To the manor moved

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Updated:

 

You don't have to be a lord of the manor or a member of the clergy any more to have the best house in the village. For people wanting to make the move, an old vicarage or rectory is first choice because they're spacious with sufficient bedrooms for a large family.

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'The most wanted house in England is a Victorian or Georgian family home on the edge of a village with a few acres of grounds,' says Edward Rook, of agent Knight Frank. 'All the best houses were traditionally built near the church and one, of course, was always the vicarage.'

Knight Frank along with York agent Blenkin & Co are selling The Old Vicarage in Brafferton, Helperby, York. Priced at £395,000, the 18th-century Georgian-built house has five bedrooms, a three-room attic and is set in almost an acre of garden.

Alternatively The Old Vicarage, a Grade II-listed house in Beulah, Powys, will cost you £315,000 through the Hereford office of Knight Frank International. It has six bedrooms in the main part of the house and a self-contained, two-bedroom attic.

But these types of property might come with a catch. Graham Waterton, at Strutt & Parker's Salisbury office, says: 'They are substantial and well built, but a solicitor must check the deeds carefully because many vicarages have established rights of way or public footpaths running through or near their gardens which parishioners use to get to and from church.'

There are also various regulations governing the names of former vicarages and rectories. Most will have covenants stipulating that the name 'The Vicarage' or 'The Rectory' cannot be used. To get round this, many become The Old Rectory, Parsonage or Vicarage.

Lincoln agent Eley's Residential is offering The Old Vicarage at Holland Fen, Chapel Hill, Lincoln, for £184,950. It has five bedrooms, about an acre of garden and is bordered by the North Forty-Foot waterway.

There is usually a major perk for those who buy direct from the local diocese - there is no stamp duty to pay.

This saves 1 pc of the price on sales between £60,001 and £250,000, 2.5 pc on £250,001 to £500,000, and 3.5 pc thereafter, but the savings apply only to properties sold by a registered charity - the status of most religious organisations.

The other sought-after house in a village is the manor - again because it's usually a good-size house with land attached. But be careful because their popularity means they might be sold at a premium. 'In today's terms, a manor house is grander than a farmhouse but not as grand as a hall or mansion,' says James Toogood, of Cluttons Daniel Smith in Bath. 'But there's a cachet to owning a manor house.'

He's selling Tilly Manor, in the Chew Valley village of West Harptree. There, £650,000 buys you a 17th-century house with five bedrooms, three reception rooms and two bathrooms.

Again make sure the lease and any covenants are carefully checked before you buy.

Strutt & Parker's Graham Waterton says: 'Quite often the manor house owner was responsible for the upkeep of the pulpit and altar at the local church, for example, and these responsibilities have never been cancelled.

'Some like the history; others don't want the added expense.'

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