The Coach House at Bettiscombe, the Dorset home of Penelope Hobhouse, the internationally renowned garden designer, author and gardening journalist, has been launched on the market. Penelope Hobhouse has designed gardens in England, Scotland, France, Italy, Spain Germany, and the United States. They include a garden for the late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, at Walmer Castle in Kent; The Country Garden for the Royal Horticultural Society at Wisley, a renaissance-style garden in Italy and a garden for the fashion designer, Jil Sander, in Germany. Her work in the United States includes many private commissions and a Herb Garden for the New York Botanical Garden Savills and local agents Symonds & Sampson are selling the Coach House which is situated some 5 miles north of the popular coastal town of Bridport and the house sits on a hillside with southerly views overlooking the Marshwood Vale. The Coach House, built of local stone over a slate roof, has large comfortable rooms, all very much in the country house style. The kitchen, with an AGA stove, is arranged for practical everyday living. Adjoining the kitchen is a hallway, off which are a drawing room and 3 bedrooms, all with their own bathrooms. To the rear of the kitchen is a larder and laundry room and leading from the hall is a magnificent garden room of considerable size opening on to the walled garden. There is also a first floor which Penelope Hobhouse currently uses as a study, although this is large enough to be converted into a further bedroom and bathroom (subject to planning consent), as well as retaining ample office space. The garden at The Coach House, extending to approximately 1-acre, was laid out by Penelope Hobhouse when she moved to Bettiscombe in 1993. Peter Lane of Savills Wimborne, said: This is a very unusual opportunity to acquire an ideal house for weekends or retirement. It would obviously suit anyone with a real interest in and passion for gardens, while presenting not too much of a challenge in terms of maintenance or ability to the newcomer. Price: £1.2m. Contact: Peter Lane, Savills Wimborne Office, 01202 856800
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'I have lost a treasure, such a sister, such a friend as never can have been surpassed': Inside Jane Austen's Winchester home, the house where she penned her final words and drew her final breathJane Austen spent the last days of her life in rented lodgings in Winchester, Hampshire. Adam Rattray describes the remarkable recent discoveries made about the house in which she died.
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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.
