For sale, Beatrix Potter’s sunny holibob-tail home
ATENBY holiday home used by Beatrix Potter is up for sale for £1.8m. She wrote a letter from this address telling a story of rabbits living on the cliffs of Tenby’s North Bay.
With the film Peter Rabbit continuing to delight audiences at the cinema, what better time to consider owning a slice of Beatrix Potter history?
If you have £1.8m to invest, that is. Croft House is a property for sale in Tenby that has literary history, a prime location and business potential.
Standing proudly on the clifftop in this popular west Wales coastal town and holiday destination, the 12-apartment Grade II-listed Georgian property was once two houses.
And the internationally famous author Beatrix Potter holidayed at number 2 Croft Terrace. She wrote a letter from this address telling a story about rabbits living on the cliffs of Tenby’s North Bay.
The current owner, whose family have had the property since 1964, says: “The letter was one of four ‘Tenby letters’ written in 1900 by Beatrix Potter to the children of her governess, Annie Moore.
“She also did two paintings of the garden of Croft House, no longer part of the property. The lily pond illustration that appears in the Tale of Peter Rabbit was taken from one of these paintings.”
A copy of one of the four letters is on display in the hallway of the property.
The owner says: “The Beatrix Potter link was discovered in the 1980s, when a family friend went to a museum in Gloucester where they had copies of the ‘Tenby letters’ of Beatrix Potter on display.
“She noticed the address was what is now the northern half of Croft House.
“We believe Beatrix stayed in the room that is now Apartment 7 (no verification, though) – some of the paintings appear to be from this viewpoint, but as it was a private house then she could just have sat in that room and slept elsewhere.”
The property is two former fourstorey houses, with a cliff-side patio garden and direct access to the beach. It is a short stroll from the bustling resort’s restaurants, art galleries and independent shops. Inside Croft House in Tenby where Beatrix Potter holidayed
At present, 10 of the 12 flats are currently holiday lets. Of the remaining two, one flat is a long let which is vacant, and one is occupied by the current owners, who will be moving out once the property is sold.
According to the estate agent there are several options for the building’s future.
The property could continue as a holiday-let business, each flat could be sold separately for an immediate return on investment, or the property could be transformed into luxury apartments or a boutique hotel.
Alternatively, with the appropriate permissions in place, Croft House could be converted back to the original two four-storey houses.
■ For further details about Croft House contact Fine & Country, the estate agent selling the property, on 01834 862138.