Across the Solent on the Isle of Wight, the village and civil parish of Whippingham and its Grade I-listed St Mildred’s Church are best known for their connections with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. He reputedly helped to redesign the church, which was built, according to its Historic England listing, between 1854 and 1862 by Albert Jenkins Humbert, the architect of Sandringham House in Norfolk.
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert bought Osborne House and Barton Manor in 1845, and Whippingham village became the centre of the royal estate. The Queen took a close interest in ‘her people’ in Whippingham and the farms, school, almshouses and cottages were rebuilt when they became a part of the Osborne estate. St Mildred's has long been at the heart of the community, and now the third-finest home in the area — behind Osborne and Barton Manor, of course — is for sale: Padmore House and its mini-estate of 15 acres, which was once the home of Queen Victoria's chaplain.
The property is for sale at £3.5 million via Strutt & Parker and local agents Spence Willard, who will also split it into three lots. Lot 1 consists of the Grade II-listed Padmore House itself, located less than a mile from Osborne House and home to the Queen’s island chaplain for a period from 1841, which is on the open market at a guide price of £2.5m.
Acquired by the present owners in 2011, elegant Padmore House has undergone extensive renovation and refurbishment to create a spacious family home that is finished to an impeccable standard and also enjoys lovely countryside and river views, together with established gardens and grounds of about 15 acres.
In all, the house provides 5,660sq ft of supremely comfortable family accommodation on three floors, including a reception hall, three main reception rooms, a kitchen/breakfast room and utilities on the ground floor.
Stepping inside it's a joy to discover that this is not the sort of dusty old building you'd imagine of a Victorian vicarage. Instead, it's a joyous home, full of charm, colour and life, and decorated with period touches which bring the building's history to life. We'd love to think the new owners will keep it in the same style.
Lot 2, The Long House, is for sale at £975,000, and is a stylish six-bedroom conversion of a building constructed by Samuel Saunders in the 1920s to house early motor cars with chauffeur’s accommodation.
Lot 3, on offer at £50,000, is not a house, but rather a holding: The Vegetable Garden extends to almost half an acre and includes a wide range of vegetable and fruit trees, plus a greenhouse and stores.
Spread across the two upper floors you'll find a study, principal bedroom suite, six further bedrooms and three further bath/shower rooms.
Padmore House is for sale via Strutt & Parker — see more details.
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