New era for Hadley Green home that hosted Elizabeth I and Tennyson
HADLEY HOUSE, in Hadley Green, a country house and estate with an illustrious past, is now on the market for £17.5 million, exclusively via joint agents Beauchamp Estates and Statons. The restored Grade II* listed Georgian country house stands on a 16-acre estate and is approached through wrought-iron gates. Its landscaped grounds include an Italian-style pergola, boating lake, tennis court, hedge-enclosed flower garden and walled garden. Thanks to the elevated location, there are fantastic views to the city and beyond. At the front, the home overlooks Hadley Green — site of the decisive battle of the Wars of the Roses.
The house has nine bedrooms, five reception rooms, three entrance halls, a 42ft (12.8m) indoor swimming pool with retractable floor, a gym, games/media room, study, family kitchen, estate office, staff preparation kitchen, staff accommodation and extensive garaging — plus consent to add an orangery extension, which would take the gross internal floor area of the home to 19,417 sq ft (1,803.9 sq m).
The original manor house was built in the early 1500s and owned by the monks of Walden Abbey. It changed hands a number of times — and in 1558 the new Queen Elizabeth I was travelling to London to take up her throne when she stayed at Hadley House to break her journey. In 1726 the house and stabling was rebuilt in the Georgian style. A red brick façade was added in the late Victorian period and the side stable wing was converted to garaging and staff quarters with the arrival of the motor car.
Another notable moment in the property’s history came in 1859 when it was purchased by Louis Charles Tennyson d’Eyncourt (1814-1896), cousin of poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Louis and Alfred had a strained relationship due to family quarrels, so gatherings at Hadley House between the two branches of the Tennyson family were limited to weddings, births and funerals.
Among other notable owners was Archibald William Stone, who lived in Hadley House from 1926 until 1982. He was the founder in 1925 of Palmer & Harvey, which grew to become the UK’s largest wholesale distributer and fifth largest private company (some call it “the Ocado of the post-Second World War era”). His guests at Hadley House included Sir Jack Cohen, founder of Tesco.
The current owners of Hadley House have worked with architects and designers to create a modern luxury home within the historic property. The servants’ rooms have become a 1,500 sq ft living room with full-height glazing on three sides, showcasing the gardens and lake. This connects to a triple-height hall housing a 35ft swimming pool on which the floor level can be adjusted at the touch of a button (raising it transforms the room into an entertaining space).
To the other side are formal reception rooms, among them a library with leather-bound books which, by custom, each successive owner leaves to the next.
Historic cellars and galleries have become modern media, games and gym facilities. Upstairs, modern bathrooms were added to the numerous bedrooms; the master bathroom and dressing suite has five ceiling-height window bays facing the gardens and lake.
Jeremy Gee, managing director of Beauchamp Estates, says: “Hadley House in Hadley Green is the finest country house to be listed for sale within Greater London for a number of years. The fully modernised house and manicured gardens are beautifully presented and the estate offers all the amenities, such as swimming pool, gymnasium, tennis court, boating lake and games/media room, that buyers expect from a country house of this stature and quality.”
Nick Staton, co-founding director of Statons, says: “We anticipate that there will be significant domestic and international interest in this unique trophy London country estate.”
Viewing strictly by prior appointment. Joint selling agents: Beauchamp Estates (020 7499 7722; Jeremy.Gee@beauchamp. com; www.beauchamp.co.uk) and Statons, Hadley Wood (020 8440 9797; nick@statons.com; www.statons.com)