Property comment
From John Lennon to Harry Potter, Eleanor Doughty explores the cult of the famous house and what provenance is really worth
IF you drive past De Vere House, in the Suffolk village of Lavenham, you will usually spot a crowd of tourists, straining to take selfies—not with the house’s inhabitants, but with the front door. In fact, the De Vere House has its very own fanbase. It’s said to have been built by the 12th Earl of Oxford, John De Vere (1408–62), whose family was the second richest in medieval England and also built Hedingham Castle. The house was altered to become a hunting lodge by the 13th Earl, John De Vere, an ally of Henry VII, who visited in 1498 and, we imagine, was impressed. It’s a work of art: Grade Ii*-listed with brick noggin (the herringbone-style pattern on the front elevation, a sign of supreme wealth) and a sturdy front door.
However, none of these details is the reason for De Vere House’s modern fame, which springs from its appearance in the 2010 film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1). The whole village of Lavenham—where, in real life, there are some 340 listed buildings—featured as Godric’s Hollow, the village in which Harry Potter was born.de Vere House, with its crooked aspect, was the perfect setting for an infamous murder by He Who Must Not Be Named.
The house is now on the market for £995,000 with Carter Jonas (01787 882881), but is its fame a boon? The attention is both good and bad for sales, admits Caroline Edwards, head of Suffolk residential at Carter Jonas. On one hand, ‘it widens the fascination and the appeal,’ she says. ‘When it first came on the market, we had a lady from America who instantly offered more than the guide price. That was a bit of a fantasy approach.’ De Vere House is, Miss Edwards says, ‘the country’s second most photographed front door after 10, Downing Street.’
However, these fantasy offers are not always to the agent’s benefit. Miss Edwards recently sold jockey Frankie Dettori’s Grade-ii listed, five-bedroom house, with 15 acres, stabling and a helipad, on the edge of Newmarket. ‘We had a lot of viewings and, for many of them, you had to work out whether they were viewing the house because of Frankie and who was genuinely interested.’ There is an element of sorting the wheat from the chaff, she says. ‘You have to work out who is the serious punter.’
Alex Newall, founder of Barnes Private Office (020–7935 5797) is sceptical about the benefits of buying and selling a ‘famous’ house, too. ‘It’s a good marketing spin, but, at the end of the day, people have to live in these houses and a lot of them don’t work as family homes. Charles I may have lived there, but perhaps that doesn’t work for having an en-suite bathroom in the modern world.’
Well-known owners don’t always equate to higher prices, says Roarie Scarisbrick from Property Vision (020–7808 8998).
‘A famous owner could be associated with a house for years, evenif they sold it a decade ago, but it may not add a penny of value.’ Mr Newall agrees:‘it just gets it in front of more people.’ The advantage here, he says, is that a bidding war can drive up the price, giving famous properties a premium they might not otherwise achieve. ‘It’s very easy to dub a property “the Harry Potter house”.’
Additionally, Mr Newall isn’t convinced that these houses retain their fame. ‘Are we still going to be watching the “Harry Potter” films in 20 years? These things have a shelf life. I don’t think it lasts for films, but it does for iconic pop stars such as The Beatles.’
Kenwood, John Lennon’s six-bedroom house in St George’s Hill, Surrey, has been on and off the market since 2012 and is presently on with Knight Frank for £8.95 million (01932 548000).
As for a premium, this is possibly more social than financial. ‘If you’re a lifelong fan of The Beatles and you’ve got the chance to live in Lennon’s house, then it’s a very nice thing to tell your friends as dinnerparty chat,’ adds Mr Newall. ‘Even so, it’s more a token piece of interest than something that adds value.’
‘This is the UK’S second most photographed front door after 10, Downing Street