The Somerset house that once played host to The Great British Bake Off
You may recognise the lawns of Harptree Court - they featured in GBBO in 2012 and 2013.


There is something immensely reassuring about a house that’s been lived in by successive generations of the same family – even more so, a house that’s been home to three generations of the same family at the same time.
Such a house is Georgian, Grade II-listed Harptree Court at East Harptree, a popular village in Somerset’s beautiful Mendip Hills AONB, nine miles from Wells, 13 miles from Bristol and 16 miles from the UNESCO World Heritage city of Bath. It's just on the market via Knight Frank with an asking price of £5,000,000.
The imposing, classically symmetrical stone house was built in about 1797 for Joshua Scrope to the designs of Charles Harcourt Masters of Bath, who also laid out the grounds.
In 1803, Scrope sold the house to the Waldegrave family, who extended it with the addition of a discreet service wing in about 1820 and sold it in 1858 to a Miss Gurney.
In 1879, Harptree Court was bought by William Wildman Kettlewell, whose son, William Robert Wildman Kettlewell, served as a Commander in the Royal Navy during the First World War.
In 1920, Cdr Wildman Kettlewell sold Harptree Court to Charles Hill, the grandfather of the present owner, also Charles, who, with his wife, Linda, raised their children at the house, so that, at one point, three generations were living there.
With four main reception rooms, four main bedroom suites, four further bedrooms and various family rooms to play with, individual space was never likely to be an issue.
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
But with their children now grown up, Mr and Mrs Hill have decided to hand over the reins of their much-loved family home, which they have run as a successful, super-luxury B&B in recent years. One of the spaces they have let out is a luxury treehouse within the grounds, something which has apparently been let out almost solidly year-round for some time.
The main house itself is a wonderfully unaltered Georgian country house, set in the middle of its 52-acre, ring-fenced estate, with far-reaching views over its parkland towards Somerset’s famously picturesque Chew Valley.
The house stands in magnificent mature gardens and grounds, established by many generations of careful owners. The lower drive sweeps through woodland past a series of spring-fed lakes and over an ornamental bridge, with tantalising glimpses of the house visible throughout.
The upper drive, flanked by fields and lined with lime and chestnut trees, has views over Chew Valley Lake.
Both driveways arrive at the south lawn to the front of the house, which stands against a backdrop of spectacular specimen trees, paved gardens and a lily pond and, to the east of the house, the original walled garden – almost two acres in size – is bordered by deep beds with an array of perennial and seasonal flowers and shrubs.
The timeless beauty of Harptree Court is there for all to see, but there is also much for an enterprising new owner to get his or her teeth into, given the huge development potential offered by the various farm buildings and the Victorian stable yard, all of which are currently ‘in need of some refurbishment’, the agents say.
One of Norfolk’s famous ‘gingerbread houses’ comes up for sale
The Old Vicarage at Sedgeford is constructed of shale Carrstone using a labour-intensive technique.
The handsome country house once owned by the Quality Street heir
The 2nd Viscount Mackintosh of Halifax bought The Old Hall at Barford in the 1950s.
Credit: Chateau Le Paluel - photo by Michel Chanaud
A chance to become a part-owner of a castle in the Dordogne for £46
This crumbling ruin was in fine fettle until it was destroyed during the Second World War - but now a
-
Nôtre-Dame: An over-crowded Parisian triumph
Athena visits the re-built French wonder, and is more than impressed by the restoration work that has been completed so far.
By Athena Published
-
Sophia Money-Coutts: My family WhatsApp is already banging on about Christmas arrangements. Can I leave the group?
Where are we spending Christmas? Who gets the best bedroom, and whose turn is it to cook?
By Sophia Money-Coutts Published
-
Five homes with their own orchards that will be the apple of your eye (almost literally)
If you've been looking enviously this year at neighbours with apple trees that have been heaving with fruit, here is the solution: five lovely homes for sale that come with their own orchards.
By Arabella Youens Published
-
A beautiful Victorian vicarage that was home to one of the Cadbury family heiresses is on the market
Penny Churchill tells the tale of Monks Bridge in Warwickshire.
By Penny Churchill Published
-
An outrageously opulent mansion in London's answer to Beverly Hills, with a gym that 'wouldn't look out of place in a 7* hotel'
'One of the finest houses in St George's Hill' is on the market. Annabel Dixon takes a look at what's on offer.
By Annabel Dixon Published
-
Six homes with fantastic features, from pools and paddocks to waterside settings, as seen in Country Life
Our look at the best homes to come to the market via Country Life this week includes a Chipping Norton farm and a Cornish dream home
By Toby Keel Published
-
Queen Victoria's chaplain's house on the Isle of Wight is for sale, and it's a riot of colour, charm and joy
A stone's thrown from Queen Victoria's beloved Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, the house where her chaplain lived is now on the open market.
By Penny Churchill Published
-
An Art Deco masterpiece with five-bedrooms, a private pool, a cinema, a helipad and the ability to conquer oceans
Lady Christine is the very essence of opulence and could be yours for a cool €55.75 million.
By James Fisher Published
-
The elegant 19th century townhouse where JFK and Jackie Kennedy dreamed of the presidency, and made their wish came true
This beautiful five-bedroom house in Washington DC's Georgetown was once home to perhaps the most celebrated couple of the 20th century: John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jackie Kennedy.
By Toby Keel Published
-
This five-bedroom thatched cottage in the Chilterns looks quite like Claudia Winkleman
Much like everyone's favourite TV host, this property is beautifully presented.
By James Fisher Published