Artists Have Long Flocked to This $4 Million 18th-Century Manor House in the U.K.
- Leacon Hall, an 18th-century Queen Anne estate in Kent, is listed for £2.95 million and boasts a rich history of smuggling, literary salons, and defiance against the British Army.
If walls could talk, Leacon Hall would have stories. Smuggling. Literary salons. A woman who told the British Army to shove off. And now, this remarkably well-preserved 18th-century Queen Anne estate in Kent, listed for £2.95 million (or about $4 million ), seeks a new châtelain to build upon its creative legacy.
Built in 1708 by the so-called "gentleman farmer" Thomas Kenneth Hodges (who may or may not have funded it with bootlegged French brandy), the stately red brick house is Grade II* listed and was once described by the late, heavyweight architectural historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner as "an almost perfect Queen Anne house." And it's not hard to see why.
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Perched on a hill overlooking Romney Marsh, Leacon Hall is all symmetry and sash windows—plus a trailing wisteria that looks like it belongs on a film set. Inside, the period details are the real deal: soaring ceilings, original wood floors, heavy paneled doors, fireplaces galore, and an arched reception hall with an elaborate coat of arms fresco adorned with lions, unicorns, and cherubs and commemorating the 1707 Act of Union.
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Authentic period details includes the original wood floors, paneled doors, and numerous fireplaces.
The house is steeped in serious artistic pedigree, too. In the early 1900s, it was snapped up by Sir John Millais, the grandson of John Everett Millais , the Pre-Raphaelite painter behind Ophelia that now hangs in the Tate in London. According to family lore, Heart of Darkness author Joseph Conrad was a guest. And during WWII, when other country estates were stripped bare for firewood, Lady Millais held her ground—literally—and refused to let the army requisition the house, saving its interiors from destruction.
Today, Leacon Hall has been lovingly modernized without losing its soul. The main house offers grand but welcoming spaces, from the drawing and dining rooms to the kitchen with a massive AGA range and sun-soaked terrace. Upstairs, there are eight bedrooms across two floors, including a dreamy teal-paneled sitting room and a duck egg–blue primary suite.
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A cream-colored chef's kitchen features an AGA range and island.
Outside, you get over 12 acres of landscaped gardens and grounds—designed in part by landscape legend Marian Boswall—including a walled kitchen garden, formal lawns, an orchard, a pagoda-topped hill, and a heated pool with a pool house.
Also on the property are two separate dwellings. The Oast, with its roundel sitting room and three bedrooms, and the Lodge, a converted farm building with underfloor heating and tons of charm. Both are currently run as successful vacation rentals.
"Leacon Hall is the kind of house that rarely makes it to market," says Theo-James Wright, director at Blue Book Agency. "There's a quiet majesty to it. The proportions, the paneling, the craftsmanship—all of it speaks to another time, and yet it doesn't feel like a museum piece. It's elegant but welcoming, formal but not intimidating."
Booze smugglers, acclaimed artists, and one very determined lady couldn't be wrong.
Click here to see more photos of the U.K. country house.
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