Source: The Times (Bricks and Mortar) 2nd December 2011
These Mansions have literary links, period features and new-builds in the grounds, says Claire Carponen.
You stand outside a handsome historic mansion set in acres of rolling parkland. What do you hope to find inside? Authentic shabby Chic – mild dilapidation, peeling paintwork, outdated wiring and signs of rising damp. Or deluxe, carefully spot-lit, high-tech décor more like that of an inner-city apartment or a five star hotel?
Developers are calculating that a growing number of people secretly want the latter, a low maintenance combination of tradition and 21st century creature comforts – a chintz free zone with a high level of security and a concierge service. A super sized kitchen, with historic features, is another essential. They also want a flat rather than the whole house with its ruinous bills. The place must be lightly rural in feel and most importantly, not too far from London. Bricks and Mortar went to visit two schemes that exemplify this trend. We may have been going into the countryside but we did not need to pack our wellies.
Balls Park
Balls Park is another new development in an historic estate – also with links to a famous novelist. This Grade I Listed mansion is thought to have been Jane Austen’s inspiration for Netherfield, the country house in which Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett danced for the first time in Pride and Prejudice. Nearby Hertford (fast train to London takes 40 minutes) is believed to be the model for the town of Meryton, also the backdrop for some of the novel’s momentous events.
There are a total of 40 homes on the whole site, with 19 in the mansion. The first four of these were released last month at prices ranging from £275,000 for a one bed to £1.5 million for a two bed. For this sizeable sum you get a bespoke contemporary kitchen in a room with an original marble fireplace plus a 40ft living room. Balls Park, acquired for £5.7M ten years ago by City & Country, the property company that specialises in restoring and converting historic buildings, scores highly as a piece of architecture, being one of the most important surviving 17th century houses in Hertfordshire.
Sir John Harrison, a wealthy financier, built the place in Carolean Style in 1640. All this splendour accounts for its frequent use as a location for films and TV dramas, such as The Young Victoria, The Golden Compass and Bleak House.
Splendid isolation is not part of the offer at Balls Park. There are a further 130 new build homes in the 63 acres of parkland, developed by Explore Living which bought the site from City and Country in 2007. More than a half of these have already sold. The apartments which are built in the style of the listed outbuildings and set around a courtyard may not be as grandiose as the flats in the mansion, but the kitchens are smart and there is underfloor heating and other comforts of which Jane Austen could only have dreamt. Prices of the apartments that have been launched to date start from £249,995 for a one bedroom flat.
Not sure whether you would want an authentic historic-home experience without underfloor heating? Then you can ‘try before buy’ that is rent why you make up your mind. There is no limit on how long you can rent for, but if you are interested in buying, you can put up to the value of 5 per cent of the rent towards to purchase of the property. Rent on a two bedroom property is £1400 a month.