It’s Monday, the start of a new work week, and the weather at the weekend was bad. With that in mind, we are not going to get too clever with our property stuff today. We are going to, in the words of LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy, ‘shut up and play the hits’.
And what a hit it is. Mount Offham in West Malling, Kent. Almost 10,000sq ft of opulent splendour in 31.6 acres of the Garden of England. Yours for offers in excess of £5 million with Savills.
Originally constructed between 1840–70 by the Rhodes family, cousins of Queen Elizabeth II, the property wawa owned in the 1950s by Baron Plunkett, who was apparently something known as the ‘Master of the Queen’s Bedchamber’. More interestingly, he was also chairman of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings and it is he who added many of the aesthetic features at Mount Offham, such as glazing bars, cornices and marble fireplaces.
Since then, the property has been in the care of its current owners since 1993, and has been lovingly maintained since then. Mount Offham is now a ‘charming and compact’ estate, with seven bedrooms in a primary residence, as well as a range of versatile commercial and leisure elements.
Arranged over four floors, the property is ideal for both family living and formal entertaining. There are all the usual hits of a grand house of this kind, namely high ceilings, exposed flooring, sash windows, dado rails, original shutters, fireplaces and bay windows.
We could go through it room-by-room, but best to just sit back and enjoy the pictures.
Outside, the excitement continues. Approached via a long, tree-lined driveway, the property and its park-like grounds are predominantly laid to lawn, with plenty of specimen trees and a lake beyond.
There is also an outdoor heated swimming pool, and an outdoor kitchen with Wolf appliances. A tennis court? Why yes of course.
For those interested in equestrian entertainment, a U-shaped stable block is on sight with 10 stalls, a barn, hay store and tack room, manege, lunging area and grazing paddocks.
But wait, there’s more. The property also features a grass air strip, authorised by the UK Border Force for international flights, and a helicopter hangar and apron. Further outbuildings, mostly for administrative use, make up the rest of the 31.6 acres.
Mount Offham is for sale with Savills for £5 million. For more information and pictures, click here
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