Despite everything, top properties are still hitting the market. One such example is historic Grade I-listed Ratling Court, near Canterbury in Kent, at a guide price of £2.2 million.
On the market with Strutt and Parker, the five-bedroom property has 4.7 acres and lashings of history.
It was built for the de Ratling family in 1320, as well as being the former home of Sir William Cowper, whose son, also William, became the first Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain in the 18th century.
It’s a home full of lovely character touches, with the highlights being the large dining-kitchen (complete with an Aga set in its own niche), a gorgeous sitting whose charms are complemented by a beautiful dark blue-and-white paint scheme, and a study with heaving bookshelves which would make an ideal background should you find yourself being interviewed by the BBC via Zoom.
Outside, there are large gardens with several outbuildings, including a stables and an old donkey wheel house, now used as a shady outdoor seating area that must be one of the largest and most unusual gazebos you'll ever see.
The house is available for virtual viewings, which have, naturally, become more popular in recent times. ‘Thankfully, technology allows much of what we do to carry on,’ says James Mackenzie, head of Strutt and Parker’s country department.
‘3D tours have made a big difference to both buyers and sellers during these weeks,’ James continues, adding that the technology allows buyers to focus on properties that they genuinely want to view in person, as well as allowing vendors to filter out non-serious offers.
‘We’ve been embracing this technology for over a year and a half now and it’s a worthwhile tool. Time will tell how it continues to be embraced by both buyers and sellers and how it will evolve.’
Credit: Strutt & Parker
A beautiful country house in Devon which you can virtually walk round from the comfort of your home
Many of the big estate agents have long been setting up 'virtual viewings' of some of the finest houses on
Credit: Savills
A stupendous 18th-century home with gardens that look like they've been borrowed from Versailles, designed by an architect credited as the 'father of wrestling'
Built in the 1700s, this eye-catchingly restored historic house is now available to view in the most modern sense —
In focus: How galleries and art dealers have shifted to showing and selling online
Galleries and dealers are using the difficulty of the lockdown to showcase their wares in virtual forms, from wartime oils
A tour around the Houses of Parliament without leaving your home
-
Dawn Chorus: A Blue Plaque for Marc Bolan, holidaying in the Caribbean with Francis Ford Coppola and a history of the National Gallery in 25 picturesPlus the best of the property pages, and how the railways will save the countryside.
-
Game, set, match: 12 of the world’s most beautiful tennis courtsFrom Italy to Indonesia, when it comes to hotel amenities, a picturesque tennis court will always trump a 24-hour gym. So, before you book your next holiday, take a look at our pick of the 12 best.
-
Five palatial mansions for sale, including one with its own private swimming lake, as seen in Country LifeSometimes bigger really is better.
-
Gaze over Cap Ferrat in this four-bedroom French villaIgnore the wind and the rain. Imagine yourself in this hillside home with some of the best views the Mediterranean can offer.
-
Classical style meets fun and flair in a seven-bedroom manor in CornwallAt Polstrong Manor, the current owners have combined period charm and elegant modern interiors to create a flamboyant country home 10-minutes from the beach.
-
Two halves make a sublime four-bedroom home in Kent's North DownsA contemporary extension to a traditional clapboard house brings light and life to Lavington House.
-
The week in property statistics: Service charges reach record highPlus, how first-time buyers prop up the mortgage market, why you need to move north if you want to live by yourself, and house-price growth slows
-
A seven-bedroom oast house for sale in East Sussex, where your dreams can run riotUnlisted, yet full of character, this property in the High Weald National Landscape is an eccentrically furnished family home that screams fun.
-
Character, history and comfort combine in a four-bedroom farmhouse in NorfolkWillow Farm near Southburgh is that rarest of things — a perfect combination of period charm and modern elegance in some of England's best countryside.
-
A Grade I-listed Georgian townhouse that's part of the fabric of Bath's historyWith 5,500sq ft set over six floors in the centre of Britain's most architecturally rich city, there is much to love here.
