Country houses for sale

OnTheMarket

In the heart of Penzance, an artist's paradise comes up for sale that's quite unlike anything we've seen before

Rosemary Cottage is the home of master plaster caster Peter Hone. It blends the boundary between accommodation and expression.

James Fisher's avatar
By
published
in Features
K9B6Txe3QDbp57xDFbzRoB.jpg
(Image credit: Lillicrap Chilcott)

Not everything is about the price, or the space. Sometimes it’s about the story. Born in 1941 and orphaned as a baby, Peter Hone grew up to become, among other things, a pastry cook, a museum attendant, a garden-ornament salesman and, eventually, a master plaster caster (try saying that after a few beers).

His works turned his one-bedroom flat in London’s Notting Hill into an extraordinary museum. He held two auctions — one in 2016 and another in 2023 — raising more than £1 million. Those proceeds were used to buy somewhere special to him: Rosemary Cottage in Penzance. 

Some of Mr Hone's works.
(Image credit: Lilicrap Chilcot)

Rosemary Cottage is now for sale with Lillicrap Chilcott for £315,000 and it is perhaps one of the more unusual and intriguing houses we’ve featured on this site. He had long been a fan of Rosemary Cottage and Penzance, holidaying at the home each September for several years. In the seven years he’s owned it, he’s made it quite special.

The kitchen. With plenty of plaster casts.
(Image credit: Lillicrap Chilcott)

The exteriors and indeed the interiors of this two-bedroom retreat on New Street are, and I think this is one of the rare times I can get away with using the word, unique. 

The sitting room.
(Image credit: Lillicrap Chilcott)

The property itself is tucked away in a walled courtyard garden in Abbey Place, behind the Abbey Hotel and mere moments away from the harbourside and the town centre. It’s a gloriously artistic little bolthole in one of Cornwall’s best towns.

A view of the courtyard entrance.
(Image credit: Lillicrap Chilcott)

When does a house itself become art? It’s hard to say for sure, but this Hone Stone covered cottage must be as close as we’ve seen for some time. 

Rosemary Cottage is for sale with Lillicrap Chilcott for £315,000. For more information and pictures, click here

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

'Somewhere else' = Eilean Loch Oscair
(Image credit: Knight Frank)

This Scottish island costs the same as a garage in suburban London, and it's everything that's crazy about the property market

One of the easier games of 'Would you rather' we've ever played.

James Fisher
James Fisher
Digital Commissioning Editor

James Fisher is the Digital Commissioning Editor of Country Life. He writes about motoring, travel and things that upset him. He lives in London. He wants to publish good stories, so you should email him.