Staff in the Country Life offices regularly spot dream properties for sale, but there is a particular thrill in seeing one just a few minutes down the A31 from our anonymous business park in Farnborough. The property in question which has ticked that box is the 464-acre Bury Court estate at Bentley, Hampshire, which incorporates a range of farming and non-farming enterprises.
Bury Court is currently for sale through Savills at a guide price of £11 million; we think we're right in saying that rules out any of the present staff. Certainly if they're fishing in that sort of pond then they've kept it very much to themselves.
The estate is a beautiful spot that stands in rolling countryside on the edge of the South Downs National Park and, in the 17th century, was a demesne farm owned by the Bishops of Winchester.
A productive hop farm until the 1980s, at its heart is a five-bedroom country house (with potential to extend) arranged around a pair of huge rooms on the ground floor, one a dining room-kitchen and the other a sitting room-drawing room. Those rooms are just the start of the property, however, which extends to over 21,000 sq ft.
The main house is surrounded by two famous gardens — one a courtyard garden created in 1996 by Dutch designer Piet Oudolf, the other a ‘meadow garden’ of tall grasses and flowering perennials by Christopher Bradley-Hole.
The central group of buildings includes a magnificent listed barn, operated as an events and wedding venue, and an impressive range of converted brick-and-flint buildings.
Two self-contained flats, six further houses and cottages and four offices also generate a useful income.
The farmland is mainly arable, interspersed with pasture and woodland — a topography that lends itself well to a family shoot that until recently was run in conjunction with neighbouring landowners.
The higher grounds of the estate have beautiful views across the valley of the River Wey and the house and outbuildings on the lower ground enjoy a sense of seclusion.
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
-
Pack up your jumpers: Is Scandinavia the new Mediterranean?Climate change means increasingly unbearable heat and dangerous wildfires across swathes of Europe — so what is the alternative? Words and photographs by Emma Lavelle.
-
How many Oscars did the 1997 film 'Titanic' win? Country Life's Quiz of the Day, August 19, 2025Test you general knowledge with Tuesday's Quiz of the Day.
-
A 17th century farmhouse in Surrey with one of Britain's oldest squash courtsFords Farm is on the market for the first time in over half a century.
-
The 15 best-value commuter towns for people working in London, according to new research from one of Britain's top estate agentsSavills have released their list of the best-value commuter towns in Britain. But do the sums add up? Toby Keel takes a look.
-
What everyone is talking about this week: Where are the new Cotswolds?The appearance of American Vice President J. D. Vance in the Cotswolds is a sure sign that they're saturated, but where else can you escape to that has the same charm?
-
19 outstanding country homes, from £450,000 to £20 million, as seen in Country LifeA spectacular country house in Yorkshire and an enormously impressive Channel Islands retreat are among the stand-out homes on the market this week.
-
Three homes down by the Thames, perfect for those who love messing about on boatsThis summer’s scorching temperatures will no doubt have endorsed the perennial appeal of Thames-side houses with frontage and private access to the river. Penny Churchill and Toby Keel pick out some prime examples.
-
A pavilion, pool and pleasure gardens at this Devon country house 'with not another building in sight'Ebberly House is a majestic country house in Devon built by one of John Soane's pupils — and as it comes to the market, it's a place Penny Churchill knows well.
-
Take over the world or throw a great big party on this private fort for sale in PembrokeThorne Island, dubbed the British Alcatraz, has been a £2 million labour of love. Now it could be yours.
-
The perfect summer house? A country home, beach house and rural escape rolled into one in a prime spot in SussexIf there's a finer house than Grangewood House in which to enjoy the summer, we'd love to see it. Penny Churchill takes a look.
