Set in 8.5 acres of landscaped grounds, Harefield Place in Ickenham is an elegant Grade II listed Georgian manor house, built in 1786 for Sir Roger Newdigate, which has been transformed into a brand new gated development of 25 converted and newly built two and three bedroom luxury apartments and penthouse. With a wellness centre providing a spa, gymnasium, swimming pool and tennis court, it is complete with underground parking and an estate manager: marketed by sole agent Beauchamp Estates.

Perfect for relocating Londoners seeking spacious homes with an abudance of private outdoor space, gardens and leisure facilities Harefield Place is located off The Drive, Ickenham’s most prestigious address, close to Ickenham Railway Station and the A40/motorway network. Harefield Place has been developed by leading Buckinghamshire housebuilder Manorgrove Homes, in association with Jade Development Enterprises, and the apartments and development are build complete and ready for immediate occupation. The main launch of the scheme with dressed show apartments and ‘virtual tours’, follows the post-lockdown restarting of the UK housing market.

Harefield Place has an illustrious history. Sir Roger Newdigate, who built the current manor house, was a member of the Newdigate family, who for almost 440 years were the Lords of Harefield Manor, the baronetcy created in 1440 by King Henry VI; the estate founded in 1446.

During the Tudor period Sir John Newdigate became a favourite of King Henry VIII and enlarged the estate to over 150 acres with lands seized from the church. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I the Newdigates built (1559) a grand Elizabethan house on the estate and married into the family of neighbouring landowner Sir Thomas Egerton, Lord Chancellor to Queen Elizabeth I.

In July 1602, during one of Elizabeth 1’s ‘Royal progress’ tours outside the capital, the Queen visited Harefield Place, hosted by the Newdigate family, Sir Thomas Egerton and his wife Alice, Countess of Derby. In the grounds of the estate Queen Elizabeth I watched a performance of Shakespeare’s Othello* performed by the King’s Men acting company.

When Sir Roger Newdigate inherited the baronetcy he demolished the Elizabethan house and replaced it with the current Georgian Manor House, built in 1786 by architect Henry Couchman. Sir Roger, inspired by the Shakespearean history the estate, became a major benefactor to Oxford University, supporting English writing and poetry, with Oxford’s Newdigate Prize for Poetry named after the family.

In 1805 and during the early 20th Century the house was refurbished, so the current interiors have both Georgian and Edwardian architectural detailing. The final member of the Newdigate family to live at Harefield Place was Charles Newdigate Newdegate (1816-1887) who inherited the estate in 1833 and added a lake and walled kitchen garden. Charles was a Conservative MP who socialised at the estate with friends including Tory leader Sir Stafford Northcote and Lord Randolph Churchill. In 1877 Newdigate sold Harefield Place to a wealthy City of London stockbroker.

In 1934 127 acres of parkland were sold to Middlesex County Council for use as housing. In 1935 the house ceased being a private home and became the Harefield Country Hospital, a maternity hospital specialising in caring for women during pregnancy and childbirth. In 1959 the hospital sold a parcel of land which is now the adjacent Harefield Place Golf Club. In 1965 the hospital was closed and Harefield Place remained vacant until 1981 when consent was provided for conversion into offices.

Between 1983-1985 the manor house and 8.5 acres of grounds were refurbished as offices, with a new build wing added. The offices served as the headquarters of Blockbuster Video up until 2014 when Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy, overtaken by films screened via Satellite and the internet.

Now after a two year restoration project involving architectural practice HAP Architects and interior design firm Concept Interiors, Harefield Place has been returned to its prestigious residential origins.

The new gated development is approached via a sweeping driveway which opens onto a forecourt and parterre garden in front of the manor house. Sitting on an elevated position on the site which offers far reaching views over the surrounding area the restored manor house provides nine two and three bedroom apartments, up to 1,940 sqft (180 sqm) in size, whilst the new build wing offers 16 two and three bedroom apartments, up to 1,967 sqft (182 sqm).

Each apartment at Harefield Place is individually planned with thoughtful layouts and sophisticated décor, some with a study/home office and many with access to a private outdoor balcony or terrace. All benefit from generous ceiling heights and tall windows, spacious reception rooms, fully fitted custom design kitchens and luxurious bedroom suites.

In the manor house the original grand entrance hall has been retained and restored. Each apartment has a totally unique layout with a double reception room, a separate or open plan kitchen, and a principal bedroom suite with a walk-in dressing room and main bathroom.

The manor house apartments include elegant original or reinstated Georgian and Edwardian bespoke design cornice, ceiling detailing, architraves and skirtings. The apartments in the new build wing offer similar accommodation but are more contemporary in style with floor-to-ceiling glazing, open plan layouts and private balconies and terraces.

The luxurious specification includes fully fitted bespoke handmade kitchens with granite worktops and integrated Siemens appliances, engineered solid wood flooring to principal rooms, underfloor heating, Minoli marble effect tiling to bathroom floors and walls and fully fitted bespoke wardrobes.

Harefield Place has its own private wellness centre which consists of a lower ground floor leisure complex with an indoor swimming pool, glass walled fully-equipped gymnasium and a spa with steam and sauna room, hot tub and changing room. Outside in the grounds the wellness centre includes a new tennis court with pavilion, built on the site of the walled kitchen garden.

The 8.5 acres of landscaped grounds have four acres of sweeping lawns and gardens perfect for outside relaxation with space for entertaining friends, picnics, games of croquet, jogs and woodland walks. To the garden façade of the manor house there is a large sweeping lawn bordered by mature trees, this is where Shakespeare’s players once performed Othello* to Queen Elizabeth 1. Bordering the lawns around the house there are wooded grounds which include graveled pathways, the lake and an orchard.