The Islands at Cookham Dean, Berkshire is something else. This idyllic waterside haven — for sale through Hamptons International at £4.5m — is at the upstream end of an ancient royal fishery dating back to Tudor times.
For sale (and reluctantly so) for the first time since the 1970s, this mini estate on the Thames comprises the original part of the house built by Sydney Pitt in 1898, a cottage and more than five acres of land and islands. The area it sits in is known as ‘The Wind in the Willows backwater’, located about a mile downstream from Marlow. At the top is Kenneth Grahame’s boathouse, where the author was introduced to the river and boating by his uncle, the curate at Cookham Dean Church.
The approach to the house via a pair of wrought-iron gates is a step back in time, as is the main entrance, set beneath a turret with heavy double doors opening onto the oak-panelled reception hall with its open fireplace, stained-glass window and panelled ceiling reminiscent of a Victorian hunting lodge.
The hall opens onto the main ground-floor rooms, some of which are set at quirky angles that enhance the originality of its design.
The drawing room and dining room, interconnected by a pair of double doors, have magnificent large bays with leaded light windows, offering magical views across the balcony and river, edged with water lilies, to the steps onto the first island.
Next to the dining room is the library, where an outside spiral staircase leads down to the original wet boathouse below. Also on the ground floor is a split-level kitchen/breakfast room and a study overlooking the river, with the master suite and three more bedrooms on the first floor.
A timber footbridge over the river leads to the two islands from which the property takes its name, the larger of which, at 4.5 acres, was laid out as spectacular pleasure ground when Mr Pitt bought the original boathouse and land to create an unusual private house with fishing and boating facilities.
Other amenities include a croquet lawn, a heated swimming pool and a dry boathouse with a winch and slipway.
-
'To exist in this world relies on the hands of others': Roger Powell and modern British bookbindingAn exhibition on the legendary bookbinder Roger Powell reveals not only his great skill, but serves to reconnect us with the joy, power and importance of real craftsmanship.
-
Spam: The tinned meaty treat that brought a taste of the ‘hot-dog life of Hollywood’ to war-weary BritainCourtesy of our ‘special relationship’ with the US, Spam was a culinary phenomenon, says Mary Greene. So much so that in 1944, London’s Simpson’s, renowned for its roast beef, was offering creamed Spam casserole instead.
-
A mini estate in Kent that's so lovely it once featured in Simon Schama's 'History of Britain'The Paper Mill estate is a picture-postcard in the Garden of England.
-
Hidden excellence in a £7.5 million north London homeBehind the traditional façades of Provost Road, you will find something very special.
-
Sip tea and laugh at your neighbours in this seaside Norfolk home with a watchtowerOn Cliff Hill in Gorleston, one home is taller than all the others. It could be yours.
-
A Grecian masterpiece that might be one of the nation's finest homes comes up for sale in KentGrade I-listed Holwood House sits in 40 acres of private parkland just 15 miles from central London. It is spectacular.
-
Some of the finest landscapes in the North of England with a 12-bedroom home attachedUpper House in Derbyshire shows why the Kinder landscape was worth fighting for.
-
Could Gruber's Antiques from Paddington 2 be your new Notting Hill home?It was the home of Mr Gruber and his antiques in the film, but in the real world, Alice's Antiques could be yours.
-
What should 1.5 million new homes look like?The King's recent visit to Nansledan with the Prime Minister gives us a clue as to Labour's plans, but what are the benefits of traditional architecture? And can they solve a housing crisis?
-
Welcome to the modern party barn, where disco balls are 'non-negotiable'A party barn is the ultimate good-time utopia, devoid of the toil of a home gym or the practicalities of a home office. Modern efforts are a world away from the draughty, hay-bales-and-a-hi-fi set-up of yesteryear.
