BTF Partnership is offering for sale a private and versatile property in the historic Alkham Valley with established vineyard, holiday cottages, ancient woodland and further potential for business development with a guide price of £3,300,000.
Chalksole Manor consists of a 7,610ft2 fully restored and modernised main residence with six bedrooms originally built in the Arts and Crafts style in 1920 with a modern leisure and party suite including indoor pool and a one-bedroom, self-contained 670ft2 annexe. In the grounds of the house is a range of modern outbuildings including a four-bay garage, workshop, tool store, summer house and large greenhouse.
Some distance from the house and accessed separately from either the road or through the land is The Old Stables, a one-bedroom cottage which adjoins the two-bedroom Groom’s Cottage, both currently used as holiday lets creating an additional income source.
To the east of the main house and accessed via a separate entrance on the road or through the land is the Chalksole Manor Vineyard. The vineyard was planted in 2007 and comprises 9,000 vines of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier for the production of English sparkling wine. With an average yield of eight tons per year, the current owners sell the grapes to wine-makers directly.
There is scope as a new business opportunity for own-wine production and with the current planting it is estimated this could generate an average of 7-8,000 bottles per year. The vineyard could be expanded further with the acquisition of additional land and a 3,600ft2 new agricultural barn from the vendors that are currently not part of this sale.
Gardens, land and woodland extends to 27.44 acres in total and there is also scope for those with equestrian interests with flat paddocks areas to the south. The local riding trails across the North Kent Downs are some of the best in the county, with far reaching views across the local countryside.
The original Arts and Crafts house was built around 1920 for Sir Thomas Henry Devereux Berridge, KBE (1857-1924), a former Liberal MP for Coventry and Leamington. Berridge was knighted in 1912 and made a KBE in 1920 for his war work, in particular for his chairmanship of the executive committee of the Royal Flying Corps.
The house was later owned by a London photographer who left it to his housekeeper, but it fell into significant disrepair before it was bought from probate by the current owners in 2002.
The current owners have significantly invested in the house during the initial renovation and over the years, and upgraded technology for modern living and to allow easy working from home with a sizeable office suite with Cat 5 cabling throughout and Crestron and Lutron control systems.
Alex Cornwallis at BTF Partnership commented: “This is the perfect house for someone looking for a private, rural and accessible country property with additional income streams and vineyard which can be run as a hobby or developed for those with more commercial aspirations. The existing holiday lets already generate a useful additional income stream, with the potential for further development. For many people it would take them years to find and build a similar property with such potential for further growth and it will be of interest to those looking to avoid this and the challenges of getting the vineyard to its already productive stage.”
For more information, call 01233 740077 or email challock@btfpartneship.co.uk
