There are a lot of factors to take into account when buying a house. Size, location, condition, accessibility, potential — you'll be lucky to get all five just right unless you're working to a spectacularly big budget, and in a lot of cases you don't really know how it'll work out until the delivery van pulls away and real life begins.
There is an oft-overlooked factor which can help with making sure there are no nasty surprises, however: how long people have stayed in their house. My dad always said that when buying a used car, look for one whose previous owner hung on to it for a long time — because cars which break down a lot also get sold on a lot. And so it is with houses: people move on from places which don't quite work for them, and they stay put in homes which feel right.
The odd short-term tenant is nothing to worry about, of course — life throws all sorts of things at us, after all — but it's always heartening to see a property whose owners have consistently kept hold of the place. And that's what we have in the case of Lion House, in the Chiltern village of Kingston Blount — currently on the market for £1.5m — which has had just five owners in its 220 years of existence.
It's not always been a house. The place was originally built as a pub with a small holding attached, but it was converted into a coffee house in 1887. It stayed in that role for 30 years before becoming a pub again, but since 1947 it has been a home, one which was updated and modestly extended in 2010.
And what a home it is: five bedrooms, four reception rooms and three bathrooms with not far off 3,000 sq ft of space, all beautifully presented in a clean, fresh light manner.
The heart of the house is the huge, open-plan kitchen-dining room, stretching 36ft along one side of the ground floor, with French windows opening out onto a patio and the half-acre gardens beyond.
There are also separate sitting and dining rooms and another room currently used as an office-slash-music room, but which might just as easily be a generously-sized children's playroom.
The master bedroom is well worth a special mention, with its high, beamed ceiling and double-door windows opening onto a small balcony.
If the extra reception room makes the house sound child-friendly, the aforementioned outdoor, heated swimming pool is even more so. It's railed off to keep it safe for little ones, and has a chalet-style poolhouse overlooking the water. Estate agents Michael Graham have pulled the trick of photographing it all set up with sun loungers and wine glasses at the ready, but it's easy to forgive them: this is the sort of house that's a dreamy spot in summer.
The rest of the gardens are no less idyllic, pretty lawns ringed by trees and shrubs and with a fine sun terrace.
The house was completely refurbished in 2010 with new electrics and boiler, and several of the rooms have bold, modern decor with traditional touches, such as the sitting room with its anthracite walls and open fire.
As well as the house and pool house there is also a garage and a workshop, which the village itself has plenty to recommend it with its a nursery and community hall. The larger town of Chinnor — less than two miles away — has shops, pubs, and a GP's surgery, while the M40 is just a mile away.
Lion House is on the market with Michael Graham at £1,500,000 — see more details and pictures.
Credit: Strutt and Parker
Best country houses for sale this week
An irresistible West Country cottage and a magnificent Cumbrian country house make our pick of the finest country houses for
Credit: Savills
Six of the best country houses for sale right now, as seen in Country Life
Our round-up this week is an astonishing collection of gems, with magnificent houses in Kent and Cheshire plus a breathtakingly
-
Baby elephants, 60s classics and David Beckham's last meal on planet earth in the Country Life Quiz of the Day, October 24, 2025Test your general knowledge this fine Thursday.
-
In the footsteps of the Beckhams: Five beautiful homes in Manchester, Miami, Madrid, London and the CotswoldsIn honour of this week's guest editor of Country Life, we take a look at some of the finest homes for sale in places that Sir David Beckham and his family have called home in the last 25 years.
-
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.
-
Five superb country homes, from under £1 million to £20 million, as seen in Country LifeOur look at some the best homes to come up for sale via Country Life in the past week includes a Wiltshire dream home and a vast Kent mansion that's an easy commute to the City.
-
Rock stars and the country house: Liam Gallagher's life in the Cotswolds is in the finest tradition of music A-listers, from The Beatles to BeyoncéWhat is it about the British countryside that draws A-listers from every walk of life? With Liam Gallagher's Cotswold former home on the market, Toby Keel takes a look.
