One of Britain’s most magnificent stately homes which played a starring role in a TV adaptation of Pride and Prejudice has gone on the market – for a staggering £45 million.
The Edgcote estate – which is set in 1,700 acres of park and farmland – provided the backdrop to the 1995 BBC drama which helped turn Colin Firth into a household name.
In one iconic scene in the six-part series Firth – who played the aloof and haughty aristocrat Mr Darcy in the adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic novel – famously emerged from a lake in a clinging, soaking-wet shirt after an impromptu swim.
The TV drama forms just part of the colourful history of the Grade I Listed Georgian country pile which will also leave its super-rich buyer facing a stamp duty bill of £5.3million.
Coming onto the open market for the first time in more than a century, the grand six-bedroomed property is set in a park laid out in the 18th century.
It overlooks its own 8.6 acre lake fed by the River Cherwell which forms part of its extensive formal gardens with ‘pleasure grounds’ that includes a tennis court.
The estate comes complete with ‘a diverse and attractive residential portfolio of 31 houses, cottages and flats’ including an old rectory.
Those looking for a bargain, however, could buy the house at a knock down price.
One of Britain’s most magnificent stately homes which played a starring role in a TV adaptation of Pride and Prejudice has gone on the market – for a staggering £45 million
The Edgcote estate – which is set in 1,700 acres of park and farmland in Hertfordshire – provided the backdrop for the 1995 BBC adaption of Pride and Prejudice starring Colin Firth
The TV drama forms just part of the colourful history of the Grade I Listed Georgian country pile (pictured here in Pride and Prejudice) which will also leave its super-rich buyer facing a stamp duty bill of £5.3million
It could be snapped up for just £20 million, along with 12 of the properties and 288 acres of park, with an option to buy the house separately from the majority of the estate – which had been used as a farm and racehorse stables – in two separate lots.
The estate – set in the rolling countryside of South Northamptonshire which is renowned as the shire ‘for spires and squires’ – was built between 1748 and 1754 for a wealthy London merchant.
The land had previously been owned by Robert the Bruce’s grandmother before being passed on briefly to Sir Thomas Cromwell and later to Anne of Cleves who lived in a manor house there which she was given by Henry VIII as part of her divorce settlement.
It had previously been the site of the Battle of Edgcote in 1469, a decisive conflict during the Wars of the Roses.
In 1926 Raymond Courage – of the brewing dynasty – acquired the estate and with his son Edward, went on to establish Edgcote as an important horse racing establishment.
Firth’s portrayal of Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy in the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice is widely considered the definitive screen version of Jane Austen’s brooding, wealthy hero
The most celebrated moment in the series — where Darcy takes a surprise swim at his Pemberley estate, emerging in a soaked white shirt — catapulted Firth to heartthrob status
In June 2005, the estate was quietly acquired by the late David Allen, a leisure magnet who made his fortune from caravan parks.
In 2012, it was reported that the controversial HS2 high speed rail line from London to Birmingham had been due to cut through the estate.
Mr Allen, who is said to have donated £50,000-a-year to the Conservative Party, complained and threatened to stop giving money to the party.
In the end, English Heritage advised the Department for Transport to move the line because it was concerned about the impact it would have on heritage sites in the area, including the stately home’s ornamental gardens.
Upmarket estate agents Savills said its role in the Pride and Prejudice – which saw Jennifer Ehle win a BAFTA award for best actress – was a ‘testament to its Georgian authenticity.’
The house extends to approximately 25,908 square foot over four principal floors and is arranged around a grand entrance hall and an ‘exceptional suite of reception rooms’.
The property’s ‘wonderful features’ include ‘ornate cornicing and plasterwork, hand-decorated wallpaper, intricately carved fireplaces, and wood panelling’.
In the novel and adaptations, the fireplace serves as a location for inner reflection, where Darcy or other characters sit, brooding ‘staring into the fireplace’
You too could on the fireplace and a moment of television history if you have £45million at your disposal. There is the option of splitting the estate in half for £20million
Savills described its ‘open-well mahogany ‘great stair’ hall as ‘a showpiece of the house, adorned with rich panelling and decorative wall mouldings designed for the display of artworks’.
The wider farmland of approximately 1,149 acres centres around Lodge Farm, the operational hub of an agricultural enterprise featuring a number of buildings complete with modern machinery.
Cropping follows a traditional rotation including winter wheat, winter barley, oilseed rape and spring beans with recent options focusing around sustainable farming incentive schemes.
Its 102 acres of pasture and grassland are predominantly let on grazing licences.
Darcy, played by Firth, spends a moment brooding by the snooker table in Pride and Prejudice
That same snooker table remains today in the estate agency pictures after the property set in 102 acres that includes farmland and a number of outer properties, was put on the market
The grand wooden staircase features heavily in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice
And Savills described its ‘open-well mahogany ‘great stair’ hall as ‘a showpiece of the house
On the equestrian side, the estate has a long established racing heritage centred on Edgcote racecourse, which was refurbished in 2018, and hosts point-to-point meetings.
It has two professional National Hunt racing yards featuring ‘all the facilities required to support these training centres including gallops, paddocks, and schooling arena’s.
The estate also includes 115 acres of woodland, historically managed for amenity and sport, offering the potential for shooting having previously hosted pheasant and partridge shoots, stalking and biodiversity enhancement.
Crispin Holborow, from Savills said: ‘The Edgcote Estate represents an exceptional example of a traditional English country estate.
‘Both the house and its setting have evolved gently over centuries, preserving the integrity and character of this classically Georgian property.
The dining table also featured in the successful adaptation that made stars of its cast
Rich panelling and decorative wall mouldings designed for the display of artworks’, the property is pictured as it is today to anyone wealthy enough to buy it
Today, the estate offers all the key elements associated with an asset of this calibre, combining a mix of residential and agricultural holdings along with diversified income streams from respected racing yards.
‘In addition, the potential to reinstate a shoot further enhances its appeal, particularly when considered alongside the estate’s prime central location.’
