To let: eccentric baronet’s mansion, for £20,000 pcm

AN ARISTOCRAT has put his stately home up for rent at £20,000 a month because of Covid wedding restrictions.

Maunsel House, Sir Benjamin Slade’s 2,000-acre country pile, was built around 600 years ago and it is believed that Geoffrey Chaucer wrote part of The Canterbury Tales while staying there.

Sir Benjamin, 74, is known for his eccentric behaviour. He was once charged with possessing a firearm without a certificate, although all his guns were certified and inspected, and made headlines after advertising for a wife.

An advertisement for the 13-bedroom mansion in North Newton, near Bridgwater, Somerset, said it was “steeped in history with some artefacts dating back to the Roman period, with secret passages and hidden staircases adding to the charm”, and “beautifully furnished with more than a touch of eccentricity!”

A spokesman for Sir Benjamin said the mansion was up for rent because its income as a wedding venue had been badly affected by the pandemic.

“It’s a stately home so you only get large weddings,” the spokesman added. “They’ve all been postponed until next year. [Sir Benjamin] doesn’t live in the house, he lives in one of the cottages.

“The main reason for renting the house out is to pay the staff.”

Sir Benjamin 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 10 bedrooms let thisweekend. That may change, and we have the winter to get through.

‘I have 13 staff and we want to keep the team together. Whatever you’ve got to do you’ve got to do’

“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.”

Sir Benjamin, the 7th Baronet, made headlines in 2017 when he advertised for a wife who could provide him with two sons. His requirements for the perfect “breeder” included being taller than 5ft 6ins, aged 30-40, possessing a gun licence and being “castle trained”.