Who would live in a house like this? Northamptonshire estate on the market for a cool £19.25 million

The Ashby St Ledgers Estate is being sold either as a whole estate or in four separate lots by property consultants, Carter Jonas.

The estate has a long history belonging to the Catesby family, one of whom, Robert Catesby, was at the centre of the Gunpowder Plot.

At this time the estate included Ashby St Ledgers Manor, situated within the village, where Catesby conceived the Gunpowder Plot with his fellow conspirators in 1605. The estate also later included a second magnificent house, Ashby Lodge, which was built around 1722 but was demolished in the 1920s, and now only the stable cottage of which remains.

As a whole, The Ashby St Ledgers Estate as it is today offers mainly arable land and a range of farming facilities.

Lot 1 comprises Ashby Home Farm, situated either side of Ashby St Ledgers village. Extending to 822.86 acres of mainly arable land, there is an estate office and 4,750 tonnes of grain storage with exceptionally well equipped facilities.

Lot 2, Ashby Grange Farm, comprises 347.30 acres of mainly arable land and Ashby Grange Farmhouse, a spacious, well-appointed farmhouse built in 2007. There is also a range of agricultural buildings.

Lot 3 consists of 652.34 acres of mainly pasture land, 445 acres of which are capable of being ploughed. There is a three bedroom period farmhouse, Chapel Farmhouse, with an annexe, and also a further three bedroom cottage which formed the stable yard for the demolished Ashby Lodge.

Stable Cottage enjoys views over mature parkland and a fourteen acre lake that was landscaped for Ashby Lodge, and offers the potential for redevelopment or extension to create a principal house on the estate. The cottage also comes with a useful outbuilding and there are former dairy buildings on the plot.

Lot 4 is a paddock of 12.5 acres which is situated in the middle of the village of Ashby St Ledgers. The paddock incorporates a beautiful avenue of trees which once lined the formal driveway to Ashby St Ledgers Manor House, as well as a fine stone entrance gate from the village with ball finials, which is Grade II listed.

Jasper Feilding, Head of Carter Jonas’ London Country Department, said: “This is a tremendous opportunity to purchase a substantial block of commercial agricultural land situated in the heart of England. The estate offers high quality agricultural facilities and substantial accommodation, and is situated only 80 miles from London, 15 miles from Northampton and 9 miles from access to the M1 motorway.”

“With four lots on offer of varying sizes, the sale of Ashby St Ledgers Estate offers flexibility and diversity for purchasers. It is rare for an estate of this size to come to the market as a whole, and I imagine that it will appeal to both farmers and investors alike.”

The Ashby St Ledgers Estate is available now with vacant possession, as a whole at £19,250,000, or in four lots at £8,400,000, £3,950,000, £6,750,000 and £150,000 respectively.