion in London's answer to Beverly Hills, with a gym that 'wouldn't look out of place in a 7* hotel''One of the finest houses in St George's Hill' is on the market. Annabel Dixon takes a look at what's on offer.
-
Six homes with fantastic features, from pools and paddocks to waterside settings, as seen in Country LifeOur look at the best homes to come to the market via Country Life this week includes a Chipping Norton farm and a Cornish dream home
