For Anglophiles or historic home enthusiasts, this Grade II-listed farmhouse in the Cotwolds is one of the most prestigious country homes to come to market in England this year. Especially as its been thoroughly restored by its sellers and touts a long, intriguing past. Described In Pevsner’s “The Buildings of England: Gloucestershire,” as one of the finest timber-framed farmhouses in the county, its up for sale offering formal gardens, pastures, and paddocks for £3.5 million, around $4.8 million USD.
Set on 58 acres, Pound House has worn several names. Once known as The Pounds, this 16th-century farmhouse and its farmstead buildings carry centuries of Gloucestershire history. The estate was held copyhold underneath Dymock Manor, and is thought to have served as a home farm for the nearby Grange of Flaxley Abbey. When the Abbey fell to dissolution, The Pounds passed to the Cam family, whose name would define the estate for generations.
The current owners, Angela and Glyn Miles, bought Pound Farm in 2009, drawn to it while searching for a new home in Cotswolds to move to with their horses. At the time it was a “run-down and ramshackle” property they’d spotted advertised, according to Country Life. They proceeded on the advice of English Heritage, the SPAB, and architectural historian Richard Morriss, taking on a house dating to about 1530 with outbuildings and a delicate carp lake once farmed by the monks of Flaxley Abbey.
“The restoration process involved a painstaking level of detail, for example, analysis of the external limewash colour so that the original colour could be closely replicated, and analysing the lime plaster composition so we could replicate the exact amount of horsehair used in the original mix,” Angela Miles shared with the listing agent. During this meticulous process, they even found two secret rooms within the house.
Today, the farmhouse and its complimentary structures provide an exorbitant amount of living space and romantic, richly layered interiors. The main house features a country kitchen with a cream Aga, stone floor, and exposed beams a part of 7,966 square feet of space spread across three floors, including three tailored reception rooms and four bedrooms.
Outside, the grounds carry the same attention to detail. Gardens by Chelsea Gold-medal winner Jacquie Gordon include a sheltered courtyard and a circular belvedere overlooking the lake, while the equestrian facilities, four stables rebuilt brick-by-brick, make good on the current owners’ original appeal. “Enjoying the ever-changing beauty of the lake, gardens and surrounding countryside here offers a connection to nature, the seasons and a slower, more meaningful way of life. Pound Farm has enriched our lives beyond measure. It is a place of beauty, history, wildlife and tranquillity,” Angela says.
Phil Bates and Plum Fenton of Savills represent the listing.
