This Stately Late 19th-Century English Manor House Can Now Be Yours for $4.7 Million
- Reginald Blomfield, the Edwardian architect known for restoring Chequers, also built Swiftsden House in 1892, a stately Grade II listed property now on the market for £3.5 million in Hurst Green village, southeast of London.
If you're familiar with Chequers, the British Prime Minister's country retreat since 1921, then the name Reginald Blomfield might also ring a bell when talking about the Edwardian architect's two-time restoration of the 16th-century Tudor manor house, first in the late 19th century and again in the early part of the 20th century. Though Chequers is unavailable to today's buyer, of course, another property fit for royalty roughly two hours away in Etchingham's Hurst Green village makes for a suitable alternative. After housing the same family since 1977, the charming abode about 60 miles southeast of London is now available for £3.5 million ($4.73 million) through Theo James-Wright of Blue Book Agency.
Dubbed Swiftsden House, the family home was built by Blomfield in 1892, more than 15 years before he returned to Chequers in 1909 to further restore its interiors. The stately dwelling is one of many projects completed during the architect's days in private practice from 1885 to 1914. His most celebrated works during that period—spanning civic monuments to city planning—include Heathfield Park in Sussex, the alteration of Apethorpe Palace in Northhamptonshire, as well as the redesign of Regent Street's northern Quadrant.
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Inside the sitting room with a wood-burning fireplace.
Swiftsden House, Grade II listed with eight bedrooms and gob-smacking hilltop vistas, sits atop nearly 30 acres with several outbuildings, such as a pool house and greenhouse, that complement the estate's other leisure and recreation amenities, which include a tennis court, swimming pool, and kitchen garden with fruit and vegetable plots.
Residents and guests pass through a double-gated entry and down a graveled driveway that forks in two, leading to either a courtyard with garages and parking or a forecourt with additional parking. Beyond the front doors, the foyer spills into a light-filled reception hall with an elegant staircase. A drawing room, formal dining room, and sitting room are found nearby, each with a wood-burning fireplace for year-round warmth.
Out by the swimming pool with sun-soaked landscape views.
Other highlights include an eat-in kitchen and an orangery with a hexagonal skylight and five sets of arched French doors opening onto a dining terrace for alfresco meals. There's also a small kitchen on the second floor for midnight snacking and an annex space above the garage. Picture a vaulted ceiling alongside dual aspect windows set beside a study with built-in shelving and a Juliet balcony.
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Stone terraces and meandering lawns provide ample space for entertaining or just lounging about. The grounds also offer a swimming pool and cabana, a tennis court, and, for exercising one's green thumb, a greenhouse next to a terraced kitchen garden.
"For buyers, houses like this are hard to come by," James-Wright says in a statement. "It offers not just strong architecture, but a real sense of place—and that's something special."
Click here for more photos of the U.K. country estate.
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