In every end is a new beginning, finds Lucy Denton, as she examines the highs and lows of the sale of a country estate, for all parties, including tenants.
Nothing lasts forever, but in an age of commercial possibilities, the disposal of country-house estates can be unsettling for many and a golden opportunity for a monied few. The sales of Ripley Castle near Harrogate, to be revealed in more detail by Carter Jonas after October this year, and the Bridehead estate in Dorset, which went on the market in early summer, are sensational — Ripley especially for the sudden culmination of seven centuries of family ownership, which started with Sir Thomas Ingleby in the 1300s and will end with Sir Thomas Ingilby, 6th Baronet, in 2024.
Both properties are asset rich. Bridehead is a traditional country domain with the estate hamlet of Littlebredy, farms and a neat Gothick mansion at its core. Ripley has its splendid Grade I-listed castle, 18th-century pleasure grounds, deer park and the Boar’s Head pub, likely to be included in the sale. Community crowdfunding efforts are underway to buy separately the eye-catchingly ornate village hall, built in 1854.
No doubt decisions such as these to sell ancient estates have not been taken lightly, but the end of any long association between a big house and its family and tenants might cause a psychological wrench, as much as a practical need for some to find another home or job. With a new owner — usually private buyers or international investors — come changes to estate management, residential lettings and the visiting public. Collections might be dispersed; the motifs of nobility carved in stone become outmoded.
‘There are definite upsides for buyers who could inject a vital boost and a fresh perspective’
The vulnerabilities of country-house estates haven’t altogether gone away. Although a great many are flourishing, modern-day sales faintly recall the worst of the mid-20th-century spoils precipitated by two World Wars, when countless houses were crushed and land sawn up for the want of an heir and a fortune.
Times have changed, but current economic conditions are not helping: the post-covid outlook is one of sharply risen costs of materials and labour and ‘new legislation is squeezing the amount of income generated from traditional estate enterprises’, points out Sam Holt, head of the estates and farm agency at Strutt & Parker. ‘There is also growing anticipation of the upcoming autumn Budget as any changes to the capital gains and inheritance tax regimes may have an impact.’
Owning an estate is ‘a significant responsibility and the investment needed is vast’, adds Alice Keith of Knight Frank’s farms and estates team. ‘Sub-division is usually avoided by agents to preserve integrity, but sometimes it makes financial sense to split up property and land. It’s a terrible shame, but that’s the reality of it.’
Yet, there are definite upsides for buyers who could inject a vital boost and a fresh perspective; when the Walpole family sold Wolterton Hall in Norfolk in 2016, originally built for Horatio, brother of Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole, its new owners undertook what was ultimately an award-winning refurbishment following years of vacancy, reviving the estate.
Ripley Castle in North Yorkshire. Credit: Alamy
Adlington Hall in Cheshire, the seat of the Legh family from the 15th century to 2023, was bought, undivided, with a view to long-term investment. Alexander Davies-Terry, head of estate at the Fitzwilliam Wentworth estate in South Yorkshire, says that the Preservation Trust at Wentworth Woodhouse, the goliath mansion sold out of family ownership in 1989, is a ‘force for good, and beneficial for tourism’.
Matthew Beckett, The Country Seat blogger, cites ‘Tottenham House, Easton Neston, Brogyntyn Hall, Mawley Hall and Chettle House, which have all been sold directly from the long-standing family to new owners who have invested substantial amounts into restoring and improving them’. It seems there could be much for existing residents on old estates to look forward to, as long as things are sensitively done.
Alex Lawson, head of farm and estate sales at Savills, says that ‘communication and transparency with tenants and employees, where possible, is key. Nobody likes to see property empty and vacant period residential properties in particular can deteriorate quickly. Owners buy into the community that often comes with a historic rural estate and increasingly recognise their responsibility for contributing to the social value for all those directly and indirectly connected’. With that in mind, there’s no time like the present to invest in the past.
Lucy Denton is an architectural historian and writer
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