A Georgian mill house for sale on the banks of one of the most celebrated stretches of water in Britain
A house is for sale in a Hampshire village where you can dip your toes in the clear, beautiful waters of the River Test.
Toby Keel
The clear chalkstreams of Hampshire valley ‘a natural wonder and a national treasure’, wrote Charles Rangely-Wilson in Country Life in 2024. They ‘are the most biodiverse of any freshwater habitat’, he added, and create ‘the most perfect conditions for an abundance of natural life.’
Unsurprisingly, then, homes along the River Test and the River Itchen — where the waters ‘slide silently, occasionally gossip and chatter over a gravel bar, but never roar’ — are among the most in the south of England, particularly among those who adore fishing. And one of those homes is for sale today: the idyllic, Grade II-listed Longstock Mill in the charming medieval town of Stockbridge. Myddelton & Major are handling the sale at a guide price of £2.7 million.
Longstock Mill House is on the market for the first time in almost 80 years, and was the childhood home of the present vendor, who was a year old when, in the late 1940s, her parents bought the landmark mill complex. For the past 45 years, it has been a much-loved home shared with her husband and family.
Situated less than one-third of a mile north of Stockbridge’s lively high street, Longstock Mill House is built of brick under a traditional tiled roof and is currently arranged as a four-bedroom main house on three floors, with a large, one-bedroom annexe to the rear.
This layout provides independent living accommodation for two generations of the present family, but could easily be re-integrated within the main house by a subsequent owner.
The Mill House offers more than 3,400sq ft of light-filled accommodation, including, on the ground floor, two good reception rooms and a large kitchen/breakfast room, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms on the first floor and two further bedrooms on the floor above.
The signature bay window in the sitting room was designed by the architect Ernst Freud — youngest son of psychoanalyst Sigmund and father of painter Lucian — who left Germany to establish a successful north London practice in the early 1930s.
Ever dreamed of having a window designed by Sigmund Freud's son? If so, this is your lucky day.
Although no fishing rights are included in the sale, there is ample fishing to be had elsewhere along the Test, says Mr McKillop.
The house is set in 2½ acres of enchanting gardens and grounds, scattered with some fine specimen trees planted soon after her parents’ arrival, the complex enjoys captivating views across the Test to the water meadows beyond.
There’s been a mill on the site since Domesday, although the present Longstock Mill, listed Grade II in its own right, dates from the mid 18th century, with an 1893 extension added by its then owner, Mr J. H. Broadfield. Built in four storeys, reduced to two in the late 1940s, this was one of the first of the revolutionary new roller mills that today are the backbone of every large-scale milling operation worldwide.
The earlier 18th-century building is a corn mill and attic with mill streams at either end, driven by a breast-shot water wheel that was removed when the mill ceased operation in the 1930s.
Also included in the sale is The Cottage, previously two mill-workers’ cottages that were knocked together to create one two-bedroom dwelling after Longstock Mill House, the mill buildings and cottages were sold in 1948 by the exclusive Houghton Club, the world’s oldest fly-fishing club, founded in 1822.
Outbuildings include a pretty, Grade II-listed granary, garages and a small open-fronted barn in the nearby field.
Longstock Mill House is for sale via Myddleton & Major — see more details.
