Post by Steve (Spondon Online) on Dec 9, 2003 20:43:22 GMT 1
Spondon's very own Grade I listed building is up for sale.
The Homestead on Sitwell Street has gone on the market for £1.7million following the retirement to Spain of current owners Mr and Mrs Rutherford.
Here's the full story, courtesy of the Derby Telegraph...
A Georgian house which has played host to some of the country's best-known historical figures is on the market for £1.7m.
The Homestead, a Grade 1-listed building in Sitwell Street, Spondon, is up for sale because the owners, property entrepreneurs Alan and Marysia Rutherford, retired to Spain.
It is thought to be only the second time that the property has been on the open market in almost 300 years.
One of just six Grade 1-listed buildings in the city, The Homestead has recently given up its status as a top-class hotel and restaurant.
It has played host to senior members of British governments as well as political figures from Russia, The People's Republic of China and Japan.
But, more importantly, over the last 300 years, The Homestead's walls have been adorned with Joseph Wright's paintings after his daughter, Anna, went to live there in 1795 when she married the surgeon, James Cade.
Rowena Cade, founder of the open-air, cliff-top Minack Theatre at Porthcurno, Cornwall, was born there, and was the last in a long line of Cades to occupy the house when she left in 1911.
Famous potter Josiah Wedgewood is thought to have married there in the 1760s.
And, in 1918, The Homestead took centre stage in a major scandal when two Swiss brothers, Henri and Camillie Dreyfus, who had come up with aircraft developments, were enticed to Spondon by the British government but then sold secrets to the Germans.
The owners' son, Andrew Rutherford (26), who lives in and is managing the house for his parents, said: "This is only the second time this place has been on the open market in 293 years.
"Before this, it was passed on through inheritance.
"It's a very impressive place of undisturbed beauty, built in 1715 and finished in 1736.
"It has all of the original furniture which comes with the house.
"It really is an incredible place. You can feel the history as you walk through it. I'll be sad to see it go, but it's not really the kind of place a 26-year-old lives in.
"Because it's a listed building, it's considered to be of national importance, so anyone who buys it can't really touch it, which I think is a good thing."
The main house has nine bedrooms and nine bathrooms. But there is also a four-bedroomed guest house, a Grade II-listed coach house and stable, and the original walled garden.
Derby estate agent Philip Pritchard, of Bishop and Co in Queen Street, who is selling the house, said: "In 20 years of estate agency, I doubt if anyone in Derbyshire has sold a Grade 1-listed building like this.
"It's an incredible opportunity to have all the traditional furniture as well. It's an amazing Georgian house in an urban area."
The Homestead on Sitwell Street has gone on the market for £1.7million following the retirement to Spain of current owners Mr and Mrs Rutherford.
Here's the full story, courtesy of the Derby Telegraph...
A Georgian house which has played host to some of the country's best-known historical figures is on the market for £1.7m.
The Homestead, a Grade 1-listed building in Sitwell Street, Spondon, is up for sale because the owners, property entrepreneurs Alan and Marysia Rutherford, retired to Spain.
It is thought to be only the second time that the property has been on the open market in almost 300 years.
One of just six Grade 1-listed buildings in the city, The Homestead has recently given up its status as a top-class hotel and restaurant.
It has played host to senior members of British governments as well as political figures from Russia, The People's Republic of China and Japan.
But, more importantly, over the last 300 years, The Homestead's walls have been adorned with Joseph Wright's paintings after his daughter, Anna, went to live there in 1795 when she married the surgeon, James Cade.
Rowena Cade, founder of the open-air, cliff-top Minack Theatre at Porthcurno, Cornwall, was born there, and was the last in a long line of Cades to occupy the house when she left in 1911.
Famous potter Josiah Wedgewood is thought to have married there in the 1760s.
And, in 1918, The Homestead took centre stage in a major scandal when two Swiss brothers, Henri and Camillie Dreyfus, who had come up with aircraft developments, were enticed to Spondon by the British government but then sold secrets to the Germans.
The owners' son, Andrew Rutherford (26), who lives in and is managing the house for his parents, said: "This is only the second time this place has been on the open market in 293 years.
"Before this, it was passed on through inheritance.
"It's a very impressive place of undisturbed beauty, built in 1715 and finished in 1736.
"It has all of the original furniture which comes with the house.
"It really is an incredible place. You can feel the history as you walk through it. I'll be sad to see it go, but it's not really the kind of place a 26-year-old lives in.
"Because it's a listed building, it's considered to be of national importance, so anyone who buys it can't really touch it, which I think is a good thing."
The main house has nine bedrooms and nine bathrooms. But there is also a four-bedroomed guest house, a Grade II-listed coach house and stable, and the original walled garden.
Derby estate agent Philip Pritchard, of Bishop and Co in Queen Street, who is selling the house, said: "In 20 years of estate agency, I doubt if anyone in Derbyshire has sold a Grade 1-listed building like this.
"It's an incredible opportunity to have all the traditional furniture as well. It's an amazing Georgian house in an urban area."
