Stanstead Hall, once the rural seat of Catherine Parr’s grandfather and a property pawn in many a royal dispute over the last millennium, has gone on sale for a cool £6.5 million.
Parts of the 13-bedroom Grade II-listed Tudor Manor House in Essex date back to the 11th century, during the reign of Edward the Confessor, and in the intervening years the property has changed hands like Henry VIII changed wives.
When William the Conqueror doled out the land, farms and estates to his barons he gave Stanstead Hall to Robert Malet, who held the office of Chamberlain of England in 1092. However, the estate was seized and he was banished from the realm for his part in the conspiracy to undermine Henry I (the fourth son of William the Conqueror).
The property in the village of Greenstead Green was passed around the nobility until the Bouchier family obtained a license to turn it into a castle in 1341 – and a moat was added. In the early 16th century and through marriage, the now fortified Manor House was then handed to Sir William Parr, Earl of Essex and grandfather to Catherine Parr – the sixth and only surviving wife of Henry VIII.
However, Sir William fell foul of Queen Mary for supporting her rival Lady Jane Grey in her bid for the throne and Stanstead Hall was once again seized.
When Queen Elizabeth reinstated him he kept his head, like his famous granddaughter, and got shot of the accursed property, selling it to the MP Sir William Waldergrave.
Today the Grade II-listed Tudor Manor House is accessible along a sweeping driveway, lined with trees. It has 13 bedrooms, six bathrooms and seven reception rooms and sits in 46 acres of moated gardens with a heated swimming pool, pizza oven, gym and tithe barn.
Some of the original Tudor features have been retained such as inglenook fireplaces, cornicing on the ceilings, wooden panelling and mullioned windows.
It is on the market with Savills for £6.5 million.
