Stairway to Heaven
Highly desirable old rectories in Norfolk, Suffolk and Leicestershire
BACK in the 18th century, it wasn’t unusual for a wealthy rector with good landowning connections to devote his energies to living the life of a country gentleman, leaving the work of the parish in the hands of humble curates. Certainly, in our more secular age, you don’t need to be a regular churchgoer to appreciate the fine proportions, practical layout and prime location of a classic Georgian rectory, which remains the ideal of many a city homebuyer who dreams of moving his family to the country.
Norfolk probably boasts more old rectories to the well-tilled acre than any other county in England and, for provenance and prestige, few can match The Old Rectory at Blickling, near Aylsham, north Norfolk, currently on the market with Savills (01603 229229) at a guide price of £1.5 million. Originally part of the 3,500-acre Blickling estate, now owned by the National Trust, the charming former rectory dates from the 17th century, when the Blickling branch of the Hobarts of Hales Hall, Norfolk, was established by the judge Sir Henry Hobart, who built Blickling Hall, arguably Norfolk’s grandest country house, in the 1620s.
The rectory, which stands next to the Church of St Andrew on the edge of Blickling Park, is surrounded by estate parkland and was altered and extended in the 19th century by Hobart’s descendant, Lady Caroline Suffield, who left the estate to her great-nephew William Kerr, 8th Marquess of Lothian, on her death in 1850.
In 1930, Blickling passed to Philip Henry Kerr, 11th Marquess of Lothian, who was a leading statesman between the wars, forging a career as Secretary to Prime Minister Lloyd George, and as Ambassador to the USA in 1940, when he helped to persuade the Americans to support Britain’s war effort.
For lovers of country houses, Lord Lothian is best remembered as the driving force behind the National Trust Act of 1937 and the creation of the Country Houses Scheme, which enabled the first large-scale transfer of mansion houses to the Trust in lieu of death duties, thereby preserving some of Britain’s most beautiful buildings for the public to enjoy in perpetuity. Unmarried and leaving no heirs, he left the
Blickling estate to the Trust on his death, aged 58, in 1940.
In 1999, The Old Rectory was acquired by its present owners, who are now downsizing. They have sympathetically refurbished it throughout, installing new showers and bathrooms, building a heated swimming pool and commissioning the landscaping of its 1.3 acres of gardens and grounds by designer Verity Hansen-smith. The house offers 6,868sq ft of spacious and well-arranged accommodation, including four elegant and well-proportioned reception rooms, a splendid kitchen/dining room overlooking the gardens, a large master bedroom suite, six further bedrooms, four further bathrooms and a games room. Included in the sale is a Grade Ii-listed 17thcentury stable block.
Across the county border in Suffolk, the Ipswich office of Savills (01473 234800) is handling the sale of elegant, Grade Ii-listed The Old Rectory at Ingham, six miles from Bury St Edmunds, at a guide price of £1.895 million. The imposing, 6,257sq ft house was built in the grand Georgian manner in the early 1840s, either by Richard Benyon de Beauvoir, who was lord of the manor from 1831, or his heir, the Rev E. R. Benyon, who succeeded him as lord of the manor and chief local landowner and was rector of Ingham from 1844.
Like many of his wealthier peers, the Rev Benyon employed a curate, who was housed in the cottage (now converted to two apartments), which stands next to the rectory and is included in the sale. Nevertheless, the rector clearly took his ecclesiastical obligations seriously, for, in 1861, he extensively restored the 14th-century village Church of St Bartholomew, now listed Grade II*.
Set well back from the road behind a solid bank of trees that provides a high degree of privacy and seclusion, The Old Rectory stands in some 2½ acres of beautifully maintained gardens and grounds on the edge of the village, with magnificent views from the main reception rooms over the surrounding open countryside. White electric gates open onto a gravelled carriage drive that sweeps round to the front of the house, with a spur leading off to the coach house, the original stables and other outbuildings. During their tenure, the present
owners have renovated the house and grounds to a high standard.
An impressive reception hall leads to the main reception rooms—all light and airy, with 12ft-high ceilings, triple-glazed sash windows, polished wood floors and widepanelled doors. The kitchen, which has retained its original stone floor, has a bespoke fitted base and wall units, with a large central island, a gas range, built-in fridges and two dishwashers. A wide brick staircase leads off the main hall to a large cellar with slate-shelved wine bins. The sweeping main staircase leads to the firstfloor bedrooms, including the master bedroom, which has lovely views over the gardens, six further bedrooms and four further bathrooms.
The seemingly endless A47—well-trodden by Norfolk parents ferrying their offspring across the fens to the popular public schools of Oundle, Stamford and Uppingham—trundles across the picturesque Welland Valley into Leicestershire, where The Old Rectory at Medbourne, seven miles from Market Harborough, is for sale through the local office of King West (01858 435970) at a guide price of ‘excess £2 million’.
Historically one of the best-endowed in the area, the living of Medbourne was in the gift of the Nevills of Holt from 1565, but, as Roman Catholics, later Nevills were barred from making presentations and, in 1706, the rectory was sold by the family to St John’s College, Cambridge. Listed Grade II with origins from 1710, the main part of the house was built in 1780, with the Georgian façade added in 1810. It was further improved in the 1800s by Rector L. P. Baker, who reputedly ‘gave much money for charitable uses’.
Home to the present owners for the past 42 years, the charming former rectory is entered and exited via the stable yard, and was used to house the huntsman of the Billesdon hounds during the mastership of the legendary Sir Bache Cunard. Set in some 4.2 acres of private landscaped gardens, The Old Rectory offers 6,542sq ft of generous family accommodation, including three main reception rooms, eight bedrooms and four bathrooms. It comes with a paddock, outbuildings, stabling and a one-bedroom stable apartment.