Lucian Freud, the artist, may be more associated with Notting Hill, but for a few years in the 1950s he lived near the Dorset town of Shaftesbury. At the time, Freud was married to Lady Caroline Blackwood, a Guinness heiress. This quiet country existence in a 17th-century stone priory was what Blackwood’s biographer, Nancy Schoenberger, called “perhaps the most idyllic time in their married life”, for theirs was a tempestuous relationship. Freud left his mark on the house: a delicate oil mural of cyclamen flowers on a wall in the dining room, a dramatic change from his usual angular portraiture.
Today, Coombe Priory, which the Freuds sold before their divorce in 1958, is for sale via Savills for £3.75 million. The current owners, Charles Scheyd, a banker, and his wife, Lynn Pryor — who are moving to Argentina with their two children — found the mural by chance after exchanging contracts on the property three years ago. “It had been wallpapered over because the previous owner didn’t like that kind of art,” Pryor says. “It was wonderful — like discovering a Van Gogh in your attic.”
The mural was valued at about £1 million and is listed in Freud’s official catalogue after the current owners notified the artist several years ago. Like the rest of the house, it is arranged in rather an odd manner — overlooking the dining table from a random spot by the doorway. The neighbouring walls of the room remain bare. “We couldn’t find anything to go with it, so we just left it on its own,” Pryor says.
The Grade II-listed house is thought to have been built as a holiday cottage for the Arundell family, longtime proprietors of nearby Wardour Castle, but in the 1780s it was used by French Carthusian monks and the name was changed. It is unusual in layout and, at 4,887sq ft, is perhaps smaller than comparable properties. However, the effect is cosy, not cramped — and its irregular design, with reception rooms that seem to meander into one another almost accidentally, will seem quirky to some buyers, as will unusual features such as the working red postbox that is built into the garden wall overlooking the road.
At the centre of the house an airy sitting room with delicate wall panelling opens out on to a small garden. Here, one imagines, the Freuds entertained friends such as the photographer Sir Cecil Beaton, who pictured Freud standing in front of his mural. The adjacent drawing room has a working fireplace thought to contain a priesthole.
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A large kitchen (with five ovens) overlooks a courtyard that traps the morning sun. Upstairs, five bedrooms stretch across two floors, including a couple of attic rooms that are perfect for noisy teenagers. The nearby coach house, which is included in the price, contains a two-bedroom flat (with its own garden), a workshop and gym, but this could easily be adapted. An impressive addition made by the previous owner is the “solar” room, a large party room so called because solar rooms were used in medieval houses as a smaller version of the great hall, where the women of the household would enjoy time on their own, ie, solely. These days it is more likely to be used as a dancing area.
Coombe Priory’s greatest attraction, however, is its gardens — 70 acres of landscaped lawns, little orchards (with apples, pears and figs), grazing land and woodlands, laid out in beautifully bordered but uneven little sections that, like the house, feel cosy and private, despite the overall size.
Much of it was designed by the late Russell Page, the British garden designer, whose clients included the Earl of Wessex and Oscar de la Renta, the fashion designer. It is typical of Page’s style: somewhere that is as relaxed and fun to be in as it is to look at. The present owners have even managed to track down Page’s original pencil sketches.
A swimming pool and tennis courts lie hidden among the lawns, and the owners also keep ponies, although stable space is minimal.
Charles Stone, of Savills, says that the buyer may well be someone similar to the present owners. “Lots of people in this area work in London several days a week. It’s only two hours away by train [the nearest station is in Tisbury, eight miles away] but it feels a million miles away from the city.”
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The nearest town is Shaftesbury, two miles away. Gillingham, also near by, has a large Waitrose. “The house’s unusual history won’t exactly add value, but it is definitely a talking point, and it is likely to sell more quickly as a result,” Stone says.
There is no doubt that, for some potential buyers, Coombe Priory will feel like an irresistible slice of bohemian history. One only hopes that the house’s next owner prefers wall paintings to wallpaper.
Savills, 01722 426820, savills.com