Cheaper than a London flat! Grade II listed stately home worth up to £2million …

Posted on by Listify Me

  • Birthplace of former prime minister Sir Anthony Eden
  • The 25-acre grounds contain stables and staff quarters
  • Boasts 19th-century clocktower, billiard room, library and original fireplaces

By
Emma Reynolds


PUBLISHED:

10:04 GMT, 1 October 2012


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UPDATED:

10:44 GMT, 1 October 2012

Set in 25 acres of lush parkland and boasting a clocktower, stables and servants’ quarters, this stately home was birthplace of former prime minister Sir Anthony Eden in 1897.

So it was no surprise when the 19th-century Windlestone Hall was valued at almost £2million when Durham County council put it on the market six years ago.

Now, however, with the magnificent country pile falling into disrespair, it has been sold off at a bargain £241,000.

Piece of history: Windlestone Hall is thought to have originally been on the market at nearly £2million

The 19th-century clocktower would have been in place when former Prime Minister Anthony Eden was born here

Elegant decor: One of several ornate ceilings within the beautiful building

Generations of happy families: Hall as viewed from the former pleasure gardens with the clocktower in the background

Affluent past: Staff quarters and a stable are situated in the extensive grounds

The rock-bottom selling price of the Grade II listed building is particularly bizarre in view of its grand history and beautiful features.

The U-shaped home, near Rushyford, County Durham, has a billiard room, a library with a dummy
bookcase leading to its gallery, stables, separate staff quarters and
many original marble fireplaces.

Elegant Doric columns and triglyph friezes adorn the house alongside Tudor and Jacobean finishings and classical mouldings shaped like swirling leaves, baskets of flowers and thick trails of plants.

Although in need of urgent repair work, its final selling price has prompted anger from one councillor, who claims owners Durham County Council could have made up to £2million on the sale.

Gorgeous setting: Windlestone lies within 25 acres of lush parkland

Grand interior: The hall boasts a library with dummy bookshelf, many original staircases and fireplaces – but needs major repairs

Upstairs downstairs: The northern elevation of the former staff accommodation

Glorious countryside: An earlier prospective buyer wanted to build luxury flats on the site – but the new owners intend to restore the home to its former splendour

County Councillor John Shuttleworth said: ‘The council might say they have got good value for it, but I wonder.

‘My worry is that at a time when the authority needs all the money it can get this is another example of cash being frittered away.’

The council’s bill for securing the hall, £81,000 a year, is thought to be another reason for the sale.

Windlestone was first marketed by the authority in 2006, when it found a buyer who
intended converting it and demolishing unlisted parts for luxury flats –
but lengthy planning wrangles meant the deal was never concluded.

The new owners do not want their identity to be revealed.

They said: ‘It is a private home which is going to be renovated back to its original splendour.’


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Enduring designs: Map showing the listed buildings in and around the 19th-century home

Michael Gilbey, Durham County Council’s area estate manager, said: ‘The council began marketing the property in 2006 and an offer was accepted at that time, but was subject to planning consent.

‘The developer spent a number of years negotiating with English Heritage over the scheme, but in 2010 English Heritage refused the proposals.

‘We were looking at alternative options when we received an expression of interest, which culminated in the sale of the property.

‘We are obliged to obtain the best value for a property.

‘As the hall is a grade II* listed building, we were obliged by law to protect and maintain it while it was under our ownership.

‘In order to meet this requirement, we had to provide 24-hour security for the property while it was vacant, in order to protect it from vandals and metal thieves.’

As well as being used as a prisoner of war camp for female German prisoners during the Second World War, Windlestone was later adapted to serve as a school for youngsters with emotional and behavioural difficulties for nearly 50 years.

They added an unlisted extension to the building in the seventies.

The school relocated several years ago after the hall fell into disrepair, to a purpose-built site two miles away in Chilton, leaving Windlestone empty.

A spokeswoman for English Heritage said Windlestone Hall was of the ‘most historically significant buildings in the North-East’ and was one of the top eight per cent of listed buildings in the country.

She said: ‘The hall is on our Heritage at Risk register and we have worked with the council for a number of years to make sure the necessary urgent repairs are carried out.

‘We are pleased new owners have been found and look forward to working with them and the council.’

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