How you can be a Lord or Lady for £ 15million : Grade I – listed 16th century …

Posted on by Listify Me

  • Fawsley Hall in Northamptonshire was once home to Knightly family
  • Has now been converted to luxury hotel with spa and private cinema

By
Hugo Gye


PUBLISHED:

13:23 GMT, 8 May 2013


|

UPDATED:

16:25 GMT, 8 May 2013

It may be impossible to buy an aristocratic pedigree, but you can certainly purchase a home that’s fit for a Lord or Lady – as long as you have £15million to spare.

Fawsley Hall, a 16th-century manor house in Northamptonshire which has housed grandees since Tudor times and once played host to Elizabeth I, has just gone on the market.

The luxury Grade I-listed home, which is set in 2,000 acres of grounds partly designed by Capability Brown, is currently used as a hotel and spa which specialises in weddings and fine dining.

Grand: Fawsley Hall in Northamptonshire offers the aristocratic lifestyle at a £15million asking price

Grand: Fawsley Hall in Northamptonshire offers the aristocratic lifestyle at a £15million asking price

Antique: The building dates back to the Tudor period and once hosted Elizabeth I

Antique: The building dates back to the Tudor period and once hosted Elizabeth I

Spectacular: Fawsley is now used as a luxury hotel and wedding venue and is looking for a new owner

Spectacular: Fawsley is now used as a luxury hotel and wedding venue and is looking for a new owner

Visitors are attracted by the building’s extraordinary grandeur – and the chance to sleep in a bed once used by the Tudor queen, for £495 a night.

The hotel, which is near Grand Prix venue Silverstone, also boasts modern amenities such as a spa, private cinema and conference centre.

The manor at Fawsley dates back as far as the 7th century, when it served as the headquarters for the surrounding area.

The estate was mentioned in Domesday Book after the Norman Conquest, but the area received a blow in the 1340s when it was afflicted with the Black Death.

Venerable: The history of the home dates back to the 7th century and it is mentioned in Domesday Book

Venerable: The history of the home dates back to the 7th century and it is mentioned in Domesday Book

Cosy: The property is now kitted out with modern amenities such as a private cinema and spa

Cosy: The property is now kitted out with modern amenities such as a private cinema and spa

Aristocratic: But the family that owned Fawsley fell on hard times and had to sell off the house

Aristocratic: But the family that owned Fawsley fell on hard times and had to sell off the house

In the 15th century, a member of the Knightly family built the first structure to stand on the footprint of the current Fawsley Hall.

Sir Edmund Knightly entertained Elizabeth I at the home after helping her father Henry VIII with the dissolution of the monasteries.

However, the family’s fortune collapsed in the early 20th century, leading to the contents of the house being auctioned off as distant relatives sold the property to be turned into a hotel.

The property is currently owned by entrepreneur Simon Lowe and Indian conglomerate the Poonawalla Group, which also owns Grayshott Hall in Surrey.

Suite: The rooms in the current hotel are available to guests for up to £500 a night

Suite: The rooms in the current hotel are available to guests for up to £500 a night

Estate: The grounds, partly designed by Capability Brown, extend over 2,000 acres of countryside

Estate: The grounds, partly designed by Capability Brown, extend over 2,000 acres of countryside

It was put on the market yesterday by Christie + Co, which expects it to sell for more £15million.

Jeremy Jones, director of corporate hotels, said: ‘Sitting just north of the Cotswolds, the sheer quality and luxury of Fawsley Hall’s facilities and surroundings, combined with its ease of access to and from London, Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds, means that the hotel has strong year-round corporate, wedding and leisure trade.

‘And with its mix of unique historical features with stylish and contemporary facilities, it fully merits its reputation as one of the finest country house hotels in the UK.’

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Think of the work and upkeep, ladies and gentlemen!

Katymay
,

London,
08/5/2013 16:44

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Wow! Looks like a fantastic building!

I’ll give you 50p for it!

Dave
,

Nuneaton, United Kingdom,
08/5/2013 16:28

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This place is absolutely amazing, best bed I have ever slept in. I would defiantly put in an offer if I had that sort of cash, then I would let it out free of charge to those deserving.

viavirgin1
,

Kent, United Kingdom,
08/5/2013 15:57

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Poonawalla? Stifled titters all around….

williewaggler
,

London, United Kingdom,
08/5/2013 15:08

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Spooky. I can hear the Twilight Zone theme ringing in my ears.

barbara
,

london UK, United Kingdom,
08/5/2013 15:07

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