After almost a century and a half in the same family, the magnificently charming, Grade II-listed Peasemore House in Berkshire is looking for new owners.
Located in the village of Peasemore, seven miles north of Newbury, the house has been owned by the Brown family since the 1880s, and stands in 12 acres of ornamental and walled gardens, lawns and paddocks. This wonderful spot, overlooking the Downs on three sides, is for sale through Edward Sugden of Savills at a guide price of £7.5m.
Peasemore House was the much-loved family home of Richard Waldron Brown, who famously lived life at racing pace until his death in June last year. His daughter, Katharine Taylor, recalls a madcap motor-racing career that spanned hill climbing, circuit-racing and rallying in everything from an ex-Formula 1 car to the Papillon Bleu, a 1901 Panhard.
Her father won the London to Beijing leg of the 2000 round-the-world race in a 1936 Bentley (‘thanks to my mother’s excellent navigation skills’) and held the record for nine years at Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb in Worcestershire, the oldest motorsport venue in the world. He once embedded a Range Rover in the porch when racing his son to the front door in the snow. (It's been repaired, thankfully.)
Ms Taylor recalls late-night parties and legendary post-party hangovers at Peasemore House, which was modernised over the years, but retains many of its original features. It was one of the first houses in Berkshire to get central heating, and mains water arrived in the 1950s — up to which point all the water came from wells.
The magnificent 17th-century thatched barn was a working grain barn and the back garden a traditional kitchen garden, which fed a large household. Outbuildings were adapted for a variety of uses, from the storage of vintage cars to a carpenter’s shop, a saddlery and the workshop of the oak-frame manufacturers of Shakespeare’s Globe.
Originally known as Priors Side, the house was probably first built as a great hall for nearby Poughley Priory, which was dissolved by Cardinal Wolsey in 1525 and the funds used to build Christ Church, Oxford. Following Wolsey’s downfall, Priors Side reverted to the Crown and was later sold to commoners and renamed Peasemore House.
Although listed in Pevsner as ‘a mid-19th-century farmhouse’, a 2007 historic building survey found that the fabric of the house originated in the 15th century, with additions in the 16th or 17th century, and further additions in the 18th and 19th centuries. Tree-ring dating of the crown post roof undertaken in 2009 gave a felling date range of 1294–1308.
All of this contributes to the essence of Peasemore House — that of a warm and welcoming, well-loved family home that offers 9,192sq ft of characterful accommodation on two main floors, including a reception hall, drawing room, dining room, kitchen/breakfast room, family room and various domestic offices on the ground floor.
Upstairs you'll find principal- and guest-bedroom suites, five further bedrooms and family bath and shower rooms on the first floor; and a memorable party room/gym and wine store on the lower ground floor.
The grounds, meanwhile, extend to 12 acres, with croquet lawn, tennis court, pool, and walled kitchen garden, as well as stables and paddocks.
Peasemore House is for sale via Savills at £7.5 million — see more details.
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