Imagine for a moment it’s a beautiful, sunny spring morning. .You’ve just poured a cup of tea and are sitting at your kitchen table, looking through the open window at your home’s manicured lawns and fruit tree-filled gardens, all fed by your property's ponds and its small lake.. Elmestree House EstateElmestree House Estate .A knock comes on the door. From the kitchen, you walk through the front foyer and open the broad double front doors and there stands you neighbour. .You invite him in, but he says he has an appointment. He adds, however, he and his wife would be pleased to host you and your husband later for afternoon tea..You graciously accept. Your neighbour nods his head and smiles as he turns to make his appointment..From upstairs, your husband, in a loud voice, asks who was at the door. You tell him and mention the invitation to tea.“Charles, was it,” says your husband. “Did he have Camilla with him?”. Elmestree House EstateElmestree House Estate .Yes. That Charles and that Camilla. The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. Your neighbours..A fairy tale? Quite likely, but the possibility exists if you were to put down US$8.8 million and purchase the Elmestree House Estate in England's Cotswolds region..Built in 1844, the massive 117-acre estate, which shares a property line with Highgrove, the country home of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall, has been put on the market. .The home features 11 bedrooms and boasts several period-specific architectural elements, including a sweeping staircase complete with an elegant glass dome, windows with stone mullions, intricate cornicing and stone floors. .Though it’s been renovated several times, it still retains much of the coveted quiet English country look, says listing agent, Matthew Sudlow, head of the Estates and Farm Agency at Strutt & Parker.. Elmestree House EstateElmestree House Estate .“Family-owned estates such as Elmestree rarely come to the market and this estate is particularly special,” says Sudlow. “To find a house that is as architecturally pure as Elmestree in this part of the world, with many original features is remarkable.”.The estate has a number of supplemental outbuildings, including a two-bedroom coach house, a stable block, a four-bedroom farmhouse, called Farm End, built in the mid-17th century, a traditional Cotswold stone barn a cowshed with its original rugged stone pillars and a self-contained, three-bedroom annex, added in the early 1900s..The grounds feature a garden, protected by a rustic stone design element that creates a vertical barrier and overlooks the entire estate behind it. The garden has some old fruit-bearing trees, potting sheds, and garden stores that are ready for some improvements, according to Sudlow. .In fact, the property does require some renovations, and is listed as Grade II, a designation that recognizes its historical importance and ensures that renovations and alterations are made in line with its integrity and character..“The property is likely to attract attention from many different types of buyers, both those in the UK and overseas, looking for a private residence thanks to its location in prime Cotswolds countryside, and proximity to the much sought-after market town of Tetbury,” says Sudlow..And now, what shall you wear to tea?
