Grade I listed Georgian mansion that neighbours Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes’ lavish country pile goes on sale for £3.5m
Dating back to the 17th century stunning home is set within 20 acres of land and boasts over 7,000 square foot of accommodation
A STUNNING Georgian mansion situated next to Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes' lavish country pile has gone on the market for £3.5million.
The Grade 1 listed Manor House is set within 20 acres of land in the village of West Stafford, Dorset.
Dating back to the 17th century the stunning property boasts over 7,000 square foot of accommodation made up of a drawing room, dining room, study, kitchen, billiard room, cold room, six bedrooms, four bathrooms, a reading room and a dressing room.
It also comes with a two-bedroom cottage and an old stable block, which is currently used as storage.
There is also a pretty enclosed courtyard kitchen garden, an orchard, synthetic grass tennis court and heated swimming pool and landscaped gardens.
Lord Fellowes and his wife Emma live just 500 metres away in adjacent Stafford house.
The author and screenwriter bought the home in 2002 after he won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Gosford Park.
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James McKillop, from estate agents Knight Frank, said: "One stand-out feature for the Manor House itself is the unique architectural style, it has three different facades and when you look at them you could be looking at three completely different houses.
"You've got an Elizabethan facade, a late 18th century and then a 19th century Georgian facade.
"It's rare as an estate agent to be able to use the word 'unique' in a real sense but with the balance of aesthetic, the history and the provenance of the house it really is unique.
"The owners have done some very clever but sensitive renovation work. They have been very successful in integrating modern-day services, like sound systems, without damaging the integrity of the house itself.
"They've also brought back some of the features which had been lost by the works done by previous owners.
"Everything they have done has been entirely in keeping with the house.”
West Stafford is three miles from Dorchester and one mile from Bockhampton.
Its 15th century church was the setting for the wedding of Tess and Angel Clare in Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D'Urbevilles.
Fellowes' Stafford House, which lies to the north of the main body of the village, is mentioned in Hardy's 1887 story The Waiting Supper, about the love between a squire's daughter and a yeoman farmer who meet in secret by a waterfall in the grounds.
McKillop added: "West Stafford is a really popular village and a lovely part of the world.
"In essence this is one of the loveliest houses in Dorset to come to market this year and I can't see it hanging around for long.
"It's a wonderful house and a very exciting opportunity."
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