Having your own amphitheatre won’t be near the top of the must-have list for many of us when looking for a new home — but probably only because it’s the sort of thing that you’d never even dream of. Yet the Grade II*-listed Whichford House, standing in five acres of gardens and grounds, includes an outdoor amphitheatre to call your own — one which is regularly used for charity events and the Diva Opera.
The rest of the property is equally enticing. This is an outstanding Cotswold country house in Whichford, a Warwickshire village close to the border with Oxfordshire, six miles from Chipping Norton and seven miles from Shipston-on-Stour. It’s currently for sale through Knight Frank’s country department at a guide price of £6m.
Whichford House was bought by the present owners in 2004 and extensively restored, refurbished and redecorated to become the 7,330sq ft property that it is today.
The house offers accommodation on three floors, including reception and staircase halls, three reception rooms, a kitchen/breakfast room, an orangery and a wine cellar.
There are eight bedrooms and five bathrooms, with the bedrooms currently decorated in a traditional style which really accentuates the house's period features.
The property also comes with a three-bedroom cottage, a coach house with a one-bedroom flat, outbuildings and stables.
The gardens have been twice featured in Country Life (June 1, 1967 and June 9, 2010), and have glorious views of Brailes Hill. They were laid out by James Russell for Rainbird in the 1950s and have been fully restored by the present owners over the past 15 years.
Whichford House was the village rectory until 1954, when the Church of England sold it to the publisher George Rainbird for a reputed £1,400.
Architecturally, the house evolved during the medieval period and in the 17th and 18th centuries. During the Civil War, it was badly damaged by the Roundheads, after the incumbent rector, the Rev James Langston, preached against Cromwell.
The house was repaired in the 17th century and, according to its Historic England listing, further enhanced and enlarged in the 18th century; a stone over the west doorway shows a date of 1662. The Classical Georgian front was begun in the 1740s, but not finally completed until the present owners built the new west wing in 2006.
Whichford House is for sale via Knight Frank at £6m — see more details and pictures.
Credit: Strutt and Parker
Best country houses for sale this week
An irresistible West Country cottage and a magnificent Cumbrian country house make our pick of the finest country houses for
Credit: Mark Williamson
Down to a tea: The finest teashops in the Cotswolds
When partaking of a piping-hot cup of tea and a crumblingly delicious slice of cake, where better to indulge than
-
This elegant Greek villa offers would-be buyers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to live in the shadow of the AcropolisAthenian Legacy consists of two houses in walking —and almost touching — distance of one of the world’s most famous and precious landmarks.
-
Go Dutch: Understanding the Duke of Wellington’s passion for Dutch art and how to view his collectionArthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington was a terrible Prime Minister, but made up for it by being a sophisticated collector.
-
This elegant Greek villa offers would-be buyers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to live in the shadow of the AcropolisAthenian Legacy consists of two houses in walking —and almost touching — distance of one of the world’s most famous and precious landmarks.
-
Six charming homes up for sale, including one dubbed 'one of the most picturesque in Dorset', as seen in Country LifeOur look at the finest houses to come up for sale through Country Life in the past week is full of delights, from a new-Georgian mansion to a perfectly-sized Hertfordshire estate.
-
A Buckinghamshire mansion built for the speech therapist who set Churchill on his path to greatnessPenny Churchill takes a look at Rignalls, a classic Arts-and-Crafts home that looks like it's stepped out of the pages of an EM Forster novel.
-
An idyllic Hampstead mansion whose price has risen nine times faster than inflation — and it's not hard to see whyCloth Hill is even more beautiful on the inside than it is on the outside.
-
Some of Scotland's most beautiful churches are being sold off for as little as £40,000 — but a word of warning before you take the plungeLucy Denton examines how best to help former church buildings thrive as times move on and property changes hands.
-
Inside the £28 million mansion designed to 'shake things up' and 're-define the English country house of the 21st century'With everything from helicopter parking and a 1000-bottle wine cellar to bespoke wallpaper designed by Christian Lacroix, Harford Manor is a country house like no other. Annabel Dixon took a closer look and spoke to the man behind its creation.
-
A blissful and beautifully named home in one of the most exclusive spots in CornwallPenny Churchill takes a look at Boswodegh, a wonderful home that makes the most of its superb location in Helford Passage.
-
A sleek, seven-bedroom villa with a wine cave, wellness space and a 20-person JacuzziIncredible attention to detail at Almancil Loulé's, an amazing home for sale in Portugal's exclusive Quinta do Lago resort.
