Glemham Hall Estate in the UK Is Listed for the First Time in 101 Years – Robb Report

Strutt & Parker

It’s not every day that one of England‘s grand country estates comes up for grabs. In fact, it’s been over a century since the Glemham Hall Estate in Suffolk hit the open market. 

The historic and stately spread is up for sale for the first time in 101 years, but it’ll cost you a cool £19 million (or roughly $24.2 million) for the behemoth 1,763-acre property, which is available as a whole, or certain lots can be purchased individually. At the heart of the picturesque estate is a baronial 12-bedroom Grade I-listed mansion with vast reception rooms, a fireside formal dining room, an aubergine billiard room, a paneled library, and two kitchens. Formal gardens around the residence give way to 200 acres of Grade II-listed parklands. The property also has more than 1,000 acres of arable land, perfect for anyone interested in exercising their green thumb, along with multiple farm structures and seven residential cottages. 

According to the listing, the origins of Glemham Hall can be traced back to the Elizabethan period, when it was built by Sir Henry Glemham in 1560. Dudley North, the Earl of Guilford, acquired the estate at the beginning of the 18th century and tapped Humphrey Repton, a preeminent landscape designer of the time, to extensively renovate the property. The remodel took place between 1712 and 1722 and included filling in a moat, extending the parklands, the demolition of the former manor house, and the construction of the existing residence. In 1923, the Earl of Guilford handed the estate over to Captain John Murray Cobbold of the Suffolk brewing dynasty and his wife, Lady Blanche, the daughter of the 9th Duke of Devonshire. 

“The Estate is in a good position to take what the current family has worked so hard to achieve, and grow on the success,” Tim Fagan, director of Strutt & Parker Estates & Farms, said in a press statement. “The next owner may want to continue the Hall as a family home while leveraging its commercial capabilities through arts and hospitality. Alternatively, the estate and main house set up lends itself well to a commercial investor particularly as this Suffolk location is an increasingly popular destination for families and creatives.” 

Glemham Hall Estate was passed down to Major Philip Hope-Cobbold in 1994 and today remains in the hands of his son, who lives in Glemham Hall with his family. In recent years, the grounds have been used to hold the annual FolkEast music festival and the Classics at Glemham car show. It also, on occasion, serves as a wedding venue and a backdrop for editorial photoshoots.

“The Glemham Hall Estate is one of a small number of traditional country estates at this scale still in existence, and one of the most prominent for the Eastern Region,” adds Mark McAndrew, head of National Estates & Farms Agency at Strutt & Parker. “Today’s buyers of estates approach such purchases with a sharp commercial mindset—as is necessary in acquisitions at this level—and will certainly be attracted to the commercial ventures established so far here. Despite this, even the largest estate purchasers, both commercial and individual, value the continuity of stewardship that these old estates require and will be central to Glemham Hall’s future success in the centuries to come.” 

Click here to see all the photos of Glemham Hall Estate.