Gigantic houses you see when driving through the countryside...

[SunsetOnTheHorizon]

We have been doing lots of day trips to nearby scenic locations (as is the whole country) And we always wonder who lives in these huge (gorgeous) houses....

I mean, today for example, we drove through Worcestershire and some of these house had me doing a double take.

Obviously, the ones set back from the road that had a long driveway weren't visible to us, but the ones with enormous driveways, loads of windows and lovely lawned fronts caught my attention (as always)

I always wonder what the insides must look like...and how hard it must be to keep it looking lush (unless you have a team of cleaners)

So, if u live in one, I would love to know, was it inherited, are u minted and how do u feel roaming about in the endless space you have?

Very nosey, I know, but I had to ask today.

Thanks all...

I know exactly where the lady from The White Company lives and my DD went to school with a DD of the former owner. So not elderly people. The house she had before this one might have been bought from an elderly couple. Both in Bucks. She opens her gardens under the NGS scheme and it’s amazing!

So people around here are entrepreneurs mostly. Own businesses or have inherited. Some are hedgies and hugely well paid city types as we are not that far from London. Some have sold in London to buy a bit further out. All, however, are newcomers.

No this wasn't bucks it was Shropshire where her husband is from. Actually a long.time ago now.

[quote reefedsail]@wheresmymojo I am currently coveting the library in this one![/quote]
That's so funny - I was looking at that one the other day.

Even though it's nowhere near me. My Rightmove stately piles hobby takes me all over the country

We know the family that inherited this house very well

chawtonhouse.org/about-us/what-we-do/

It's quite a sad story really. It's been in the family for hundreds of years but by the time they inherited it a lot of the tapestries, paintings, furniture, etc had been sold off to keep up with the running expenses.

In the 80s they lived in one part of it, his brother and family lived in another part and various tenants and lodgers lived in sections of it that had been loosely sub divided off.

Despite living in such a huge house they were actually quite poor and living week to week. The old kitchen garden was used as allotments to grow food to substitute what money they had.

There were pots and pans all over the place every time it rained.

Eventually they couldn't put off the fact the roof needed replacing any more and the cost was going to be ££££

They just didn't have the money and it was before going out for the day to NT properties, hire out for weddings, etc became a common thing to do. So they sold it on a long term lease to an American woman.

I believe they still own the freehold or have some kind of ongoing stake in it but to all intents and purposes it was given up.

The brother that we know (now in their 70's) moved out with his wife and children to a very standard small 3 bed 1970s semi which they're still in today.

He works part time as a volunteer showing people around the house he and his family had lived in for generations.

His daughter has written a book about it...

www.amazon.co.uk/Jane-Me-My-Austen-Heritage/dp/0648080501/ref=nodl_

Wow! These replies have bought these homes to life!

At least now, when we drive past and I ogle quietly in the passenger seat, I have an idea of how hard the upkeep is, that will bring it into context for me (sad, I know)

The history behind the older houses is awe-inspiring. It literally takes you back like a time machine esp the Jane Austen poster.

Keep them coming please, I think many others also had wondered the same as me.

Also, I mentioned to my DH that we should start a membership club, whereby we have agreements with the owners and take the members of the club around the homes for a fee. Everyone's a winner!! Another random business idea of mine!

NC for this.

I have one. It’s the house my parents bought in the 90s and I’ve inherited it, but don’t live in it currently. I lived there briefly with my parents before I moved away for university.

It’s 8,500sqft with 6 large bedrooms, four reception rooms, a total of 10 bathrooms (all bedrooms are en-suite), tennis courts, stables, driveway is about three-quarters of a mile long, and it’s on just under 100 acres, mainly farm land for the horses but the gardens are about 5 acres. There’s a lake on the property, and a river runs along the boundary. The driveway is complete tarmacced and there’s a gardener who does two days a week but mainly maintenance rather than cosmetic. We also inherited the ride-on lawnmowers and I love those My parents never had a cleaner, but I’d have one if I lived there.

My dad is a real rags-to-riches story. Grew up in abject poverty, had to leave education at the age of 11, then managed to set-up a very successful and profitable business against all odds. He ended up owning a lot of property, but this is the “main” one.

It’s a lovely house, but I’m struggling to decide what to do with it. We don’t live or work anywhere near it (we love ina lovely, if not small, two bedroom flat in the city) and it costs a fortune to maintain. Currently have a family member who needed a leg-up with housing living in it, but that’s not going to be long term.

I’m torn between wanting to sell it, and wanting to do right by my parents. They’d hate to see it sold and gone from the family.

It’s cost me an utter fortune in inheritance tax, and the maintenance bills are huge.

You need a lot of staff or it ends up falling apart around you.

Living in the middle of nowhere can leave you feeling quite prone so there’s lots of additional security measures that you perhaps wouldn’t expect.

My DH is always hankering after a house with land. We have quite a lot of equity in our (pretty boring) house in the home counties. Hes always showing me what we could get if we moved away when our DC have grown up. (Usually a big 5 or 6 bedroom house) I look, appreciate and then think of the cleaning (or decorating) and instantly go off the idea!!

One of my close friends grew up in one. Inside it is extremely untidy (though clean - there's just stuff everywhere) and they have so much inherited furniture. It's all mismatched, and there's way too much of it, and it's all extremely old.

They have lots of rugs for some reason, lots of art, piles of books in every bathroom, dogs everywhere, dirty wellies everywhere. They have land and horses and barns.

It was one of my favourite places growing up I absolutely loved it. Hide and seek was taken to new levels! I still get to visit sometimes and it's never changed.

To expand - their family money is inherited (from both sides).

I grew up in a large Edwardian house - swimming pool / stables / old tennis court etc. Hated it! Sure it was haunted and there was so many bloody doors and wood panelling. I did like having gates and feeling secure in that sense, but it was horrible - and too many stair cases so you never knew where people were.

We are poor now but ds is at school with a lot of people who own estates and the odd castle. There is a lot of staff - it’s normal to have a housekeeper / nanny / gardener / chimney sweep. They don’t on the whole have Specific drivers but have a company they can call to get a driver to them (and that’s normal, so they don’t send a taxi for you, they send a driver) their houses are usually lovely but lived in, which makes them cosy!

In terms of professions there are a lot of business owners, some inheritance, lots of Daddy owning a business and being on the board type people too. For the majority the wife has never worked, and the men tend to either be workaholics or just do “projects” to keep themselves busy - there doesn’t seem to be any middle ground between those though.

Anyone I know with big country manors are:

High up in the oil industry

Hedge fund managers

Successful business owners (property/software)

My neighbour lives in one. He is lovely, popped over for a chat this morning. Has no servants or staff beyond an also lovely gardener - has big, park-like grounds. He is retired but his parents lived in the house before him.

My home insurance has just been quoted at £800 for renewal, does that make me have a big house? Nope 3 bed semi but I feel posh now my home insurance is nearly the same (I am looking for alternatives quotes)

I know three people who live in these types of property, I love seeing them during take off on a plane!

1- huge pile in Yorkshire. Inherited, titled family. Passed down for centuries.

2- Dad went from normal MC family to super wealthy due to property development in the 80s/90s.

3- aunt and uncle. Retired headteachers on six figures at retirement and final salary pensions. Made a lot of money on their 4 bed Victorian house in London and bought a 7 bed former vicarage in a rural part of central England. The house needs a huge amount of work, managing it and doing it is basically their retirement project and gives them a purpose. In the middle of nowhere with no amenities or schools close by so not popular with families.

We did the opposite - had a stunning five story Georgian townhouse in a city centre and moved to a four bed, four recpetion room new build with land in the country. As lovely as period houses are, I don't think I would buy one again. There were a lot of things that prompted us to move and one of them was the sheer cost of keep the fabric of such an old house together. Every year seemed to bring a new bill that was never less than three grand and we got sick of it. The new build is nowhere near as pretty but it is cosy, warm and draught free. My children were fascinated the first windy night we had as the curtains didn't move! We spent money changing it to our taste when we moved in and that has been it! It's such a pleasure having money for the luxuries in a house, like changing flooring, rather than having to sell a kidney to keep the roof intact! There is so much work to do on the land in the new place (it came with 45 acres of pasture and woodland) that I really wouldn't have time for a period house anymore and I would hate to have to come in from being out doing field or yard maintenance, cold, wet and dirty, to a cold house that was hard to clean and falling to bits. You need VERY deep pockets for a period property and we quickly discovered ours were not deep enough! I do still love them but I am grateful for my new build!

I loved the architecture and space of our huge listed house, freezing as it was. People photographed it regularly, I just had a gardener to help me with the lawns. My late husband was on a six figure salary and we threw all our money at it, including my small inheritance from my Mum as well as remortgaging, for twenty years. Shockingly his pension plan didn't deliver when he became ill and he had to be medically retired, money became tight, and when he died four years ago I was left with a small widow's pension, the same amount I was earning as a lecturer twenty years ago. I continued to do the maintenance I could afford but couldn't keep up with it, and after Storm Dennis decided it had to go. Sold at auction for a song, a sad day.

Sorry for all the spelling mistakes! Although I should point out, the day we sold our Georgian house, I cried. It had been my dream home, what I had wanted since I was a little girl and they really are very special places. So I understand the pull they have for people.

Very big houses in the middle of nowhere require big security budgets. DH and I are wealthy but even then aren’t in a position where we could drop 5k per year (minimum) on house monitoring / walls etc.

6 beds round here is bog standard, but your 9+ beds are less common.

Once your pay and package starts including LTIPS, then a whole new world opens up. £4/600k + benefits is a fairly standard senior package in financial services at a certain level.

Salome61 I am so sorry that you have endured and lost so much. I hope that you have some comfort, peace and calm now.

We used to live in a house like this. A ride on lawnmower and not having loads of stuff is really all it takes to keep it looking lovely. There were rooms we literally didn't use from one year to the next. Bit pointless really

I fantasise about places like this to get away from noisy neighbours. Hadn't factored helipads into the equation and am now thinking nowhere is safe!

Our house is 6 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms and just over 5,000 square feet (I know this because I helped with the plans). We have a cleaner twice a week, a gardener and a company that treat the lawn four times a year, but dh mows it with a sit on mower as it's an acre. I'm a physics teacher in a secondary school and dh is a builder, we bought the plot and dh built the house and looks after it/maintains it so ours isn't a money pit. Dh is very hardworking though, not one for sitting down much. It's built of lime stone and looks a lot older than it's 18 years, I love it and know I'm lucky to live here.