Published at 13:29, Tuesday, 16 August 2011
MULTI-MILLIONAIRE house hunters with a cool £5.25 million to spare, could land themselves a taste of the Lake District life.
The awe-inspiring Town Head House, near Newby Bridge, is one of the most expensive houses in the Lakes and was last on the market 200 years ago.
But it’s now up for sale with a six-figure listing price.
The nine-bedroom Georgian manor is currently owned by fine-art dealer Charles Townley and his wife Roslyn.
The Grade II listed building is part of a 105-acre estate which boasts three cottages, two coach houses, barns, a boat house, a walled garden and its own woodland.
Unusually the estate is being sold as one with a £5.25m price-tag.
Selling agent, Andrew Holmes, for Carter Jonas in Kendal, said: “It is a stunning estate.
“If you want to buy something this size on the shores of Windermere though, this is the price you have to pay.
“There is a huge amount of history involved in a house like this.”
The multi-million-pound mansion on the shores of England’s biggest lake dates back to the 1400s but the main house’s distinctive Georgian wings were added in the early 1800s when William Townley bought it as a hunting lodge.
Once 16 servants were employed in the house alone to cope with a constant stream of visitors, from John Ruskin and Edward Lear, to Beatrix Potter and Arthur Ransome. In 1987 Charles Townley inherited the house from his parents after they retired to another family home.
And now Mr and Mrs Townley are looking towards their own retirement but have said they will miss their ‘much-loved’ family home.
Mr Holmes added: “A lot of people have enquired about it over the years, even before it was on the market. It was always going to be popular.
“We have sent out over 100 brochures and have viewings booked over the next few weeks.
“It will definitely sell.
“It’s a great sale for us at Carter Jonas and a privilege to handle something like this.
“We sell some really nice houses, but this is the cream on top.”
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk
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