The Romans built the first fort on Rodborough Hill, near Stroud, Gloucestershire, to protect their encampment at Woodchester in the valley below. The present Rodborough Fort dates from the 1760s, when a garrison of 250 men and 32 cannon kept law and order in the countryside, protecting travellers from highwaymen such as the notorious Tom Long, who was hanged on Rodborough Common (now owned by the National Trust).
In the 1800s, the converted fort was home to a succession of wealthy Stroud businessmen, including Alexander Halcombe, who rebuilt it in 1870 as a two-storey house with a tower.
In the mid-1990s, racing driver and aviator Robert Lamplough bought the dilapidated fort from the National Trust and set about restoring it. There was still plenty to do when, in 2007, the current owners, having sold their business, took on the daunting project.
The renovated fort, listed Grade II, which sits in 8.84 acres of walled garden, paddocks and parkland on the crown of a 600ft hill overlooking 300 acres of common, has 5,060sq ft of living space, including a vast Baroque hall, a kitchen/breakfast room, various family rooms, five bedrooms, five bathrooms, three tower rooms and a rooftop terrace. There is also a chapel and a two-bedroom lodge. Savills (01285 627558) quote a guide price of £2.95m.
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