Proving that some properties can have it all is Roundtown Estate, a beautifully presented home, with ample ancillary accommodation and acres of countryside to enjoy. Penny Churchill takes a look.
Hot on the heels of the picturesque Burrow Farm estate in Buckinghamshire’s Hambleden Valley and the charming, 285-acre Beech Farm estate in the Chilterns, near Henley-on-Thames (Property market, July 21), Clive Hopkins and Will Matthews of Knight Frank are handling the sale of the scenic Roundtown estate, described as ‘a truly spectacular block of rolling Hampshire countryside’, three miles from the sought-after village of Upton Grey and four miles from the commuter hub of Basingstoke.
They quote a guide price of £13.8m for the Roundtown estate, once part of the parkland of the historic Hackwood Park estate, which was a wooded part of the manor of Eastrop until 1223, when it became a deer park owned in the 16th century by William Powlett, 1st Marquess of Winchester, of nearby Basing House.
He built a hunting lodge in the park and, following the destruction of Basing House during the Civil War, had the lodge enlarged and a formal landscape laid out in the park.
The Roundtown estate comprises part of the original parkland to the south and east of Grade II*-listed Hackwood House. From the mid 19th century, Hackwood was tenanted, notably by Lord Curzon from 1906 to 1925, before being sold in 1936 to Lord Camrose.
In 1965, the 2nd Lord Camrose inherited the house and the major portion of the park, where he carried out extensive replanting following the storms of 1987 and 1990. Following his death in 1995 and that of his wife in 1997, Hackwood was put up for sale and is now in mixed private and local-authority ownership.
The Roundtown estate is entered off a quiet country lane along a drive that meanders for half-a-mile past post-and-railed paddocks and mature woodland, before arriving at Roundtown House, a striking, Grade II-listed conversion and extension of former cottages to Hackwood Park.
The house offers 4,941sq ft of well-planned living space, including three main reception rooms, two sitting rooms, a kitchen/breakfast room, master and guest suites, four further bedrooms and three bathrooms. It comes with gardens and grounds, a stable block, garaging and planning consent for a three-bedroom cottage.
The estate is currently farmed in hand with contractors carrying out the bulk of the work from the farmyard in its south-west corner, which offers a large area of hard standing, a modern grain store with scope for expansion and two further farm buildings with potential for development.
The topography of the estate lends itself perfectly to pheasant and partridge shooting, with established woodland easily accessed by tracks and conservation headlands that are also suited to riding. The diverse terrain currently supports a shoot of some 15 days a year, with average bags of around 250 birds; there is also excellent stalking of roe, fallow deer and muntjac.
It is a magical landscape, alive with all kinds of flora and fauna, where, in springtime, the meadows and ancient woodland are a mass of wild flowers and bluebells.
Roundtown Estate is currently on the market with Knight Frank at a guide price of £13.8 million — see more pictures, or enquire with the agent for further details.
Upton Grey: What you need to know
Location: Upton Grey is a small village in North Hampshire, located 7 miles from Odiham and 13 miles from Basingstoke. There are train services in Basingstoke which offer links to London Waterloo.
Atmosphere: The village is known as one of the prettiest in North Hampshire and is popular due to its accessibility. It has a local pub, village shop, village hall and church.
Things to do: Visit the gardens by Gertrude Jekyll at the Manor House, explore the surrounding area via the numerous walking trails, or visit nearby Odiham which has a selection of shops and restaurants.
Schools: The area is known for its fantastic schools which include Winchester College, Downe House, Marlborough, Wellington and Eton.
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