Want to Buy A Property in England?

Well, now’s your chance, as the von Essen Group of hotels went into bankruptcy earlier this week and has had to put a number of its properties up for sale. Not saying that they’re going to go at fire sale prices, but do take a look at what’s on offer.

First up, the historic Cliveden House. Cliveden, once home to Nancy Astor and mired in the Profumo scandal in the 1960s, recently unveiled the world’s most expensive afternoon tea – £550 for two people. Queen Victoria, a frequent guest, was not amused in 1893 when the house was bought by William Waldorf Astor, America’s richest citizen. It soon became a social hub, with guests ranging from Charlie Chaplin to Winston Churchill, President Roosevelt to George Bernard Shaw. Harold Macmillan, another regular guest, when told that the house was eventually to become a hotel, remarked “My dear boy, it always has been”

Next up for your approval, one of my favourite places, The Royal Crescent in Bath. Royal Crescent, Bath: Staying at the Royal Crescent in Bath has been compared to stepping into the pages of a Jane Austen novel. Its architecture has remained unchanged since the 18th century when it was built as part of the Royal Crescent by John Wood the Younger

And here’s the lovely Ston Easton, a simple little place in the country. Ston Easton Park luxury hotel, Midsomer Norton Somerset: Dates back to the mid-18th century and is set within gardens created by landscape gardener Humphry Repton. They include an ice house, a ruined grotto fountain, a sham castle, a plunge pool and Palladian bridges over the river.

Without a doubt, one of the more architecturally interesting buildings on offer is Ickworth. Ickworth Hall Hotel, the former home of the Marquis of Bristol, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England

Just a small sample of what you can pick up at the upcoming property auction.