$22 Million for a Village
An entire village, complete with two blacksmiths, a shop and a cricket club, has been put up for sale for a cool £22.5 million.
Nestling in the rolling countryside of the North Wessex Downs, Linkenholt is the archetypal English village. Now, for a cool £22.5 million, it could all be yours, as the entire village – including every house in it – goes up for sale.
The historic village of 22 houses and cottages is part of a 2,000 acre estate which will go on the market later this month.
It is located in the Test Valley, north Hampshire, near the borders with Berkshire and Wiltshire – a region officially designated by Natural England as an area of outstanding natural beauty
Among the properties included for sale are a cricket pitch and pavilion, which doubles as the village hall, a large three-storey manor house, and a village shop run from the front room of one of the homes.
Also included in the sale are two properties from which agricultural blacksmiths operate, a commercial shoot, farming land, and an educational activity centre for children.
The only property in the village not owned by the estate is its church, St Peters, which dates back to the 12th century but was rebuilt significantly in 1871. It still holds services, on the third Sunday of each month.
Tina Abbott, 59, who runs the village shop from her home, has lived in the village for 39 years.
She said: "We understand that whoever buys the estate will get everything, lock stock and barrel. It has got to be someone who will run it like it is now.
"It used to be a really close knit community because everyone living here worked on the farm estate. It isn’t quite like that now. But is still a wonderful place to live.
"If you go quarter of a mile outside the village in any direction, you can look around you and not see another living soul."
All the properties are currently rented out, including the manor house, and all the tenants will be able to remain in their homes after the sale. The Trust has said it intends to sell the estate whole, rather than break it up.
Villagers said the current tenants of the manor house were Swedish, with connections to the Swedish royal family.
Ray Smith, former head keeper on the estate, said the King of Sweden had been to the village to go shooting.
"They are great friends. I shook hands with the King when he came over. The estate is very good for shooting. I imagine that will be what sells it."
Colin Boast, who runs Linkenholt Forge, said: "It would be nice if the new owner would come and live on the estate. It would be good if they lived here and could oversee it all."
He added: "There is a lot of history here. There has been a forge here since the year dot. And the people here are so friendly. Everyone knows everyone else. There are a lot of characters in the village who go back years."
The estate is currently owned by a charitable trust, set up by Herbert Blagrave – a keen cricketer, racehorse owner and trainer and one time president of Southampton Football Club – and his brother, Peter. Herbert Blagrave, who owned the land, died more than 20 years ago.
The Herbert and Peter Blagrave Charitable Trust was set up to provide funds for organisations helping disabled children and injured jockeys. It also set up the activity centre on the estate to help children learn more about the countryside.
The Trust is selling the estate in order to reinvest the proceeds and will continue to function, as well as to run the activity centre at Linkenholt.
The village has around 40 inhabitants, all of whom will receive booklets from the estate, informing them of the sale plans.
The village is being sold through estate agents Jackson-Stops and Staff. A spokeswoman said: "The trust wants to reinvest in a more diverse portfolio. The estate will definitely be sold as a whole."
She said an asking price had not yet been decided upon, but experts have put the value at between £17.5 and £22.5 million.
One industry expert, who knows the estate well and who asked not to be named, said: "The buyer will likely be a private individual. There are still people with money about.
"A year ago, the price might have been about £3 million more. It has dropped, but not dramatically.
"Estates of this size and quality in the "super prime" league are rare beasts. They don’t come on the market very often.
"People are backing agricultural land as something that is going to rise in value. And this area is close to the M4 corridor and aesthetically very beautiful. The real draws are its location, its shoot and its farming. The cricket club is a nice little bonus."
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