Warlords, royalty, lords and ladies: Benham Park has seen them all.
The 130-acre estate and its 27,620-square-foot mansion near Newbury in Berkshire, England, has a documented history going back more than a millennium. It’s recently been put on the market for £26 million (US $33.5 million).
About 60 miles from London, Benham Park is on the Berkshire Downs, an area classified as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a Conservation Area. The mansion itself is listed as a historic Grade II* stately home.
Now, Benham Park is poised for a new chapter.
The current owner, a property developer, acquired two permits "to return the house to its former use as a private country residence," or to establish a wellness center, said agent Louise Harrison of Savills. The plans for that project include a spa, plus 100 guest rooms and fine dining. According to the listing, inquiries from potential investors will be considered in addition to an outright sale.
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Work has begun on the exterior of the house, which could be expanded to a total of 140,000 square feet.
"A team of stone masons using rope ladders worked on the façade for over four months repairing the Bath stone," Ms. Harrison said. The gardens have also been restored.
Benham Park’s backstory starts in 956 when it was granted to Aelsige, a Saxon Warlord, by King Eadwig, according to the property’s brochure. It was in and out of royal custody until 1575, when Queen Elizabeth I gave it to her beloved tutor, John Baptiste Castillion. In 1630, it was sold to the Trustees of Sir William Craven, and in 1772, the young Lord William Craven and his wife, Elizabeth, started work on the mansion that stands on the land today.
The couple enlisted the help of renowned landscape architect Lancelot "Capability" Brown, who got his nickname because he would tell clients their land had "capability" (in the Craven’s case, they were "considerable"). He and London architect Henry Holland built the house and updated the grounds.
England's largest private home, which may have inspired Darcy's digs in 'Pride and Prejudice,' has been saved https://t.co/4UT93Qq26l pic.twitter.com/Ejp53F4Eph
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Overlooking a 10-acre lake, part of Brown and Holland’s master plan, the grounds have recently been restored, as has the home’s facade. A terraced garden by renowned garden designer William Andrews Nesfield, a later addition, is to the north of the mansion. There are two other houses on the property: a gate lodge and a mill house with views of the lake.
The home’s interior retains much of the original architectural detail, from the carved Bath stone columns in front to the cantilevered staircase in the center of the house. A wine cellar has also "stood the test of time," using a system that cools by the process of evaporation, the brochure said.
Ms. Harrison added that the house will need immediate updates. "The house will need complete rewiring and replumbing," she said. But because the permits have already been obtained, "the property is ready for new owners to start work straight away."