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The Tunstall House Estate Kent
The Tunstall House
Estate
Kent
An exquisite small estate offered for sale for the first time in over 200 years
As a whole or in up to 6 lots
Tunstall House, Tunstall, Sittingbourne, Kent ME9 8DX
Maidstone 11 miles, Rochester 13 miles, Canterbury 19 miles
Features:
Lot 1: Tunstall House, dovecote, gardens and grounds
Entrance porch, Drawing room, Dining hall, Smoking room, Telephone room, Study, Conservatory,
Kitchen/breakfast room, Utility room, Milk room, Former servants hall, Former butler’s bedroom, Cloakroom, 2 Cellars, Workshop, 7 Bedrooms (5 en-suite), Separate WC,
Bathroom, 3 Second floor store rooms, Clock room, Well house, Dovecote, Swimming pool, Gardens and grounds
About 25.83 acres
Lot 2: The Stables
Reception hall, Sitting/dining room, Study, Conservatory, Kitchen/breakfast room, Utility room, Cloakroom,
4 Bedrooms (1 en-suite), Bathroom, Garden
About 0.73 acres
Lot 3: About 9.97 acres of traditional cherry orchard and pasture
Lot 4: A further 6.20 acres of traditional orchard and pasture
Lot 5: A 4.48 acre block of pasture with useful outbuildings
Lot 6: An additional 7.19 acre block of pasture
In all about 54.4 acres
HistoryTunstall House was built around 1660 for Sir Edward Hales’ steward, John Grove. The house has been described by the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments as ‘a remarkably complete example of a small gentry house of the mid-seventeenth century’.
In its 350 year history, Tunstall House has only been sold twice, with the current family having owned the property for over 200 years. Three generations of the Groves lived in the house before it was sold to Reverend Thomas Bland, the Vicar of Sittingbourne in 1755. In 1809 William Lacey Murton purchased Tunstall House. In an unusual twist, three of William Lacey Murton’s daughters married three Webb brothers and, ultimately, the Webb family inherited Tunstall House and have owned it ever since.
In the late 18th century, under Bland ownership, the house was briefly used as a girls’ boarding school, however it has primarily been used as a family home and place of business for the Murton and Webb families, who were land agents, surveyors and farmers.
Tunstall House is an important property with a rich history that benefits from the rare knowledge of lineage of ownership spanning five different centuries.
Lot 1 – Tunstall HouseTunstall House is an outstanding Grade I listed, 17th-century manor house and the most substantial found within the small and pretty village of Tunstall, which lies between the North Downs and the coast. Passed from one generation
to the next, the house has been cherished by the same family for over 200 years, evolving and adjusting over time to accommodate the changing requirements of day-to-day life. The house retains a great sense of warmth and history, and presents a rare opportunity to acquire a magnificent family home.
The house is built with beautifully mellow red and blue chequered bricks. A high, buttressed wall to the front boundary flanks tall pillars with double gates creating an impressive approach to a sizeable walled courtyard, around which the house, The Stables and dovecote form an extremely picturesque collection of buildings.
A front door set within a large porch opens to a fine, panelled dining hall to the centre of the house, dominated by a magnificent open fireplace. The further principal reception rooms are also arranged to the front of the house, providing both an elegant double aspect drawing room and a more intimate sitting room, the smoking room. Both have the panelling found throughout much of the house and large open fire places. A charming ‘telephone room’ is found off the dining hall and a study sits to the back of the house.
A wing extends to the rear of the house, where there is a generous farmhouse kitchen with a central island and a deep chimney breast housing an Aga. Beyond this the former servants’ hall and the butler’s bedroom provide a games room and a store room. There is a good sized utility room and ‘milk room’ and a staircase leads down
to the cellar and wine store. A beautifully crafted conservatory has been carefully added to provide a superb, bright living area adjacent to the kitchen.
An impressively wide staircase rises from a rear hall to the first and second floors. Five generous principal bedrooms all have en-suite bathrooms and include a master bedroom looking to the front of the house, with a storage room providing extensive hanging space. Beautiful wooden panelling is found throughout many of the rooms together with ornate carved fireplaces and cornicing. A large landing on the second floor leads to two further good bedrooms with vaulted ceilings and a bathroom. There are also three store rooms and a room which houses the clock mechanism. A secondary staircase returns to the first floor.
To the rear of the house a charming walled courtyard nestles to the back of the house and in front of the well house, providing a delightful, sheltered al fresco dining area.
Tunstall House is well situated within its acreage, with the formal gardens surrounding the house being divided into various rooms by lovely old brick walls and yew hedging, providing lawns with established herbaceous borders, a kitchen garden, and a discreetly tucked away swimming pool. Lawns flanked by mature trees stretch out to the north-east of the house leading to less formal area of meadow and a tranquil wooded track which leads to the parish church. The property enjoys far reaching views towards the Swale across gently rolling countryside.
Floorplans for Tunstall House, Tunstall, Sittingbourne, Kent ME9 8DX
Approx gross internal area*:House: 9,193ft2 = 854.1m2
(Including Cellars and Workshop)Well House: 335ft2 = 31.2m2
Illustration for identifi cation purposes only. Not to scale.
*As defi ned by RICS – Code of Measuring Practice.
Lot 2
Lot 2 – The StablesThe Stables is a delightful Grade II Listed property which was converted in the early 1990s. A separate drive provides access from the village lane and the gardens are set mainly to the front and side side, and extend to about 0.73 acres..
A front door opens to a reception hall, off which is a cloakroom. To the back of the house is the kitchen with a utility room. A triple aspect sitting/dining room with a fi replace gives way to a study and conservatory beyond.
On the fi rst fl oor are four bedrooms, one of which has an en-suite shower room, and a family bathroom completes the accommodation.
Floorplans for Tunstall Stables, Tunstall, Sittingbourne, Kent ME9 8DX
Approx gross internal area*:1,867ft2 = 173.5m2
Illustration for identifi cation purposes only. Not to scale.
*As defi ned by RICS – Code of Measuring Practice.
Lot 3:About 9.97 acres of traditional cherry orchard and pasture.
Lot 4:A further 6.20 acres of traditional orchard and pasture.
Lot 5:A 4.48 acre block of pasture with useful outbuildings.
Lot 6:An additional 7.19 acre block of pasture.
LocationTunstall is a pretty village with a collection of attractive period properties. Tunstall House is situated in the heart of the village conservation area and is just 2 miles from the shops and station at Sittingbourne, from where trains on the High Speed link reach London St Pancras in an hour. The station also provides services to Victoria, again with a journey time of approximately one hour, Cannon Street and London Bridge. Alternatively Ebbsfleet international (24 miles) accessed via the M2 offers High Speed services to London and the Eurostar to Paris.
Tunstall House
Reproduced from the Ordnance Survey Mapping with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. Crown Copyright (ES763454). NOT TO SCALE
The M2 (Junction 5) is about 3 miles to the west, and the Channel Tunnel at Folkestone and Port of Dover can both be reached via the M2/M20. Ashford International station (about 14 miles) offers services to London St Pancras in 37 minutes as well as Eurostar services to the Continent.
GeneralLocal Authorities: Swale Borough Council (01795 417555); Kent County Council (03000 414141)
Services: Tunstall House and The Stables have mains electricity and water, private drainage and gas-fired heating.
Agent’s Notes: 1. There is a Right of Way across the
southernmost part of Lot 1 leading to the land behind the school, Lots 3 and 4 and a neighbour’s land.
2. Four footpaths cross the outlying parts of the property. None come close to the house and only one passes through Lot 1, along the southernmost boundary.
3. Lot 5 is accessed via an unmade lane which is owned in part. Rights of Way are established across the remainder of the lane and this also provides separate access to Lot 1.
4. Lot 3 will be accessed via a Right of Way through the southern part of the village hall car park and via the southern part of Lot 1.
5. A neighbour has a Right of Way to pass along one of the footpaths in Lot 5.
6. The eastern part of Lot 2 was gifted to the village for use as a public path, providing a safe pedestrian access to the village school. This is undocumented.
7. In the event that Lot 2 is sold separately certain rights will need to be provided over Lot 1 for maintenance purposes etc.
8. A Development Uplift Clause will apply to the property.
Possession1. Lots 3, 4, 5 and part of Lot 1
are subject to an annual grazing licence at a rent of £2,000 per annum, vacant possession can be provided on expiry on 31 December 2016.
2. The Stables are let on a 12 month Assured Shorthold Tenancy. The tenant has served notice expiring 13 April 2016 when vacant possession can be provided.
3. The eastern part of Lot 3 is currently the school playing field and is subject to a 5 year rental to Kent County Council, due to expire on 18 October 2016 at a rent of £3,000 per annum.
DirectionsExit the M2 at Junction 5. Turn onto the A249 heading south towards Maidstone and take the first turning on the left, then bear left again towards the village of Oad Street. Continue through the village and turn right onto Sutton Baron Road - after approximately half a mile turn left onto Wrens Road and shortly afterwards turn right onto Hearts Delight Road which becomes Tunstall Road. Pass Tunstall Primary School on the left and Tunstall House will be found shortly afterwards on the left hand side.
IMPORTANT NOTICE Strutt & Parker LLP gives notice that: 1. These particulars do not constitute an offer or contract or part thereof. 2. All descriptions, photographs and plans are for guidance only and should not be relied upon as statements or representations of fact. All measurements are approximate and not necessarily to scale. Any prospective purchaser must satisfy themselves of the correctness of the information within the particulars by inspection or otherwise. 3. Strutt & Parker LLP does not have any authority to give any representations or warranties whatsoever in relation to this property (including but not limited to planning/building regulations), nor can it enter into any contract on behalf of the Vendor. 4. Strutt & Parker LLP does not accept responsibility for any expenses incurred by prospective purchasers in inspecting properties which have been sold, let or withdrawn. 5. If there is anything of particular importance to you, please contact this office and Strutt & Parker will try to have the information checked for you. Photographs taken August 2015. Particulars prepared February 2016.
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