Anyone on the lookout for a classic Cotswold country house set within magnificent grounds will be hard pushed to find a better example than the nine-bedroom, Grade II-listed Ampney Park at Ampney Crucis.
It's a superb small estate, two and a half miles from Cirencester, which is on the market a guide price of £9.5 million through Savills and Strutt & Parker.
The core of the present house is believed to date from 1628 and the Grand Hall, which boasts wonderful oak panelling and a beautifully moulded Jacobean ceiling, has been described by country-house historian Nicholas Kingsley as ‘one of the most perfect early 17th century interiors in the country’.
Approached through imposing wrought-iron gates along a picturesque winding drive, Ampney Park stands amid terraced lakeside gardens, surrounded by 25 acres of lovely Cotswolds countryside.
The main house itself has some 15,000sq ft of accommodation, including a reception hall, six fine reception rooms, a large family kitchen, nine bedrooms, seven bathrooms, an indoor swimming pool and extensive cellars.
The house is just the start, however: the equestrian facilities are mouth-watering. There’s an immaculate stable yard, paddocks, a fine outdoor manège and also an indoor eventing arena.
Beyond that are lakes, rivers, woodland, tennis court and further dwellings and buildings. The Stone Barn is a converted barn with a gym and two-bedroom flat, while there is also the two-bedroom Stable Cottage.
The manor of Ampney Crucis was granted to John Pleydell in 1562 and remained in his family – who built the house – until 1724, when the estate passed by marriage to the Yorkshire Dawnays.
In 1765, Ampney Park was sold to Samuel Blackwell of Cirencester, whose family added the long Georgian north wing.
In the 1890s, the Blackwells sold it to Edmund Cripps, who added a billiard room – a particularly special spot, with stained glass windows depicting the coats of arms of the Cripps, Radcliffe and Brydges families – and extended the east end of the house.
Ampney Park is for sale via through Savills and Strutt & Parker at £9.5 million – see more details and pictures.
Dreamy Cotswold farmhouse complete with excellent equestrian facilities and a party barn
Bosmere Farm is a wonderful family house in a stunning rural setting.
Credit: Alamy
The best things to add to to your house to increase its value, from party barns to dressing rooms
A sublime Georgian estate for sale that was once the residence of the Duke of Buckingham
The Abbey at Aston Abbotts has the potential to become the perfect small country estate.
A complete one-off for horse lovers: House with stables, manege... and a racetrack
In the countryside between York and Harrogate you'll find a curious and extraordinary property which has just come to the
-
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.
-
Five beautiful homes, from a barn conversion to an island treasure, as seen in Country LifeOur pick of the best homes to come to the market via Country Life in recent days include a wonderful thatched home in Devon and a charming red-brick house with gardens that run down to the water's edge.
-
The finest interiors in Edinburgh? A seven-bedroom townhouse furnished by Robert Kime comes to marketSituated on one of the New Town's grandest terraces, this four-storey property is a collector's dream.
-
A Grade II*-listed country manor with one of the most beautiful drawing rooms in EnglandIf Old Manor Farm in Somerset is good enough for Pevsner, it's good enough for you.
-
An eight-bedroom home in Surrey where an army of robots will look after your lawnsDo not fear the bladed guardians of Monksfield House. They are here to help.
