Few country houses manage to mix imposing presence with charming grace as effortlessly as the Grade II-listed Bledisloe House, a wonderful Cotswolds property three miles from Cirencester. It’s set in more than 38 acres of landscaped gardens, parkland and woodland in a quiet rural setting on the outskirts of Coates – the ancient ‘village of sheep pens’ – and is priced at £9.25million through Savills.
It was last sold in December 2011 with 36 acres of land for a reputed £7m, the house has seen its infrastructure – including the entire roof – largely replaced or repaired, in readiness for ‘the next stage of its evolution’, say Savills.
With the heavy lifting done, a new owner can, they say, seize ‘a wonderful opportunity to remodel or re-create the exceptional and elegant accommodation.’
The original Georgian country house was built in about 1798, when it was known as Coates Manor, and though there have been additions and changes that Georgian feel is still strong.
There are some splendid rooms, particularly the reception hall, four main reception rooms, a library, snooker room.
There is also a study, kitchen/breakfast room, wine cellars, 12 bedrooms and 10 bathrooms – more than 20,000sq ft in all, including extensive staff quarters. There is additional accommodation is available in a separate three-bedroom cottage and a two-bedroom coach-house flat.
According to its Historic England listing, the house was significantly extended in 1919–25 using materials from Hams Hall, a grand 1760s house near Coleshill, Warwickshire, during which time it was worked on by Cotswold master-craftsman Ernest Barnsley.
Renamed Bledisloe Lodge when it was bought by the Royal Agricultural College (RAC) in 1950 and, finally, Bledisloe House, the impressive country property, which also incorporates land and buildings of the RAC’s former Rural Skills Centre more recently acquired by the present owners.
Bledisloe House is priced at £9.25million through Savills – see more pictures and details.
A Cotswolds home with a beautiful balance of old and new, village life and seclusion
Collin House lies a few miles away from Chipping Campden on the edge of the idyllic village of Broadway.
Credit: Jackson-Stops & Staff
A delightful 18th century home set in 36 acres of glorious Cotswolds countryside
Lower Moor Manor drips with character, thanks to exposed beams and flagstone floors – but the house itself is just
Credit: Humberts
A magnificent lakeside home near Princess Anne's Cotswolds estate
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Credit: Knight frank
22 idyllic homes from the Cotswolds to Cornwall, as seen in Country Life
Our round-up of some of the finest homes to appear in Country Life over the past week or so includes
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'The whole house shook. Everything was white. For four months, it felt as if we were on Mars': The story behind one of Hampshire's most breathtaking gardensWhen Kim Wilkie sculpted a tiered grass amphitheatre behind this 17th-century house, the garden finally settled into place, as Non Morris discovers.
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'I have lost a treasure, such a sister, such a friend as never can have been surpassed': Inside Jane Austen's Winchester home, the house where she penned her final words and drew her final breathJane Austen spent the last days of her life in rented lodgings in Winchester, Hampshire. Adam Rattray describes the remarkable recent discoveries made about the house in which she died.
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An utterly charming island home in Scotland with gardens so beautiful they made the cover of Country LifeAn Cala on the Isle of Seil has a fascinating history that is only enhanced by its amazing setting.
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Soft tones and a sense of place: A Mayfair duplex that breaks the modern mouldA new designer-led residence at 60 Curzon in Mayfair reminds us that everything new doesn't necessarily have to look it.
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'The very best North Yorkshire has to offer': The £25 million Kirkham EstateWith 1,103 acres and on the market for the first time in a century, we've got a new frontrunner for the sale of the year.
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The reality of 20 years of house price rises in Britain, from the places that have had a charmed life to the spots where it's a struggle to move back homeAt first glance the ups and downs of the property market seem to even out over time — but dig in to the numbers and you'll see wild regional variations which paint a very difference picture. Annabel Dixon analyses new research which tells the story.
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A historic Yorkshire hall, meticulously restored to its former 18th-century magnificenceWomersley Park is a masterpiece and one of Yorkshire's great historic houses. And it could be yours.
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Rowing past dreams: An idyllic riverside home with a boathouse, croquet pitch and Olympic pedigreeThe Manor in Long Wittenham is a perfect Thames-side getaway. Comes with a free boat.
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A bucolic Sussex home that's 'like stepping into a fairytale', yet just 30 minutes from central LondonFelmere House is a playground for nature and only 30 minutes from London.
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Magnificent mansions across the Home Counties, from £3 million to £14 million, as seen in Country LifeA waterside dream home and a house and estate with over 1,100 years of history make our round-up this week.
