Would you pay a princely £2.9m for a two/three bedroom apartment? Well you might if it had a reception room fit for entertaining royalty, which happened to be the venue for King George III’s post-coronation celebrations in 1761.
The magnificent 42ft ballroom, with its 18ft high ceilings, grand marble fireplace and ornate chandelier is a Strictly enthusiast’s dream – with more than enough room to sashay to a Cha Cha Cha or glide through an American Smooth.
The ballroom is the focal point of a stunning 6,000 sq ft apartment at Albury Park Mansions, Albury, with stunning views – framed by beautifully restored panelled shutters – across the formal lawns and rolling parkland beyond.
The apartment also boasts a huge 36ft master bedroom with its own courtyard garden, a spa, gymnasium, original wine store, private patio/terrace and sleek contemporary kitchen.
The state apartment (also known as the King George III suite) is one of two jewels in Albury Park’s crown. A second suite, comprising four bedrooms, a private terrace and vaulted cathedral-style ceilings, is also for sale, along with 10 further principal apartments ranging between one and four bedrooms, following the major refurbishment of the Grade II* listed mansion house in Albury, Surrey.
Set in more than five acres of landscaped gardens within the Duke of Northumberland’s 150-acre parkland, the original manor house at Albury Park is mentioned in the Domesday Book and has been home to a number of distinguished earls and parliamentarians. Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel and Surrey, was responsible for the first alterations to the old medieval house, while his grandson, Henry, sixth Duke of Norfolk, also made extensive alterations, and had the gardens laid out to the design of John Evelyn, the 17th century diarist and landscape designer – complete with a wide ‘canal’ fed by the Tillingbourne river, terraces, fine trees, vineyards and a long tunnel through the hill rising behind the quarter-of-a-mile long terrace.
Many of the Howard alterations were destroyed by a major fire in 1697, and the house was rebuilt by the then owner, Heneage Finch (c.1649–1719), afterwards First Earl of Aylesford, Solicitor-General to Charles II.
In 1819 it was bought by English banker and politician Henry Drummond, appointed Sheriff of Surrey for 1826, who had the Catholic Apostolic church built at Albury Park in 1840. He was responsible for major alterations to the house and gardens. He commissioned one of the architects behind the Houses of Parliament, Augustus Pugin, who added the mansion’s 63 candlestick brick chimneys, each of a different design.
The major refurbishment of Albury Park has involved returning rooms to their original proportions and the building to its former glory. Roof terraces and parterres have been added, cellars have been excavated for the ‘state apartments’ to create gyms, spas, wine cellars and media rooms. Attics provide mezzanine studies and additional bedroom areas. Each property at Albury Park is unique; boasting period features, an excellent layout and bespoke fixtures and fittings. All the apartments either enjoy private rooftop terraces, private gardens or flexible and stylish mezzanine accommodation.
The painstaking restoration works have also included re-roofing, repointing the Pugin chimneys, and reinstatement of ceiling roses, architraves and other details with the help of an on-site plaster workshop.
For more information about the apartments for sale at Albury Park, please contact Knight Frank on 01483 565171 or visit knightfrank.co.uk.