The first big estate sale of the year is here, says Penny Churchill, in the form of Chobham Park, a wonderful property right on the edge of London.
The launch onto the market of the historic Chobham Park estate, near Chobham, in leafy north-west Surrey, at a guide price of £15 million through Knight Frank, signals the resumption of normal service at the upper end of the country-house market following the Christmas break.
Built using older materials in about 1700 on a site owned by Chertsey Abbey since 675, the principal estate house, Grade II- listed Chobham Park House, has been in its time a manor house, a royal hunting lodge, a gentleman’s country seat, a tenanted farmhouse, a grand country house and now, once again, is the heart of a pristine country estate.
Today’s immaculate Chobham Park estate comprises the beautifully restored, 8,427sq ft, Georgian-fronted manor house, which is set at the end of a long, tree-lined drive and surrounded by 100 acres of formal and lawned gardens, paddocks and parkland and woodland, about 1½ miles from Chobham village and five miles from Woking.
The house, which has planning consent to extend by a further 3,500sq ft, offers elegant accommodation on three floors, including entrance and reception halls, four reception rooms, a large kitchen and breakfast room, a splendid master suite, seven further bedrooms and five bathrooms.
It comes with extensive private offices, three secondary houses — a converted tithe barn, plus two estate cottages — and everything a sporting family could wish for, including an outdoor swimming pool, tennis court, gymnasium and billiard room, and an impressive, 26-box stable courtyard and polo yard.
First recorded in 1535, Chobham Park was reputedly purchased by Henry VIII from John Cordery, Abbot of Chertsey, two years before Chertsey Abbey itself was dissolved; soon afterwards, the King had the park extended to some 500 acres.
In July 1558, Henry’s daughter, Queen Mary, sold the manor to her chancellor, Nicholas Heath, Archbishop of York, for £3,000. On the Archbishop’s death, the Chobham manor house and estate passed to his nephew, Thomas, who sold them in 1606 to Francis Leigh, later 1st Earl of Chichester.
A year or so later, Leigh sold his Chobham estates to Antony Cope, who, in turn, sold them in 1614 to William Hale. In 1654, Hale’s son, John, sold the old manor house to Henry Henn, whose descendants were still in possession in 1681. For much of the Henn family’s ownership, Chobham Park House was let to tenants, one of whom was James Martin, a prosperous East India merchant, whose son, John, later bought the estate.
The old manor house was pulled down in the late 17th or early 18th century, given that its listing entry dates the present Chobham Park House at ‘about 1700’. Some 30,000 bricks from nearby Woking Palace were used in the rebuilding, carried out probably by John Martin Jnr, who sold the estate in 1720.
From the late 1770s, Chobham Park House and farm were occupied by a succession of tenant farmers, until, in 1908, the estate was bought by Aynesely Greenwell, a wealthy Londoner who had the farmhouse altered and converted into a residence suitable for an Edwardian gentleman.
Twice sold in the 1920s, again in 1934 and after the war in 1947, from 1968 until 1985, Chobham Park — its lands by then much reduced in size — was owned by Sir Cranley Onslow. It was later acquired by entrepreneur Anthony Tiarks, who, in 1996, sold Chobham Park House to Michael and Francesca Evans, the current owners.
In 2001, Mr and Mrs Evans bought Chobham Park Farm and Chobham Park Cottage, together with the associated riding stables and some 50 acres of land, thereby restoring the estate to its earlier Edwardian configuration.
Chobam Park Estate is for sale at £15 million — see more details and pictures.
Chobham: What you need to know
Location: In the borough of Surrey Heath in the northwest of Surrey. Woking is approximately 3.7 miles to the south, Farnborough 10 miles to south west and London just over 30 miles away. There are stations at Longcross, Woking and Sunningdale
Atmosphere: The small, historic village has a high street formed of independent shops and boutiques, a large, 300-acre nature reserve plus plenty of charming pubs and restaurants making it a popular commuter-belt.
Things to do: Explore the village or take a walk through the Chobham Common nature reserve which is renowned for bird and wildlife watching.
Schools: Valley End C of E Primary School, The Horsell Village School and Gordon’s School are all rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.
See more property for sale in the area.
Credit: Humberts
Catch up on the best country houses for sale this week that have come to the market via Country Life.
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