Life
Restored: a home fit for a Kennedy
This gothic-revival country house in Aldenham, Herts, is an 18th century castellated grade II mansion, set in 55 acres of listed parkland.
May 14, 2009 11:52
By, Charlie Jacoby
2 min read
This gothic-revival country house in Aldenham, Herts, is an 18th century castellated grade II mansion, set in 55 acres of listed parkland.
May 14, 2009 11:52ByCharlie Jacoby, Charlie Jacoby
Once the home of two American dynasties — the family of banker JP Morgan and the Kennedys — Wall Hall has undergone an intensive four-year renovation and is now converted into seven remarkable properties (four already sold). This gothic-revival country house in Aldenham, Herts, is an 18th century castellated grade II mansion, set in 55 acres of listed parkland.
“We have had considerable interest, predominantly from people who are local or have close neighbourhood links,” says Stephen Barnet of Real Estates. “These are all one-off properties, never to be repeated.
“The Windsor and adjoining Otterspool apartments were sold within 24 hours of seeing the properties. We have already exchanged on The Kennedy, another stunner, with a full oak-panelled dining room and most recently sold the three-bedroom Repton, which has wonderful views across the landscaped grounds.”
Each of the converted mansion homes is an original, ranging from 1,200 sq ft for a two-bedroom second-floor apartment to a baronial-style 6,000 sq ft for a two-storey wing. Period features include grand staircases, a magnificent hammer beam ceiling, a silver vault, ornate cornicing and plasterwork, marble fireplaces, carved panelling and stained-glass windows.
The latest show unit, one of the larger wings in the mansion, called The Morgan, has just been unveiled. Richard Galland, Octagon director responsible for Wall Hall comments: “Our talented designer, R Interiors, has demonstrated how a slice of history can be transformed into a highly glamorous 21st-century home, complete with all the latest technology and comforts.
“Early viewers are already eulogising about the custom-made over-sized sofas and fabulous ruffled organza chandelier and that’s before they have spotted the circular antiqued mirror glass dining table and Venetian-style satin chairs.”
The remaining Wall Hall Mansion homes, with two bedrooms, start from £700,000. The magnificently decorated and furnished show unit, the four-bedroom triple-level Morgan, is on the market complete with all the furnishings and original silver vault, at £3.6 million. Each property in the mansion comes with two reserved spaces in the secure underground parking bay. Within the Wall Hall grounds, only two homes remain available, out of the flats, mews and detached houses Octagon has built there. One is a three-bedroom mews-style house at £795,000; the other is a spacious three-bedroom top-floor apartment in purpose-built low-level South Lawns, at £1.05 million.
Set in a Humphry Repton landscaped park and surrounded by rolling countryside, Wall Hall is within the M25 and only 15 minutes drive to that new society hub of Brent Cross. Commuters have fast access to the M1 or can experience stress-free rail travel from nearby Radlett into London’s St. Pancras. Watford, a little over three miles away, has a shopping centre with department stores and a multi-screen cinema.
In the grounds, developer Octagon has retained and restored the Repton garden architecture, including the original abbey folly and the formal Italian garden with marble gazebo, as well as enhancing the distinguished landscape designer’s vistas featuring a number of specimen cedars of Lebanon.
Beyond the cedars, tucked away in a corner of the grounds, there is also an outdoor all-weather floodlit tennis court and fully-equipped gym, for residents’ exclusive use.