Manor house planned for Brunel up for sale
AHUGE 67-bed manor house that was intended to be the retirement home of Isambard Kingdom Brunel has gone on the market.
The legendary engineer is considered “one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history”.
His work included Clifton Suspension Bridge and the Thames Tunnel, among many others.
Now a home designed for him in Torquay, Devon, has gone up for sale with Savills for an undisclosed price.
Rhiannon Charles, from Savills, said: “This is a spectacular building with lots of potential for a variety of uses. It’s been kept in good condition by the current owners and could be refurbished into apartments or a hotel.”
Brunel is thought to have chosen Torquay as the place for his retirement home after buying up land in the area in the 1840s and 50s. He remodelled the landscape, moving earth, building roads, planting trees and bringing in thousands of tonnes of peat to bed them in.
The house was planned for a spot on a hill with sweeping views of the Devon countryside, but Brunel died in 1859 before the project could be completed.
Paper manufacturer James Crompton took over the build in 1873 and built a house on Brunel’s foundations. He changed the exterior style from Italianate to French and called it Watcombe Park.
Savills’ listing describes Brunel Manor as “a handsome High Victorian house with eclectic detail, preserving most of its original fittings”.
Over the years, the 67-bedroom home has housed notable MPs, aristocrats, businessmen and, during the Second World War, the Stockwell College of Education.
In recent decades the manor, which was re-named in favour of its originator, housed the Woodlands House of Prayer, a Christian retreat centre and hospitality venue.
Inside, the manor has high ceilings, ornate plasterwork and fireplaces and attractive bay windows overlooking the grounds.