Grade II-listed The Abbey at Aston Abbotts, in the heart of the Buckinghamshire countryside some five miles north of Aylesbury, is an imposing Georgian house with an interesting history.
First launched on the market at a guide price of £5.25m at the start of the financial crisis in 2009, the house, set in some 43 acres of gardens, parkland, paddocks and open farmland, is now in need of thorough renovation and is currently on offer through Knight Frank and Savills at a guide price of £4.25m.
It will take a new owner with broad shoulders and deep pockets to restore the once grand country house to its pristine splendour, but, given the estate’s outstanding location within easy reach of both Oxford and central London, it could be a gamble well worth taking.
There has been a property on this historic site since Domesday, although the present house, which has 15th- and 16th-century origins, dates from the early 1800s and was named after lands confiscated from the Abbots of St Albans by Henry VIII.
Illustrious past occupants include the Duke of Buckingham, the polar explorer Sir James Clark Ross and, during the Second World War, Czechoslovakia’s president-in-exile Dr Edvard Benes.
Even now, The Abbey boasts all the attributes of a classic small country estate, including wrought-iron entrance gates, a gate lodge, a long carriage drive and a manageable, 11,480sq ft, Georgian main house with later extensions, five reception rooms, a fine staircase hall, an open-plan kitchen/breakfast room, eight bedrooms, six bath/shower rooms and a three-bedroom staff wing.
Amenities include a lake, an enclosed courtyard with traditional stables and groom’s accommodation, a walled swimming pool area, a games room, a party barn, and a hard tennis court. What more could a busy commuter want?
100 years of the House of Windsor: The story of the British royal family's great rebranding
Clive Aslet reports on the evolution of the House of Windsor – through George V, Edward VIII and George VI
Credit: Kenwood - John Lennon's house in St George's Hill, Weybridge - Knight Frank
Inside the mansion where John Lennon lived at the height of Beatles fame
John Lennon and his then-wife Cynthia bought this beautiful house in St George's Hill as The Beatles were at the
A magnificent new mansion with interiors by Linley – and the best views in St George's Hill
This newly-built house in St George's Hill is the latest home demonstrating that the property market is alive and well
-
Poppy Okotcha, the model turned gardener who is one of David Beckham's countryside championsPoppy Okotcha, the 29-year-old ecological community grower, garden content creator, author — and also one of David Beckham's countryside champions — speaks to Julie Harding.
-
The mysterious case of Country Life's cursed photographs and other spooky stories from our archiveMelanie Bryan delves goes in search of the spookiest stories in the Country Life Archive.
-
20 breathtaking country homes for sale, as seen in Country LifeWe take a look at some of the finest houses to come to market via Country Life in the past week.
-
The elegant country home of a motor racing daredevil who drove round the world in a 1936 Bentley and crashed a Range Rover into his own front porchPeasemore House, with its collection of barns, workshops, stables and more, is an ideal home from which to plan an adventure — something that was a passion of its present owners. Penny Churchill explains more.
-
The wisteria clad cottage where Noël Coward and Ivor Novello held court at the height of their fameThe 17th-century Follejon Cottage just outside Windsor was a perfect escape from the city for Noël Coward and his circle of friends. As it goes on the market, Penny Churchill takes a look.
-
A Cotswolds property that's the strangest mix of old and new we've ever seen... and yet somehow, it all worksThe Gasworks is a house quite unlike anything you've seen before — or at least anything you've seen all in one place. Toby Keel takes a closer look.
-
A country house near Windsor that could be straight from the pages of a Jilly Cooper novelPenny Churchill looks at the beautiful polo-lover's sanctuary that is Barkham Square Park.
-
The factory that once fuelled the Victorians' insatiable appetite for pianos has become a set of gorgeous, characterful apartmentsChappell & Co were a huge name in 19th century music, even working with Beethoven. Today, one of their old factories in Camden has become a series of beautiful apartments.
-
What £1 million buys you across Britain, from a Cornish cottage to a miniature castle in the HighlandsSprawling country houses, a mini-estate in Scotland and homes where the sea almost laps up at your feet are among the property options open to those with a seven-figure budget. Here's our pick of the best £1 million houses for sale across the land.
-
The Hampshire home of a Victoria Cross-winning British WWI ace fighter pilot is for sale, with lake, chapel and some of the best fishing rights in EnglandPenny Churchill looks at Longparish House, a north Hampshire haven on the River Test.
