Fancy a mansion? This massive 20-bedroom Bewdley home could be all yours for £500k
An historic house at Bewdley, dating back to the mid-16th Century, is to be sold at auction on April 17 with a guide price of £500,000.
Ribbesford House is said to be an atmospheric Grade II listed property in need of renovation and is currently subdivided into apartments with a four bedroomed cottage, outbuildings and 8.15 acres.
The architecture of the property has merited inclusion in Pevsner’s renowned guide The Buildings of England: Worcestershire (1968).
The estate is first mentioned in written documents by an Anglo-Saxon Charter dated early in the 11th Century which states that it was given by Wulstan, Bishop of Worcester, to his sister.
Set over three storeys, the house has two octagonal towers to the rear and is set in generous gardens and grounds including an area of private woodland.
During the Danish conquest it was seized by the invading forces but later was regained by the monks, who held it only for a short time, when it was again captured this time by Turstin, a Fleming.
In 1074 the estate was presented to Ralph de Mortimer in recognition of his services to William of Normandy.
It remained in the Mortimer family for many centuries and in the early 17th century passed to Edward Lord Herbert of Cherbury..
The Herbert coat of arms can still be seen at the property.
Subsequently a quantity of Sir Henry Herbert’s correspondence was discovered in one of the towers, including letters from the Queen of Bohemia, Prince Rupert, Oliver Cromwell, General Fairfax, General Monk, Lord Herbert of Cherbury and George Herbert himself.
During the Second World War the property was requisitioned and used by British, American and Free French military, Polish and Italian Prisoners of War and was visited by Charles de Gaulle.
In 1947 Wing Commander and Mrs Howell bought the property and converted it into private apartments.
It contains a Great Hall and Sitting Room and oak beams and has two octagonal towers flanking the entrance on the rear elevation.
The gardens previously boasted fine formal gardens with a fountain, rose gardens, a knot garden, ponds, shrubbery and tennis court.
An original moat around the house was mostly infilled in the late 18th Century.
The auction by Worcester-based estate agent Andrew Grant will take place at 6pm on April 17 at the Crown and Sandys in Ombersley.
