Winslow Hall Opera’s ‘Un ballo in maschera’ by Verdi to be performed in Buckinghamshire in July
Between 7th and 16th July, a production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera will be performed in the grounds of Winslow Hall in Buckinghamshire.
The opera in three acts will be conducted by Oliver Gilmour, Winslow Hall Opera’s artistic director for the last three seasons, and directed by Carmen Jakobi. Attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy picnics before afternoon performances and supper during an 85-minute interval in the evenings.
Grade I listed Winslow Hall itself is a fascinating house that was once described as “the Rolls-Royce of English domestic architecture”. Supposedly built to the designs of Sir Christopher Wren, the building – famed for its curiously tall chimneys – has variously been a school, an office for RAF Bomber Command and an antiques showroom.
Restored as a private house by a former British ambassador to the Netherlands in the 1950s, Winslow Hall was sold to the former restaurateur Christopher Gilmour and his delightful Australian wife, Mardi, in 2010.
Details:
Tickets are priced between £75 and £95 per person (with a discount of £10 per ticket on bookings made before 15th May). For further information and to book, telephone +44 (0) 754 472 6501 or email [email protected]
Performance dates:
7th July at 6pm
9th July at 3pm
11th July at 6pm
13th July at 6pm
15th July at 5pm
16th July at 3pm
Dress:
Black tie is optional.
Address:
Winslow Hall, Winslow, Buckinghamshire, MK18 3HL. Parking is available in the field opposite. Trains from London Euston to Milton Keynes take 30 minutes.
12th century castle and romantic ruin in Herefordshire for sale for £1.495 million; a title to go with it is available also
A part restored castle on the English-Welsh border is back on the market after its buyer pulled out at the end of last year. Wilton Castle-on-the-Wye at at Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire’s story somewhat echoes that of the fictional castle in the 1949 novel I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith – adapted to a film starring Bill Nighy and Henry Cavill in 2003 – and now, it presents an opportunity for someone wanting to own either a truly unique private home or somewhere to create a most romantic boutique hotel and events venue.
Now offered for £1.495 million ($1.94 million, €1.77 million or درهم7.12 million) and providing a total of 4,036 square foot of internal accommodation, Wilton Castle-on-the-Wye dates to the 12th century but was largely destroyed in the English Civil War (1642 – 1651).
An aerial view of Wilton Castle-on-the-Wye, Wilton, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, HR9 6AD, United Kingdom with the River Wye beyondThe castle as a ruinKestrels are amongst those that make Wilton Castle-on-the-Wye their home
Subsequently abandoned until 1731, when bought by the trustees of Guy’s Hospital, the castle was bought by the legendary retail and property magnate Sir Charles Clore (1904 – 1979) in 1961 and then restored from 2002 onwards. It includes elements of architecture from the Norman, Tudor, Elizabethan, Georgian and Victorian periods and is Grade I listed Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Standing in 2 acres of gardens, primarily within the rampart walls themselves, the castle house comprises of 4 reception rooms, a galleried former chapel, 2 kitchens, 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. There are three original towers (out of the five originally built inside a now dry moat) and whilst two are already back in use, the third, ‘The Great Tower’ could potentially be converted to provide 3 bedroom suites, a new glass entrance and a drawbridge.
In March, of his eccentric home, current owner Alan Parslow told the Evening Standard: “It was a bit of a wreck when we bought it, but after ten years of restorations it’s a lovely family home. We’ve loved living here. It’s a delight to wake up to, surrounded by history”.
Of the future, Parslow added: “We haven’t enough money or time to do The Great Tower up so we’d like to pass it on to someone else”.
Previously, his wife, Sue, was interviewed by The Ross Gazette about the sale. She remarked: “It is quite different from other ruined castles as it is really a garden around a castle”.
Namesake Wilton Castle, Bree, Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Ireland has similarities in that it is also part-home, part-ruin
Curiously, an unconnected Irish castle of the same name, Wilton Castle in County Wexford has had a similarly chequered history. Built first in 1247, expanded into a mansion in 1847 and burnt to the ground in 1923, this vast landmark has, like its Ross-on-Wye namesake been subject of a major renovation project since 2004 by its owners, farmers Seán and Antoinette Windsor.
Grade I listed Georgian mansion in Worcestershire for sale for the first time since the 1720s
Few houses remain in the ownership of the same family for three hundred years, but an example of such, Ombersley Court at Ombersley in Worcestershire, has just been placed on the market for £3.5 million ($4.5 million, €4.1 million or درهم16.7 million).
Designed and built for the 1st Lord Sandys by the master builder Francis Smith of Warwick between 1723 and 1730, Ombersley Court was substantially alerted by the landscape architect John Webb in 1809. Grade I listed and featuring impressive entertaining spaces, the 27,449 square foot house comes with a 13,188 square foot Grade II* listed stable complex and 39 acres of land. A further 11 acres and a three bedroom cottage are available as separate lots.
Richard Michael Oliver Hill, 7th Baron Sandys of Ombersley (1942 – 2013) accompanying the Queen on her inspection of the Yeoman of the GuardAn image of Ombersley Court before the service extension that provided kitchen and staff accommodation (right) was demolished in 1964
“With the death of Lord Sandys in 2013 the house passed to Lady Sandys but following her recent death, concerns were raised and rebutted via letters in Country Life that this wonderful house would be forced (for complicated reasons) to become a care home; a fate which would have despoiled this jewel of a house. Instead, for the first time since it was built in 1724, it has been placed on the market. This is a house created by one of the finest craftsmen of the early-Georgian period, with connections to a wider, distinct Midlands architectural tradition which epitomises all that one would hope to see in a country seat”.
“As an important house which deserves respect, one hopes that the new owner will appreciate this remarkable situation and that perhaps the best approach would simply be to buy the house and contents and perhaps another couple hundred acres to truly secure an Arcadian ideal, one which would be hard to better anywhere in the country”.
Pint sized studio house for sale for £70,000; it’s unmortgageable and undoubtedly “one of Britain’s smallest detached properties”
A glorified garden shed in Edgeley, Stockport has gone on sale for £70,000 ($90,900, €82,600 or درهم333,800). Available only to cash buyers as it is “not deemed a suitable security for mortgage lending purposes”, the 176 square foot “bijou studio unit” is described “as niche as it gets”.
Marketed by Joules Estate Agents as “the smallest house we have ever sold” and as one “with the biggest heart”, the property consists of a living room, kitchen and shower room with an open plan bed deck over access via a fixed ladder.
Outside, ‘The Studio’, as it is known, has a small courtyard garden with raised beds and a toolshed. Joules describe that “as an oasis hidden from view”.
Restored 1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 to be sold at auction; it was built for “connoisseurs of sports cars not limited by financial considerations”
A left-hand drive 1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 will be sold at auction this month. The stunning sporting coupé on offer was described by Autocar in 1953 as “a car of rare quality, unusual performance, exceptional road worthiness and unrivalled versatility” and an “an expensive car deigned to cater for the connoisseur of sports cars who is not limited by financial considerations”.
Presented in Deep Carriage Green with a beige interior and subject to a complete body-off restoration in 2009, this 2.9-litre Aston Martin is capable of 0-60mph in 10 seconds dead and is also potentially Mille Miglia eligible.
Silverstone Auctions have placed an estimate of £165,000 to £185,000 ($214,000 to $240,000, €195,000 to €218,000 or درهم787,000 to درهم882,000) on the vehicle. They will sell it at Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire on 13th May and of it comment:
“The guide price of this car is considerably less than the cost of finding, buying and restoring a ‘barn find’ with the huge advantage of being able to use and enjoy it immediately”.
1960 Bentley S2 currently owned by musician Sir Ray Davies to be auctioned; he wrote the hit song ‘Apeman’ on its back seat
A 1960 Bentley S2 owned but rarely used by Sir Ray Davies CBE – best known for hits with The Kinks that included You Really Got Me and All Day and All of the Night – is to be sold at auction in May.
Presented in unrestored condition after having been left in storage since 1991, the 6.2-litre car was purchased by the musician in 1970 and previously belonged to George Greenfield – agent to Enid Blyton, John le Carré, Sir Francis Chichester, Sir Ranulph Fiennes OBE, Sir Rex Harrison, Sir Stirling Moss and David Niven.
Of the black with red leather interior car, the musician once remarked:
After success the success of ‘Lola’ I was persuaded by my family to invest in a big car, which was unusual for me because I did not drive. However, I succumbed to the pressure and purchased a second-hand Bentley from Hadleigh Green Garage in Barnet… My (then) wife drove it on my behalf because as I previously mentioned I was unable to drive.
We lived in a little semi in Muswell Hill and the neighbours were in shock and awe when they saw this huge black Bentley drive up along the narrow shingle path to the house. We subsequently went on a family holiday in the Bentley to Cornwall. While on our holiday in Mullion I sat in the back seat of the Bentley and wrote a follow up to Lola called ‘Apeman’ on the Spanish guitar which I carried in the back.
The Kinks used it in a photo shoot for the ‘Preservation’ album and it still exists in some old black and white footage of us posing as gangsters outside KONK studios.
When I moved to Surrey in the 1970s the car came down with me, I still could not drive and I was forty-four before I tried for my licence. It was occasionally taken out for special events like weddings and family outings. The Kinks took it on the road in England but the fans started writing on the car with lipstick and our (then) manager Ken Jones promptly retired my car to the garage.
Silverstone Auctions have placed an estimate of £25,000 to £30,000 ($32,000 to $39,000, €29,000 to €35,000 or درهم118,000 to درهم142,000) on the vehicle. They will sell it at Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire on 13th May.
Of the classic car, Arwel Richards of Silverstone Auctions told ClassicCars.com: “It is rare to auction a car direct from rock royalty, and this Bentley offers an incredible opportunity for rock ‘n roll fans and Bentley aficionados alike”.
17th century Buckinghamshire farmstead requiring complete renovation for sale for £5 million
A 17th century farmhouse just 28 miles from Central London has gone on sale for £5 million ($6.5 million, €5.9 million or درهم23.7 million) in spite of being “in need of updating” through agents The Frost Partnership.
Dean Farm at Jordans, near Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire was built on the site of a 12th century farmstead and includes not only a listed 4 reception room, 5 bedroom main house but also a 2 bedroom annexe and a 2 bedroom and a 1 bedroom cottage. Within the grounds are a 117-foot long listed tithe barn, a listed granary, a gardener’s studio and a double garage.
The semi-rural freehold property stands on a plot of 6.4 acres of gardens and paddocks and comes with a further 3.7 acres of leasehold land.
The 1,503 square foot flat in Penywern Road, Earl’s Court is described as “spectacular” and “at tranquil oasis with an atmosphere and grandeur reminiscent of one of Britain’s great countryside estates” by selling agents Russell Simpson.
Featuring a grand reception room, a bar, a dining kitchen, two bedrooms and two bathrooms, the share of freehold property is situated within a stucco fronted building that gives little indication of what lies within.
Asking price for America’s tallest single-family residence – a 124-foot tall tower in Phoenix, Arizona – slashed by 74%; it is somewhat dated but costs nearly nothing to heat and nearly nothing in property taxes either
They say “the bigger, the better” but in the case of Falcon Nest at Prescott in Arizona, it seems as if the tallest single-family residence in America has little appeal given its asking price has been slashed by nearly two thirds during the two years it has been on the market.
Reduced in price from £2.2 million ($2.8 million, €2.6 million or درهم10.3 million) in 2015 to £1.2 million ($1.5 million, €1.4 million or درهم5.5 million) this year, 124-foot tall Falcon Nest is to be auctioned by Concierge Auctions for a minimum price of £581,000 ($750,000, €688,000 or درهم2.8 million) on 25th May. For that, a buyer will not only get a truly unique structure but also views that range over 120 miles as far as the San Francisco Peaks.
Sukumar Pal, AIA faced some opposition when he decided to construct Falcon Nest but the resulting building he designed is certainly strikingFalcon Nest, 2365 Skyline Drive, Prescott, Arizona, AZ 86303 is situated at the head of a cul-de-sac and the base of Thumb ButteIt is priced at just $242 per square foot (at $1.5 million) and enjoys long-reaching viewsAn aerial view of the extraordinary structure
Built to the designs of Calcutta born Sukumar Pal, AIA for his own occupation, Falcon Nest took four years to build and was completed in 1994. This was in part due to high winds making it difficult to use cranes on a site that was already at 5,920-foot at its base on the slopes of 6,514-foot tall Thumb Butte – a prominent geographical feature of the Sierra Prieta mountain range – but also because Pal was so stringent about creating a residence that was not only striking architecturally but also one that was energy efficient.
Featuring a tubular tower portion that causes heat to rise and ventilate the residence in the summer but capture it in the winter, Mr Pal, in a video interview, claimed that “heating and cooling [the building] is automatic and without any cost”.
Accommodation in the 24-foot by 24-foot square base, ten-floor residence – linked by a staircase with 144 steps and a hydraulic elevator that provides access to six levels – includes three bedrooms and four bathrooms. Living space is primarily located on a central floor known as ‘the solarium’ that is mostly built of glass so as to catch as much sun as possible and centres around a vast entertaining area described as a ‘great room’.
Falcon Nest stands on a 1.08-acre plot that offers potential for further development and of the existing “multi-functional structure” itself, selling agents Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty suggest there is potential to turn it into a bed and breakfast, ham radio tower, event space or even a ranger station and museum connected to the Prescott National Park.
Of this “architectural and engineering treasure”, which is defined as a ‘palsolaral house’, Mr Pal commented:
“I chose the height, for several reasons: I wanted to enjoy the views but I didn’t want to cover vast areas on the ground as open ground separates the tower from the neighbouring buildings”.
“[But the most] important [reason] is the tax. The tax is proportional to the ground cover of the building. If this building was flat like tortilla, it would have a tremendous tax burden. This building does not have that. It is 6,200 square foot but I’ve been paying much less [tax] because the ground print is so small”.
In a feature on Falcon Nest in March, Lauren Ro of property blog Curbed rather curtly remarked: “Time has not been kind to this property, which feels like it was left behind in the ugly part of the ’90s”. She has a point but anyone wanting to live like the ultimate super-villain could indeed do a lot worse.
Conversion of “one of Europe’s first purpose-built office blocks” for sale; £3.5 million Grade II* listed Georgian house in Bath literally straddles a canal
Some people dream of living beside a lake or a river, but a Grade II* listed detached property recently placed on the market in Bath gives anyone with £3.5 million ($4.2 million, €4.5 million or درهم16.6 million) to spare the opportunity to literally live above a man-made waterway.
Cleveland House – originally known as Canal House – stands on top of a bridge and tunnel that straddles the Kennet & Avon Canal and in spite of being built as “one of Europe’s first purpose-built office blocks” has a look that is very much “Georgian domestic”. The limestone ashlar, three-storey building was constructed to the designs of one of Bath’s greatest architects, John Pinch the Elder (1769 – 1827), between 1817 and 1820 and served as the canal’s management headquarters until 1864.
Converted next to residential usage and then requisitioned for government use in 1939, the building again reverted to office usage. A property developer named Trevor Osborne then acquired it and commenced a transformation into what is described as “a truly exceptional Bath residence” in 2015.
Aside from 7,218 square foot of accommodation, including 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms, what makes Cleveland House truly remarkable are its entertaining spaces. The 30-foot long former company boardroom, complete with a 20-foot high newly repainted domed ceiling, is now the house’s drawing room and in addition there is a formal dining room and a library. Whilst a fully prepared cinema room and wine cellars are housed in the basement, other points of note are a large, newly built family room, a first floor roof terrace and garaging for four cars.
