A grand country house saved from rot, rising damp and ruin, on the market after a 34-year labour of love
The grand, Grade II-listed Pennington House was in a sorry state by the 1990s. What has happened since then is remarkable.
Toby Keel
Pennington House's story started well. Originally built in an elaborate Classical style in 1735, it was extended in 1840 and again in the early 20th century, when Lord Lurgan’s parents added a service wing, having bought the house in 1916.
For much of the remainder of the 20th century, things took a turn for the worse. By the early 1990s it was in a dire state, riddled with dry rot and rising damp, and in need of a new roof, new electrics, new plumbing and decoration.
Pennington House has been transformed in recent years.
The grounds didn't fare too badly — so long as you took care not to look to closely at the walled garden, where what was once a pretty vegetable plot had been overrun with nettles and brambles.
Thankfully, salvation was at hand: new owners came along and lavished care, attention and no doubt plenty of money on the place over the course of the next three decades. It's now their moment to pass on the reins, and Ed Cunningham of Knight Frank and Ed Sugden of Savills are joint agents in the sale at £8.25 million. That buys the handsome, Grade II-listed Pennington House itself, and the 42 acres of gardens around it.
The present owners' 34-year tenure has returned this Grade II-listed Georgian mansion to glory. As it stands today, Pennington offers impressive accommodation on three floors including, on the ground floor, an entrance hall, large sitting room/reception hall, drawing room, dining room, library and study.
There's also a kitchen/breakfast room, pantry, wine cellar and self-contained office.
Upstairs are seven double bedrooms, three of which enjoy far-reaching southerly views towards the Solent and the Isle of Wight, and five bath/shower rooms. For those who need more space, or who are looking for multi-generational living, there are two further properties on the estate, Rose Cottage and Meadow Cottage, for sale at £1.25 million and £1.5 million respectively.
It's not just a wonderful home, but a wonderful home in a beautiful part of the world. Pennington sits on Hampshire coast at the southern end of the New Forest National Park, with views across the Solent to the Isle of Wight.
This is a place with a wonderful parkland setting, with two large lakes, an area of woodland, a walled vegetable garden, and pleasure gardens that have been open to the public under the National Garden Scheme.
Close by is the yachting mecca of Lymington, which offers year-round competitive sailing from its two marinas, the Lymington Yacht Haven and the prestigious Royal Lymington Yacht Club.
Pennington House is for sale through Knight Frank and Savills at £8.25 million.
