YOU DO NOT need to be an aristocrat or a millionaire to have a back garden that stretches over acres of park and woodland.
I used to rent a flat in a Grade II* listed country house in West Sussex with 200 acres of gardens open to the public. When the visitors went home I’d take a bottle of wine on to the wide lawns and watch the moon come up over the Italian water garden. Since I lived at Borde Hill, near Haywards Heath, in the early 1990s, there has been an increasing trend for big, old houses to find a new role as flats, to buy or rent. And sharing the often large grounds that come with them has become a big selling point for people who want the beauty of a country estate without the hassle.
Three years ago Hartford Hall in Northumberland was on the English Heritage register of buildings at risk. Now the former miners’ rehabilitation centre — in the countryside near Morpeth — is being turned into flats for sale. In its Victorian heyday, the house sat among well-tended lawns and woodland. Today the 50 acres of grounds left from the original estate are overgrown with brambles and saplings. But there has been no shortage of buyers looking forward to sharing what will again be magnificent grounds.
Jonathan Welsh, 34, and his wife, Andrea, 37, know that it will be next year before they take possession of their two-bedroom, £189,000 ground-floor flat, close to the main house. But Mr Welsh is already planning his evening walks across the terrace with its extensive views. Stone steps lead to a bend in the River Blyth below. “The opportunity to stroll round these magnificent grounds is a very civilised way of relaxing,” he says.
Buyers must expect a service charge of between £500 and £1,000 a year to care for the grounds and roads. Buildings maintenance and insurance will be additional. But the Welshes accept this and the fact that they will be sharing the grounds with others. “It will be a community within a community, with everybody respecting everybody else,” he says.
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There will be rules to observe, some of which are to conserve wildlife, including red squirrels, otters and badgers. Dogs must stay on leads and cats must wear bells on collars.
Unlike some other schemes, residents at Hartford Hall will not be equal shareholders in the management company, the Hartford Foundation, which will run the estate. They will have a say, but foundation members will also include conservation organisations such as the Northumberland Wildlife Trust. The developer, Ho Sanderson, feels that this is essential to protect the house and grounds. “We need to set things up so Hartford Hall can go on without risk of deterioration,” he says.
Mr Sanderson comes from a farming background and is a member of the Historic Houses Association. He rescued his own historic family home, Eshott Hall, from disrepair and always mourned the decay at Hartford Hall a few miles away. He and a partner formed a company to buy the hall and, working with English Heritage, they are one year into a five-year plan to create eight luxury flats in the main house and 50 other flats and houses, some new, some converted from outbuildings. Prices range from £190,000 to £850,000. An historical appraisal has been done of the grounds, which will be restored.
I can recommend sharing a grand garden. The owners of Borde Hill, Andrewjohn Stephenson Clarke, his wife, Eleni, and their two children, live in the main part of the house, keeping only a small part of the gardens for themselves. I had a Morgan two-seater and took great delight in sweeping through the iron gates, up the drive and past the “Private” sign as visitors looked on. I meant to stay only six months but ended up renting for two years. When I was there, only four flats existed; now there are 18. The flats are one or two-bed and range from £550 to £1,200 a month. There are no extra charges for using the grounds. Several flats are likely to be available soon. John Major, Borde Hill’s general manager, said of the grounds: “People come and go as they please. Everybody enjoys being here.”
Hartford Hall: 01670 531333
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Borde Hill: 01444 417260