Grade II-listed country home in Blackborough goes on sale for £400,000

A rotting Grade II-listed country home has gone on the market for £400,000 but the new owner will have to spend a lot more than that to restore it.

Blackborough House which extends to over 15,500 square feet, is located in the idyllic location within the Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the small hamlet of Blackborough, Devon.  

The once extravagant property was built in 1838 for George Francis Wyndham, the 4th Earl of Egremont and was originally designed as an Italianate palace.

Situated near to the picturesque village of Kentisbeare, it’s within easy reach of a popular primary school, shops, a post office, church, pub, restaurant and has fantastic transport links.

But the 60 room property is now in dire need of renovation and prospective buyers have only until Wednesday 4pm to submit their best and final offers.

The home arranged over four storeys has been regarded as one of Devon’s finest architectural gems over the years.

The run-down home has a fascinating history of previous owners. 

Blackborough House was first used as a rectory until 1894 and was also a school for local children for some of that time.

In the 1930s it was a homeless shelter run by the council and Church of England before being owned by the Quakers.

Towards the end of the war it was a YHA youth hostel and after the war it turned into a car scrapyard and has more recently been used as the filming location for the low budget horror movie In Fear.became a vehicle breakers’ yard.

Amateur racing driver Ralph Sanders bought the property in about 1995 and operated a car spare parts business from it. He was said to have old racing cars parked inside the house. 

It was more recently been used as the filming location for the low budget horror movie In Fear.

Constructed from stuccoed brick with stone dressings it features an arched loggia to three sides, has two separate staircases, two former service wings and a central courtyard which was once covered in a glass dome. 

According to the vendor’s agent, a prospective buyer previously sought planning permission to convert the property into a 64-bedroom hotel and spa with four linked pavilions and and a further seven detached villas within the grounds.

Locals opposed to the planning application in 2018 and it was refused.

But potential purchasers are being advised that they must make their own enquiries if they wish to alter the property via Mid Devon District Council. 

The property which comes with 10.4 acres of overgrown land is accessible via a right of way with footpaths across the land. It also has parking space for multiple vehicles.   

Agent Oliver Custance-Baker said it is impossible to estimate how much will need to be spent on the property to make it habitable.

Although the external walls are fairly sound and some windows boarded up to protect the property from the elements, the roof will need completely replacing and there is no internal lighting.

 Viewings can be arranged via the vendor’s estate agent Strutt and Parker.