Tag: move

  • To the manor born

    To the manor born

    The Manor, Bucklebury: a house that shortly may become home to Carole and Michael Middleton

     

    First reported by The Daily Telegraph’s “Mandrake” columnist Richard Eden in May, the talk of today is that The Duchess of Cambridge’s parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, have just purchased a Georgian manor house at Bucklebury in West Berkshire.

     

    The exterior of The Manor, Bucklebury, Reading, West Berkshire, RG7 6RP
    The eastern side of the house includes a steel framed garden room

    The property’s formal gardens with parkland beyond

     

    Currently owned by a Morgan Stanley banker named Justin Mason and his landscape artist wife, Jill, The Manor was subject to a bidding war featuring four parties and has now been taken off the market. Agents Savills have refused to confirm the name of the winning bid but this morning’s Mail Online claims the Middletons, who are said to be worth some £30 million from their Party Pieces empire, have “triumphed” and are paying some £4.7 million for the property. It was last sold in 2001 for circa £1.8 million.

     

    The house’s formal drawing room

    The family kitchen complete with full sized AGA

     

    Featuring 7 bedrooms, 5 reception rooms, a swimming pool and tennis court, The Manor is set in 18.9 acres and situated 8.8 miles from Newbury. The Grade II listed house merges “contemporary and traditional styles” of décor and a main feature is a large kitchen that the agents describe as being “the heart of the house.” One could, indeed, imagine Mrs Middleton cooking up a feast fit for a future King in this vast room.

     

    The current Middleton family residence: Oak Acre, The Avenue, Bucklebury, Reading, Berkshire, RG7 6NS

    Carole and Michael Middleton on the driveway of their current home

     

    Whilst many and most especially the Daily Mail mock this family, and if indeed they are the purchasers of The Manor, it is most certainly a most fitting residence for them. Their next step on the Monopoly board is much deserved.

     

    For more information on The Manor, Bucklebury contact Michael Gatehouse of the Newbury office of Savills on +44 (0) 1635 277700 or email [email protected]

  • Dmitry Rybolovlev

    Dmitry Rybolovlev

    This billionaire businessman started out in medicine but soon moved into commerce realising that enterprise would better provide for his family. He was imprisoned on falsified charges of contract murder for 11 months in 1996. Subsequently cleared, Rybolovlev then went on to make his fortune in potassium and banking. This divorced father of two has used his fortune to fund the restoration of many of Russia’s churches and also bought Donald Trump’s former residence, The Masion de L’Amitie in Palm Beach, Florida, for $95 million in 2008. This risk taker also parted with another $88 million in December 2011 to purchase New York’s most expensive apartment for his 22-year old daughter. Rybololev’s passions are surfing and 19th and 20th century art.