An ancient home that was moved brick-by-brick and beam-by-beam half way across England
Britwell Priors brings an entirely new meaning to the words 'moving house' — and its curious history means that it offers new owners almost unheard of flexibility.
The exquisite Britwell Priors is located in charmed spot: Longparish, a Hampshire village that derives its name from the five settlements of Middleton, East and West Aston, Forton and Longparish Station, which stretch for some four miles along the River Test. The house, every bit as glorious as its setting, is for sale through Lindsay Cuthill at Blue Book, for £3 million.
Set discreetly behind hedging in more than 10 acres of glorious gardens and grounds just outside the village, the main part of the house is a late-16th-century, Tudor timber-frame building.
If you'd come here in the year 1600, however, you'd have found no house. Quite astonishingly the entire place was originally located in Oxfordshire, but was painstakingly dismantled and reconstructed, piece by piece, in the late 1920s.
Why would anyone go to such lengths? A mixture of friendship and fishing. It was owned at the time by Captain Charles King and Lady Clare Noel, who were both avid anglers and close friends of Major-General Guy Dawnay of nearby Longparish Manor. The whole 'location, location, location' mantra suddenly seems less relevant if you can literally up sticks — and beams, and floorboards, and roof tiles — and take your house with you anywhere you fancy.
That unusual history leads to another anomaly. Despite its age, and wealth of original features — including ancient timbers, open fireplaces and leaded windows — Britwell Priors is unlisted, which would normally be pretty much unthinkable for a house that's over four and a half centuries old.
As such, there's an unusual degree of flexibility for those who might wish to reconfigure and adapt the layout. And there's precedent for just such things: in 1965, the property passed to the Tennant family, who added a low modern extension to create additional living space and house an important art collection.
The interplay between historic and modern creates a natural flow throughout the house, where all the main rooms look out across the gardens and the countryside beyond.
There are also no near neighbours to obstruct or spoil the view: 'Britwell Priors is one of those rare, quiet houses which offers utter privacy and seclusion,' says Lindsay, 'sitting amongst 10 acres of fabulous gardens and grounds in its own section of the Test Valley.'
The main house offers more than 4,800sq ft of accommodation on three floors and includes a series of light-filled, well-proportioned reception rooms, seven bedrooms and four bathrooms.
The triple-aspect drawing room is a particularly charming space, with painted panelling, a Tudor fireplace and a bay window. The dining room connects directly to the formal gardens.
A long corridor lined with bookcases leads through to the 1960s wing and the garden room, which floods with natural light.
The spacious principal bedroom suite enjoys far-reaching views across the gardens and down towards the Test.
Britwell Priors is for sale through Blue Book at £3 million — see more details.
