WILL BOWL YOU OVER
Houses don’t come up for sale very often on Gold Hill within the village of Shaftesbury in Dorset but when they do, references to the famous Hovis advert filmed here in 1973 inevitably make it into the glossy brochures.
But recently there’s been a minor flurry. Just over 18 months ago No.12 was put on the market for £575,000 and now its neighbour No.14 has come up for sale too, at £450,000.
Gold Hill is one of the most picturesque and photographed thoroughfares in the UK and hundreds of tourists visit every weekend to marvel at the slippery stone cobbles that line the vertiginous street.
There has been a road here for more than 1,000 years leading up to the hilltop village, views from which over the years have helped pull in London buyers looking to escape the smoke.
Dramatically, the entire village of Shaftesbury was bought by three investors from the capital in 1918 from its then owner Hugh Grosvenor, the 2nd Baron Stalbridge.
Hopefully No.14 will have more luck than its neighbour at No.12, which has yet to sell. It’s a Grade II listed thatched cottage with bags of historic detail including stairs built by a blind piano tuner who lived in the property during the 1920s.
As well as three bedrooms it has a combined lounge and dining room with an inglenook fireplace, a kitchen-diner and a family bathroom. The property has been operated as a B&B until recently.