Tasteful friends... first chance in 209 years
Whatever you make of the house I loved this line in the listing: is currently occupied by the 5th generation of the Spokes family with the property being offered for the first time for sale since the Mill was purchased in 1812.
Further: "Optone" was the name given to Upton in the Doomsday Book of 1086 and the books records an existing mill here. At that time the mill was let by King William I for 12 s, 8d. During the medieval period the ownership of the mill as part of the Manor of Upton passed between several hands, with the tenure granted to the Abbey of St James, Northampton. In 1790 Thomas Samwell inherited the mill who profited from the Dissolution and in 1812 the tenancy of the mill was taken over by the Spokes family.
I mean, the house isn't up to much but what a story....
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | April 20, 2021 2:33 PM
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An illustration of just how (not) far money goes toward property in the U.K. It's a handsome house in form and setting, but the exterior is a bit down at the heels - one side with one style of windows, the other half, semi-inhabited, with an altogether different style of windows that are not old but have fallen into disrepair. The exterior will look a world better when the vines turn green) and the roof repaired or put right. Inside it's a catalogue of cheap materials and piecemeal "good enough" one room at a time renovations, not restoration. The cheap flooring materials change with each room, planking (or panelling?) tacked up to the ceilings in some rooms to hide plaster problems and other sins, everything about as inexpensive as could be bought at the local B&Q. And all that mass of poured concrete slab extending in all directions.
Because there's not much historic to the interior, it's an invitation to start again with more luxurious and historic materials. The semi-inhabited section is the more interesting and has more integrity; the large top floor space would make a great art studio of similar space with some modest work. (And the ancillary structures also suggest an artist who needs a lot of space or some sort of individual home occupation.) But it's an expensive invitation to spend £1.2M then a few hundreds of thousands to bring it up to more or less what it should be, a simple historic industrial/domestic millhouse sitting atop a river.
Still it's a luxury of space internally and externally (5.3 acres) and a beautiful setting seemingly out of sight of ugliness - perhaps its biggest luxury.
| by Anonymous | reply 1 | April 20, 2021 12:56 PM
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As with a lot of properties mentioned in the Doomsday Book, the architecture is way later, by 750 or so years. The present building dates to 1815.
| by Anonymous | reply 2 | April 20, 2021 12:58 PM
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Yeah, I agree, R1. I posted it without looking at the whole thing and fell in love with it, rough as it is. Such an opportunity. It reminds me Vivien Leigh buying a her home, Tickerage Mill, and Olivier buying Notley Abbey back in the day. A real canvas with which to work in a wonderful setting.
| by Anonymous | reply 3 | April 20, 2021 12:59 PM
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Tickerage Mill was posted here a few years ago when it was up for sale. It had the loveliest setting I’ve ever seen with the pond in front and the trees and gardens. Truly idyllic.
| by Anonymous | reply 4 | April 20, 2021 1:32 PM
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And Vivien's cremated remains at the bottom of the pond! Fun fact!
| by Anonymous | reply 5 | April 20, 2021 1:36 PM
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Thats another lovely place, and I actually dont mind the interior even if it isnt 100% right. Again its staged with really nice furniture appropriate to the age and style of the home. It seems the British do this way better than Americans
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | April 20, 2021 2:33 PM
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