By
Sadie Whitelocks
Last updated at 1:14 PM on 9th September 2011
With a secreted trap door and pokey cupboard under the stairs this is the house that inspired author JK Rowling’s world of Harry Potter.
And eager to get a piece of the magic one mystery fan has snapped up the Grade II listed cottage in Tutshill, Gloucestershire which was on the market for £399,950.
Home to the 46-year-old millionairess from the age of nine to eighteen, the name of the buyer and final sale price has not been revealed, but it has been confirmed that they are an avid fan of her fantasy fiction.
Potter inspiration: JK Rowling’s childhood home in Tutshill, Gloucestershire originally on the market for almost £400,000 has been snapped up by a mystery buyer
Other unique features of the
three-bedroom property include graffiti on a bedroom window left
by Rowling when she was 17 reading ‘Joanne Rowling slept here circa 1982’.
Put up for sale in July, Church Cottage has attracted widespread interest with its celebrity connection.
Chepstow based estate agent Janet Propert said: ‘People buy houses for a number
of reasons: budget, location and lifestyle to name but a few.
Graffiti: The bedroom windowsill with a message written by JK Rowling
‘The past ownership by a famous person can not only assist in a sale but
may potentially enable the property to be sold at a premium.’
Previous owner Julian Mercer, a BBC
producer, bought the family home near Chepstow, Gwent, from
the Rowlings in 1995 just a couple of years before the first Harry Potter book, the
Philosopher’s Stone was released.
Mr
Mercer said: ‘It is a truly lovely cottage. It is quite small but has
wonderful architecture and a gorgeous garden surrounding it.
‘JK Rowling would have been here in her formative years and could have taken inspiration from the cottage.
‘It has a cupboard under the stairs
and the architecture is very Hogwarts-like. It has vaulted ceilings,
stone windows and oozes gothic spirit.
‘The
trapdoor is in the dining room and leads to a small cellar. It is quite
scary, just like in the books.’ Rowling is believed to have lived in the roadside home between 1974 and 1983 with mother Anne, father Peter and sister Diane.
The detached stone cottage is thought to have provided much of the inspiration behind the multi-million selling Harry Potter series.
Parallels include a dusty, dingy cupboard under the stairs – where Harry is forced to live by his evil auntie Petunia and uncle Vernon Dursley in the books.
There is also a trapdoor leading to an eerie cellar – like that where Harry searches for the Philosopher’s Stone in the first novel.
The gothic architecture seen on the house is ‘straight out of Hogwarts’ and has a pretty cottage garden, including a herb patch like that seen in Professor Sprout’s Herbology lessons.
Memories: Rowling lived in the Grade-II listed Church Cottage from age nine to 18
Rowling moved out to study French and Classics at Exeter University before studying in Paris and moving to London to work for Amnesty International.
Her parents continued living in the cottage until mother Anne died after a ten-year battle with multiple sclerosis and her father then began renting it out.
Estate agent Janet Proper added: ‘Being able to live in a home that has historical interest can appeal to many potential buyers.
‘The property also lends itself to the interest emanating from its famous resident because it looks as if it came out of one of the author’s books.’
Inside: The house is complete with trap door, cupboard under the stairs – and even a secret scrawl penned by the author as a teenager
Rowling’s room: The author’s childhood bedroom with pink carpet
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