A whole village is coming up for sale later this month, priced at between £23 million and £25 million. Historic English village Linkenholt, which is part of a 2,000-acre estate, will be sold by Jackson-Stops and Staff.
The village has 22 houses and cottages and is situated in the Test Valley in north Hampshire, a region designated by Natural England as an area of outstanding natural beauty.
The sale also includes a cricket pitch and pavilion, a three-storey manor house, a village shop, a commercial shoot and farming land. The only property not included in the lot is the village church, St Peters.
The estate is currently owned by a charitable trust, set up by Herbert and Peter Blagrave, and the sale will raise money for the trust’s work in helping disabled children and injury jockeys.
Village residents currently rent properties in Linkenholt, and tenants will be allowed to remain in their homes after the sale. Tina Abbott, who runs the village shop, says: ‘Whoever buys the estate will get everything, lock, stock and barrel. It has got to be someone who will run it like it is now.’
Colin Boast, who runs Linkenholt Forge, says: ‘It would be nice if the new owner would come and live on the estate, and could oversee it all.’
An industry expert comments: ‘The price might have been higher a year ago. However, estates of this size and quality in the “super prime” league are rare beasts. They don’t come on the market often. Plus people are backing agricultural land as something that is going to rise in value.’
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