Is £3.5 million a record asking price for a flat in Hertfordshire? This is no ordinary flat, however. One of the apartments at Wall Hall in Aldenham is back on the market.
It was once the home of American banker John Pierpont Morgan, son of the founder of JP Morgan and visitors included the late Queen Mother.
The Second World War saw the estate play host to the US Ambassador Joseph Kennedy, who lived there with his family and son John F Kennedy, the future president of America. In 1942, following Morgan's death, the estate was procured by Hertfordshire County Council and was later used as a teacher-training college.
In 2009, the estate once again switched hands. Developer Octagon purchased Wall Hall and converted it into 125 homes, with the Grade II listed Neo Gothic mansion in the centre of the project.
Set in 55 acres of parkland, Octagon carved the mansion house into seven apartments. The largest of these, at 5,800 sq ft, is the one that is now up for sale. Set over three floors and taking up the west wing of the original mansion, it has generously-sized rooms with high ceilings and ornate cornicing.
The current owners bought it for an undisclosed sum and then paid a further £400,000 on the interior. The flat comes with elaborate chandeliers, period fireplaces, designer furniture and a Mark Wilkinson kitchen.
There is a cinema room, underground parking and the apartment has its own private gardens.
The wider development includes a village green, fully equipped gym and children's play area. Agents are Preston Bennett and Knight Frank.
Will it sell? Private Property Search, Strutt & Parker's buying agency, puts Hertfordshire villages at the top of its list of popular property locations during 2016.
"There are a few hidden gems on the Essex and Hertfordshire border, with very good access to London via the A10/ M11 or trains into Kings Cross and Liverpool Street," says FPS's Jessica Simpson. "Villages include Barkway, Buckland, Great Chishill and Clavering - where Jamie Oliver's parents own The Cricketers inn. These places have access to popular market towns of Buntingford to the west and Saffron Walden to the east."
