Stately home put up for rent – at £20,000 a month
AN eccentric gun-toting aristocrat has put Britain’s poshest rental on the market – his 13bed stately home for £20,000 a month.
Sir Benjamin Slade’s sprawling 2,000-acre country pile, Maunsel House, is now available to rent – for £4,615 a week.
The spectacular home was built 600 years ago and Geoffrey Chaucer wrote part of The Canterbury Tales while staying there.
The 13-bedroom mansion in North Newton, near Bridgwater, Somerset, is in the middle of an estate with lakes, woodlands and orchards.
Sir Benjamin is well known for his antics; he was once charged with possessing a firearm without a certificate and later advertised for a wife.
An online advertisement for the property reads: “The accommodation includes 13 characterful bedrooms, with an additional four bedrooms on the ground level of the newly renovated south wing in close proximity to the main house.
“At the ground level, the ball room has been converted into two beautifully decorated period drawing rooms together with a large dining room library, cloakrooms, grand panelled entrance hall and large kitchen.
“The property and furnishings are steeped in history with some artefacts dating back to the Roman period, with secret passages and hidden staircases adding to the charm.
“Maunsel House is a wonderfully welcoming home, beautifully furnished with more than a touch of eccentricity!”
Sir Benjamin Julian Alfred Slade, 7th Baronet, inherited his baronetcy from his father in 1962, and is usually known as Sir Ben Slade.
Sir Benjamin, 74, made headlines last year after publicising his search to find a wife who can provide him with two sons.
His eyebrow-raising list of requirements for the perfect “breeder” stated she should be taller than 5ft 6ins - preferably 6ft 1ins or 6ft 2ins - aged between 30 and 40, possess a gun licence and be “castle trained”.
Sir Benjamin, who made his fortune as a shipping magnate, also made headlines in 2012 after police staged a dramatic raid on his home.
He was later charged with possessing a firearm without a certificate and breaching a shotgun certificate by leaving a weapon unsecured.
He said he used the shotgun to shoot at foxes from his bedroom window.
The house was built in either the late 14th or early 15th century and currently serves as a wedding venue.
There is no explanation why he is renting the home out.
A spokesperson for Sir Benjamin said: “It’s a wedding venue and because of Covid the business has been halted. It’s a stately home so you only get large weddings, and people can’t get married at the minute. They’ve all been postponed till next year, so Ben’s put the house up for rent for people who want it on a monthly basis.
“He doesn’t live in the house anyway, he lives in one of the cottages - he has done for the past 20 years.
“The main reason for renting the house out is to pay the staff. There are a lot of people who depend on the wedding business to pay their bills.”
Sir Ben said: “We were in such a bad way when it got to April and the house wasn’t busy and I tried to get it rented out, and that wasn’t easy, and now we’re doing short breaks and weekends. We had ten bedrooms let this weekend. That may change, and we have the winter to get through.
“We’ve been very busy through August and September, but we don’t know where it’s going. I have 13 staff and we want to keep the team together. I hope this will see us through the winter, but if people wanted it for two years we could make some sort of deal.
“Whatever you’ve got to do you’ve got to do.”