The sale of Ghyllheugh with 150 acres at Longhorsley near Morpeth, 22 miles from Newcastle-at a guide price of £2.75m through Sanderson Young (0191-223 3500) and Strutt & Parker (01670 516123)-offers the chance for a high-flying entrepreneur to enjoy the pleasures of a Northumbrian country estate, following the present incumbent’s decision to move his operations to China.
In fact, it was another local businessman, Louis J. Ames, who created the Ghyllheugh estate in 1900, when he bought a greenfield site on the southern banks of the picturesque River Coquet and hired Carse of Amble to build him a handsome stone house, which took four years to complete. They used the local sandstone and Cumberland slate to build the main house, the garden house, the stable block, estate workshops and outbuildings, all of which have retained their original integrity, despite modernisation over the years. The gardens and grounds were laid out at the same time by Ames, who is buried in woodland to the west of the house.
‘With its grand reception hall, three reception rooms, large open-plan kitchen, eight bedrooms, five bathrooms, extensive cellars and annexe, Ghyllheugh is clearly a substantial country house, but one that is easily managed. Its 150 acres of land include extensive gardens and grounds, 63 acres of amenity woodland and 63 acres of grass pasture, with excellent equestrian facilities and salmon and trout fishing on the Coquet, and it is my feeling that the next owner of Ghyllheugh will be someone who appreciates privacy, as well as easy access to the business centres of the North-East and beyond,’ says Sam Gibson of Strutt and Parker. Stressed-out Newcastle businessmen, step this way!
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