In search of Arcadia

In any country estate, owners ought to be able to find refuge from the busy world—something entirely possible at these three properties

- 

IN the market for estates, expectations come in many shapes and sizes. International buyers typically want an ‘English country estate’, but with no more than 20 acres, says Charlie Wells of buying agency Prime Purchase. ‘For some, it’s a residential estate with 30 acres, beautiful grounds and a big pair of gates. For others, it should have 3,000 acres, with farmland, forestry and valleys designed for sport—as well as running tracks, stick-and-ball grounds for polo or a canter track—depending on interests.’ Demand will always be there as land, with or without perceived tax breaks, is a very desirable commodity, he adds.

Although the residential element of Bestwall Park, which is launched to the market today in COUNTRY LIFE, meets the expectations of a traditional estate, the rest is somewhat different. The six-bedroom Arts-and-Crafts house in coastal Dorset sits in 160 acres on an almost entirely private peninsula bounded by the Rivers Frome and Piddle and with direct access to Poole Harbour. Despite the privacy it affords, Bestwall is only a mile from the centre of the market town of Wareham.

For many years, the house was thought to have been the work of C. F. A. Voysey, but it’s more likely to have been designed by one of his students. Built in 1911, it offers well-proportioned rooms with many attractive features, including parquet flooring, original door furniture and decorative woodwork. It was purchased by the owners in 2001 and has been the subject of an extensive programme of restoration, including a particularly attractive kitchen/family room, which was formerly four separate rooms. At the same time, the owners opened up the fireplaces and had fire surrounds made of local Purbeck stone, quarried by the grandson of the first stonemason to work on the original construction of the house.