Penny Churchill takes a look at Avishays House, a 17th century creation that's in the grandest tradition of the country house.
Perched on the western slopes of Windwhistle Ridge in south Somerset, the serene medieval parish of Chaffcombe is bounded to the north by Knowle St Giles, to the east by Cudworth, to the south by Cricket St Thomas and to the west by the market town of Chard. Half a mile south of Chaffcombe village stands historic Avishays House set in some 90 acres of parkland, paddocks and woodland, now for sale through Savills, either as a whole at £6 million, or £3.5m for the main house and buildings with some 43 acres of land.
Avishays, listed Grade II*, is located centrally within its parkland and boasts 7,168sq ft of traditional family accommodation on two floors. Its Georgian façade faces west, with views over lawns to the parkland beyond, but the main entrance is located in the original 17th-century wing to the east.
Inside, well-designed interiors offer a seamless flow of rooms, including a galleried entrance hall, three main reception rooms, a study, large kitchen/breakfast room, master bedroom suite and six further bedrooms, five with their own bathroom.
An impressive leisure suite, comprising an indoor swimming pool, gym and sauna is accessed via a half landing on the back stair.
In the early 1500s, the Avishays estate was held as a freehold under Chaffcombe manor before being sold in 1559 to John Browne of Frampton, Dorset. Several generations later, Robert Browne sold the estate in 1697 to his tenant, Elias Sealy of Chaffcombe. Sealy was succeeded by his son, Samuel, whose daughter, Sarah, married James Marwood of Widworthy, Devon. Under her will, Avishays was to be held jointly by her four daughters as long as her only son, James, ‘continued insane’.
The stables house horsepower…. but not in the way you might expect.
He died in 1811, after which Avishays passed to Sarah Bridget Marwood, whose great-nephew, William Elton, sold it to Edward Clarke, a Chard solicitor, in 1859. Thereafter, the property changed hands many times, before Savills facilitated its sale to the current owners in 2017.
According to A History of the County of Somerset Volume IV (1978), edited by R. W. Dunning, ‘the house is of brick with stone dressings and appears to be of the 18th century, but the east side of the main building incorporates part of an earlier 17th-century house which was re-fronted in the last years of the same century, when an eastern courtyard with coach house, stables and brew-house were laid out.
The courtyard was further enclosed on the north by a kitchen wing added in the earlier 18th century, and in 1745 the main range was extended southwards and doubled in depth by the addition of new principal rooms behind a symmetrical west front of seven bays. More service rooms were added to the north in the 19th century.
There is a large walled garden to the south-east, and on the hill to the east a small embattled structure of the 19th century, known as The Castle’ (now the Monmouth Clock Tower, listed Grade II).
To the rear of the house, the charming coach house provides guest accommodation and stables, with a further outbuilding converted into a separate games/snooker room.
Another coach house has been renovated to include a wine cellar and a secure garage for classic cars. If sold as a whole, the estate would include the additional land, some woodland and five other properties, namely the East, West and North lodges, plus two modern estate cottages.
Avishays is for sale at £6 million for the whole estate — see more pictures and details.
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