LITTLE EASTON MANORLittle Easton, Dunmow, Essex

Your attention is drawn to the Important Notice on the last page of the text.

LITTLE EASTON MANORLittle Easton, Dunmow, Essex, CM6 2JN

Gt Dunmow 2 miles, Stansted Airport/M11 9 miles, Bishop’s Stortford 11 miles,

(Liverpool Street Station 38 minutes), Chelmsford 15 miles, London 47 miles.

A fine Grade II Listed Manor House set in magnificent grounds with lakes, 2/3 cottages, outbuildings and a splendid ‘Barn Theatre’, situated in a quiet hamlet in the North Essex countryside.

Reception hall • Cloakroom • Drawing room • Study • Dining room • Sitting room

Kitchen/breakfast room • Office • Extensive cellars.

8 bedrooms • 5 bathrooms.

Outbuildings • Garages • Annexe with 2 bedrooms • Two cottages with 2 and

3 bedrooms respectively.

Beautiful formal gardens and grounds including tennis court and swimming pool.

Lakes and parkland

In all about 18.33 acres.

www.savills.co.uk

+44 (0)20 7075 280633 Margaret StreetLondon W1G 0JDtmphillips@savills.com

SITUATION/LOCATION

Little Easton Manor is situated in the hamlet of Little Easton

only two miles away from the ancient market town Great

Dunmow which is famous for the Dunmow Flitch Trials, and

offers many amenities; these include restaurants, hotels, pubs,

bars, a leisure centre and professional services; nursery, primary

and secondary schools; shops, supermarkets and a market

every Tuesday. There are further facilities available at Bishop’s

Stortford and Chelmsford 11 miles and 15 miles respectively. The

area is well known for good schooling; Chelmsford Girls’ and

King Edwards Grammar School both regularly top the league

tables; the private schools Bishop’s Stortford College and

Felsted are also near-by.

The property lies in the heart of equestrian country and is

surrounded by bridleways and quiet roads, ideal for riding.

There are several hunts locally with the Essex and Suffolk Hunt

or the East Essex Hunt. Additionally Little Easton borders the

River Chelmer which is a regular venue for local angling and

canoe clubs.

The property is ideally situated for transport links: Stansted

airport is only 9 miles away and London is easily accessible by

road via the M11 only 46 miles or by rail with regular trains to

London Liverpool Street Station from Bishop’s Stortford in 38

minutes.

HISTORY

The current house is built on a site that shows traces of Roman activity and is first

recorded in the Domesday Book. The Manor of Estaines, as it was known, was held

by the Windsor family and then passed to Godfrey de Louvaine (brother of the Duke

of Brabant). In 1365 Eleanor de Louvaine married Sir William Bourchier of Stansted

Hall, Halstead, uniting two great estates. The property and surrounding land remained

with the Bourchiers for several generations and was favoured by the Plantagenets

for hunting and hawking and it is rumoured that in 1460 Edward IV and Elizabeth

Woodville spent some of their honeymoon in the Manor House. The house later

became home to a Plantagenet princess when Henry de Bourchier, created 1st Earl of

Essex married Isabel Plantagenet, Aunt of Edward IV and Richard III. Isabel’s face can

be seen above the sitting room fireplace. The property was consequently owned by

their granddaughter Anne de Bourchier who married William Parr, brother of Henry

VIII sixth wife: although their marriage was annulled in 1543, Parr obtained his ex-

wife’s lands and titles. Following Parr’s support of Lady Jane Grey the lands were later

confiscated and passed to Henry Maynard, who rebuilt the manor in 1624 on the site of

the medieval house. The property remained with the Maynard family, who again rebuilt

the present property in 1840, until the 20th Century when it was sold to actor, film and

theatre director/producer Basil Dean of Ealing Studios/“Pearl and Dean” fame. The

property was bought by the parents of the current owners in 1971 from Lord and Lady

Inchcape.

The Barn Theatre, a historic former tithe barn, has hosted many famous names.

Converted to a theatre in 1913 by The Countess of Warwick, it has been the venue

for many events: In Edwardian times Ellen Terry gave poetry readings and on one

occasion acted with Lady Warwick in a scene from Romeo & Juliet. During the First

World War there was a performance of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ that featured

H G Wells. Between the wars, the Teachers’ Annual Summer School was held in The

Barn Theatre with a variety of visiting lecturers including George Bernard Shaw.

Numerous other celebrities have visited Little Easton and The Barn Theatre since,

including: Hermione Baddeley, Gracie Fields, Charlie Chaplin, George Formby and many

others. Several films were made in and around the grounds during Basil Dean’s time,

including an Edgar Wallace thriller and ‘Midshipman Easy’. More recently an episode

of BBC’s Lovejoy was filmed in the grounds. Since 1971, Rowan Atkinson, Tim Rice,

Bill Cotton and Esther Rantzen have attended various functions at The Barn Theatre

which has also been used as a venue for the educational “Plowden Conference” with

both Lady Plowden and Margaret Thatcher delighted by the venue. In recent years it

has continued to be used, together with the smaller Turkey Barn to put on plays and

concerts, and for functions including weddings and parties. The adjoining Turkey Barn

can also be used for smaller functions on its own. Both have separate access past the

neighbouring church to a car park on the opposite side from the main house in part of

the ancient moat.

THE PROPERTY

Approached by a short drive past the Church, through

magnificent ‘lantern’ wrought iron gates, the Manor sits

opposite the charming open courtyard which is enclosed by

period outbuildings, the barns, the cottages and the house.

Little Easton Manor was described by a visitor from the East

as “A jewel of England, perfectly set”. It is very special with its

superb setting amongst formal gardens, buildings and extensive

grounds with lovely sweeping lawns down to the Great Pond

and its central island and fountain.

The house itself dates mainly from the 17th Century and is built

of oak studding and brick with particularly fine pargetting

bearing many local and intricate patterns. The Manor is entered

through a covered porch with a double sized front door to a

wide, quarry tiled entrance hall which leads all the way through

to the rear garden. The principal accommodation on the ground

floor stems from the hallway with doors to the sitting room,

drawing room, dining room, study, cloakroom and butlers

passage. As one would expect from a grade II listed house, there

are magnificent period features in all of the reception rooms

including large fireplaces with wood burning stoves, exposed

beams and lead mullioned windows. The large kitchen/breakfast

room has direct access from the front garden and doors to

the kitchen courtyard, cloakroom and office. The spiral stone

staircase from the Butlers Passage goes up to the first floor.

The ancient, magnificent cellar with a music room, wine den

and stores can be accessed either from the Butlers Passage or

from the dining room where a short staircase leads past a mural

originally commissioned by Basil Dean.

An attractive oak staircase leads from the main hall up to the beamed first floor landing with

intriguingly shaped ceilings, alcoves, wooden panelling and lead mullioned windows. There

are six bedrooms and three bathrooms in the main part of the house. The main bedroom has

stunning views overlooking the garden and down to the Great Pond. The fourth bedroom off

the main landing leads through the secondary landing at the top of the fine spiral stairs to two

further bedrooms and two bathrooms. It is possible to access the attached annexe-cottage from

the end of the wing corridor.

THE BARNS, OUTBUILDINGS AND COTTAGES

Positioned around a wonderful enclosed courtyard which is now laid to lawn are the Barn

Theatre, Turkey Barn, outbuildings and two cottages with garaging to the rear.

There is an annexe-cottage adjoining the south-east wing of the Manor House which is built of

brick with rendered plasterwork under a tiled roof. It has two large reception rooms, a kitchen

and utility room on the ground floor. On the first floor are two bedrooms and a family bathroom.

The main bedroom has an area currently used as a laundry but with potential for an en-suite

bathroom. There are two further semi-detached cottages, one with three bedrooms the other

with two bedrooms. The property is currently let on AST. The property benefits from many

outbuildings including garaging and stores along the drive, and around the courtyard at the rear

of the main house.

First Floor

Ground Floor

Cellar

annexe - Ground Floor

annexe - FirstFloor

stbales and GaraGinG

barn theatre

CottaGes no. 1 & 2 - Ground Floor

CottaGes no. 1 & 2 - First Floor

turkey barn

THE GROUNDS

The property sits central to the grounds of approximately

18.33 acres and is made up of formal landscaped gardens,

woods and pasture land. The formal gardens to the front of

the house were re-designed by Alan Carr Linford (one of

The Queen’s favoured water colour artists). The front of the

Manor looks onto the formal garden with superb topiary

hedging shaped into Coachman’s Hats through the ages.

Along its eastern edge a large terrace runs between two

of the remaining castle turrets and overlooks the sweeping

lawns down to the Great Pond and Weir Pond beyond.

From the back of the house, steps lead down to a large

lower terrace with a statue and fountain. To the left is a

tennis court surrounded by lawns. From the lower terrace a

maze of paths lead through the parterre, past an old horse

trough to the kidney shaped swimming pool with barbeque

area. From the horse trough one can look left and right

to see both of the original Carriage Gates; one can follow

the old carriage way through a wooded path down to the

Great Pond and then across the dyke past two ancient

wooden bathing huts and to the boathouse on the other

side. Built as part of a movie set, the boathouse nestles

neatly into the corner of Great Pond with the paddock

behind it; in the past this paddock has been used as a

venue for large open air concerts and has two separate

accesses. The huge mirror carp and good sized tench

along with the beautiful scenery make the Great Pond,

especially, a popular fishing spot; currently fishing permits

are available on a daily basis.

important inFormation

Savills and their clients give notice that:

1. They are not authorised to make or give any representations or warranties in relation to the property either here or elsewhere, either on their own behalf or on behalf of their client or otherwise. They assume no responsibility for any statement that may be made in these particulars. These particulars do not form part of any offer or contract and must not be relied upon as statements or representations of fact.

2. Any areas, measurements or distances are approximate. The text, images and plans are for guidance only and are not necessarily comprehensive. It should not be assumed that the property has all necessary planning, building regulation or other consents and Savills has not tested any services, equipment or facilities. Purchasers must satisfy themselves by inspection or otherwise.

26711.82ha

33701.34ha

39640.62ha

40570.29ha

30580.28ha

17700.26ha

45630.20ha

47550.20ha

52550.15ha

15720.08ha

39740.22ha

33580.20ha

20690.19ha

27820.13ha

45570.12ha

44680.11ha

22790.08ha

43650.07ha

43560.07ha

50540.07ha

26580.07ha

49600.07ha

35560.07ha

37560.06ha

42600.05ha

51590.05ha

33780.04ha

55510.03ha

19760.03ha

28630.02ha

34800.02ha

46600.01ha

47650.05ha

56510.01ha

32670.01ha

41740.01ha

46590.01ha

3386a0.06ha

3886a0.07ha

1

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Pond

Pond

Weir

Pond

Weir

87.2m

86.4m

Horse

86.1m

85.8m

Tanks

80.9m

81.1m

86.4m

82.6m

Glebe

85.8m

Track

Lodge

88.1m

Little

Spring

Ravens

Stock

s

Issues

Church

Rectory

Sub Sta

Long Pond

PARK ROAD

Path

(um

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Pat

h (u

m)

Church Row

Boat House

Church Pond

Church Cott

Little Easton

Reproduced from the Ordnance Survey Map with permission of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office. © Crown Copyright 2016. Carter Jonas LLP ES100021719

Map Centre 560,360 223,661

PLAN IS NOT TO SCALE AND ISFOR IDENTIFICATION PURPOSES ONLY

NOTE: For identification purposes only. NOT TO SCALE

LITTLEEASTONMANOR

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

direCtions

From London take the M11 to J8 and then the A120 towards

Braintree. After about 5 miles exit to Gt Dunmow onto the

B1256. At the third roundabout by Tesco take the first exit

signed Woodlands Park continue through the first roundabout

for just over a mile then at the second roundabout take the first

exit. Shortly after take the first left hand turn to Little Easton

and then take the next left fork onto Park Road. The property is

on the right just past the Church. Post code CM6 2JN.

ViewinGs

By appointment with Savills: +44 (0)20 7075 2806

CounCil tax

Little Easton Manor - Band H

Annexe Cottage - Band B

Semi-detached cottages - Band D

loCal authority

Uttlesford District Council

London Road, Saffron Walden, Essex, CB11 4ER

T: 01799 510510

tenure

Freehold

NOTE: For identification purposes only. NOT TO SCALE

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