The 1,324 acre Shakenhurst Estate on the Worcestershire/Shropshire near Kidderminster border, marketed with a guide price of £16 million, was bought by its previous owner in 2010 from the descendants of John de Meysey who was granted the estate by Edward III for services rendered overseas in 1349.
Before that it was owned by a French baron Ralph de Toeni who was given it by William the Conqueror as a reward for his part in the Battle of Hastings.
It was put on the market by international agents Knight Frank in May 2013 after being extensively renovated. It is the first major estate sale of 2014 in England and demonstrates a degree of confidence returning to the market, according to the firm.
Shakenhurst was launched in May 2013 and has received strong interest throughout the period it has been on the market. ‘Shakenhurst is a wonderful residential, agricultural and sporting estate in the true sense of the word,’ said Clive Hopkins, head of Knight Frank’s Farms and Estates team.
‘There is tremendous potential to continue the amazing improvements the vendors have embarked on. Opportunities such as this are rare as demonstrated by the fact this is only the second time it has sold in 665 years.
According to Knight Frank’s Prime Country House Index, prices in this area of the country increased by 5.5% in 2013 and the number of new applicants registering their interest in buying a prime country home in the UK in the fourth quarter of 2013 was up by 16.1% compared to the same period of 2012 showing that demand is getting stronger in the prime country market.
As well as Shakenhurst Hall, a Grade II Listed 12 bed roomed house, the estate includes 15 farmhouses and cottages, almost three miles of trout fishing on the River Rea and a high quality shoot.
Today the hall is largely Georgian, having been rebuilt around an Elizabethan core for a second time in the 1790s, and contains a library, drawing room, morning room, reception hall, dining room, kitchen and service passage boasting period features such as regency chimneypieces and moulded cornices and overdoors.
It was used as a girl’s school during the Second World War and afterwards fell into disrepair. It was revived in the 1970s but eventually the family found its upkeep too much of a burden and it was sold in 2010 and has since undergone an extensive renovation programme.
‘Having to relocate, we knew that the right place for us was somewhere which provided similar farming requirements within our scope. We were in search of a large number of acres of fertile arable land, the ability to rear quality livestock and accommodate a dairy unit, with the opportunity to expand and take on new challenges,’ said a statement from the new owners, the Staddon family.
‘Our list of objectives was hard at times hard to fulfil but the Shakenhurst Estate offered us what was needed. Having been a farming family for many generations, we hope that our new purchase will be the excellent foundations for many years to come,’ it continued.
‘Believing that the farming industry is very strong we consider that this investment is right at this time. Knight Frank has made the purchase of Shakenhurst Estate as straight forward as possible, their management and communication has been impressive throughout,’ it added.
