Summary

The Bapton Manor Estate is an impressive country estate with expansive arable and livestock farming enterprises and a portfolio of residential and commercial property. Lying, in part, within the Wylye valley, the Estate has its own fishing on the, well regarded, River Wylye and and excellent potential for a pheasant and partridge shoot over beautiful, rolling Wiltshire downland at the northern edge of the Cranborne Chase National Landscape (formerly AONB).

Towards the north of the Estate is Bapton Manor, an impressive, Grade II listed principal residence of classical Georgian design believed to date back to the 17th Century. The Manor is approached from a horseshoe driveway lined with chestnut trees and enjoys far reaching views of the Estate to the south. Whilst in need of some modernisation, the Manor has all the key attributes of an exceptional family home.

In addition to the Manor House, there are 7 estate houses and cottages, providing rental income and housing for current or former employees. Further revenue is generated by commercial lets and renewable energy receipts, as well as the farming and sporting enterprises.

There are numerous farm building complexes with combined grain drying and storage capacity for over 4,000 tonnes as well as extensive livestock facilities. Some buildings may have potential for alternative uses subject to gaining the necessary planning consents.

The Estate is being offered for sale as a whole or in 6 lots.

History

The village of Bapton has a rich history, dating back to at least the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was recorded as part of the Fisherton de la Mere parish. The village was first specifically mentioned in documents from the early 13th century and became its own “township” by 1249.
Various names including Thomas Payne, the Kellways and Sir Edward Wardour are referred to as having owned Bapton, prior to the Davis family who are understood to have owned the Estate for around 250 years from 1627. A notable historical figure subsequently associated with Bapton is Sir Cecil Chubb, who simultaneously owned both Bapton Manor and Stonehenge before famously gifting Stonehenge to the nation in 1918. After his death, Bapton was sold to Alfred Douglas-Hamilton, the 13th Duke of Hamilton. The current owners acquired the Estate in 1968.

The Manor House itself has 17th-century origins with later additions, and the village layout changed significantly between the 18th and 19th centuries as roads and lanes were rerouted and some disappeared. By the 19th century, Bapton had transformed from a community of small farms into a single large estate, mainly under the Davis family, and later became renowned for its shorthorn cattle herd, considered among the best in England at the time. In 1934, Bapton was transferred from Fisherton de la Mere parish to Stockton following the dissolution of the former parish.