Prince Andrew’s eldest, Princess Beatrice is currently a pupil.PropertiesThe area abounds in listed period properties with exposed beams, inglenook fireplaces, and thatched roofs. Converted farmhouses, barns, rectories and schools are also available, as are occasional new builds. Dreweatt Neate are selling the Old School House in Wilton for £420,000, a converted mill house in Pewsey for £750,000, and new town-centre flats by Crosby.PricesTwo-bed listed cottages are available for £160,000 from Dreweatt Neate and £185,000 from Hamptons. Larger family houses are more likely to sell for between £300,000 and £500,000. The 5-bed Burdett House on a large plot in Ramsbury has a guide price of £730,000 at Burroughs.LetsAn unfurnished two-double-bed early Victorian semi four miles from Marlborough in Durley near Savernake Forest is letting for £700 per month.
A new three-bed house in Milton Lilbourne near Pewsey 7 miles from Marlborough is asking £800. Both are for a minimum of 12 months via Carter Jonas.Estate AgentsBurroughs (Hungerford), 01488 682349; Carter Jonas, 01672 514545; DreweattNeate, 01672 514916; Hamptons, 01672 516256; Knight Frank, 0488 682726;Strutt & Parker (Newbury), 01635 241707 5 241707.. We’ve all seen them: show homes where the building is well proportioned, the furniture has been chosen with care but the so-called “art” on the walls looks as though it were simply painted to match the curtains. Moneynetmortgagesearches We’ve all seen them: show homes where the building is well proportioned, the furniture has been chosen with care but the so-called “art” on the walls looks as though it were simply painted to match the curtains.
But a recent collaboration between property developers and the website britart is ensuring that some of London’s smartest new show homes now boast real art upon their walls.Pietra Lara, a development of 11 one- and two-bedroomed apartments and three duplex penthouses in Pear Street, Clerkenwell, is one of the first schemes to benefit from the collaboration. Designed by architects Chassay & Last for the developer, Indigo, each apartment has a distinctive layout with its own specification. The minimalist show home has cool white walls, pale flooring and ultra-chic contemporary furniture by B&B Italia.The walls feature carefully chosen pieces which, although interesting in their own right, do not detract from the surrounding space.
But, according to Indigo’s MD Indi Johal, selecting the right pieces often causes difficulty: “Art is always a problem. Usually we leave the choosing of it to the interior designer but, with the best will in the world, they tend not to be art experts. You either get something wild and wacky which is the designer’s own personal taste or you get some awful Clintons card-type poster.”Johal was determined to avoid both but was unsure how to go about the process until he came across an article on the subject in Housebuilder magazine: “I discovered that britart were about to start a new scheme of leasing art to developers and as we were on such a tight deadline they came down and sorted the whole thing out within two days.”Britart’s Elle Foster joined the company a year ago to set up its business division. She thought up the idea of leasing art to show homes after hearing of her developer uncle’s problems and witnessing for herself show homes where what was on the walls were “just cheap prints”.
