Henry VIII banished his first wife, Katherine of Aragon, and executed his second, Anne Boleyn. His third, Jane Seymour, died in childbirth. But in 1540, when he divorced his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, Henry VIII presented her with a settlement: if she remained in England, she would be granted the title of “the King’s Sister”, receive an annual income and be given several important properties. Among them were Richmond Palace, Hever Castle – and Broughton Hall, a manor house in Oxfordshire.
The house, built in the 16th century, had once belonged to Thomas Cromwell, the advisor who had encouraged the ill-fated marriage, and who was executed that year. In the 17th and 18th centuries, significant alterations were made to the building, with further extensions added around 1800 and during the 20th century.
Today, the nine-bedroom, 8,436 square foot house is Grade II-listed and stands in 4.6 acres of grounds. It has been under the same ownership for the last 21 years – but now, it is for sale with Butler Sherborn for £3.75 million.
The centre of the house is the oldest part of the building, and still bears some of its original features, like the enormous stone hearth in one of the sitting rooms. With the Georgian extension came a grand entrance hall with a galleried landing, as well as a 468 square foot drawing room with high, corniced ceilings and a feature fireplace with a marble surround.
“There’s a real mixture of different eras in there,” says agent Katy Freeman. “But the main bones of it are the central heart, which is that sitting room which opens out onto the garden room.”
The house covers three storeys, with the kitchen, formal dining room, garden room and library —panelled, with full-length bay windows leading onto the garden— also sharing the first floor. There is a wine cellar below, while the house’s nine bedrooms occupy the top two floors.
“I love the fact that it’s a very fluid layout for the size of the house. It works so well,” says Freeman. “Your library is beautiful to take advantage of the garden, but also staying cool in the summer, when you can really open up the doors. On the darker days in winter, you can light the fire in the main drawing room, and there’s lots of light coming through the windows. It’s a house that enjoys all seasons, but it doesn’t feel like a huge space that you’re lost in.”
Outside, there are mature gardens, an outdoor dining area, a tennis court and a two-storey outbuilding, used as a car port with a garage on either side and a room above.
A stone pavilion, named after Anne of Cleves, stands in the gardens, connected to the house by a path called The Queen’s Walk. It is said to have inspired frequent visitor Lewis Carroll when he wrote Alice in Wonderland. Today, says Freeman, it is best used as a reading room, office or art room.
Broughton Hall was purchased by its current owners, human rights lawyer Karen Todner and criminal barrister Ian Jobling, in 2003, after winning a weekend away in the Cotswolds. “We had the best weekend and completely fell in love with the area, so much so that on our return to London we started looking at relocating,” says Todner. “Broughton Hall was featured as ‘Home of the Week’ in the Saturday Telegraph, and within three months it was our home.”
The couple have made cosmetic improvements to the property in the last 21 years, says Freeman, upgrading the kitchen and bathrooms and maintaining the building and grounds. In the Georgian drawing room, they added de Gournay silk wallpaper depicting scenes of 18th century India, introducing bold, House of Hackney wallpapers to some of the bedrooms.
“It’s been a wonderful house for our family,” says Todner. “It’s too big for us now that the children have moved out, so we are looking to downsize within the area.”
Freeman believes that Broughton Hall is likely to appeal to another family, having sparked the interest of people keen to trade in the capital for village life, as well as those looking for access to the nearby schools.
“It has served its current owners incredibly well. They’re not leaving with an easy heart, but they don’t use all the space that’s available to them anymore,” says Freeman.
“It’s got a very warm, very homely feel to it for such a big building. Some older houses can feel spooky – this one doesn’t. It’s a happy house,” she adds. “It is very special.”
