East meets west in Wiltshire

Cheryl Markosky takes stock of an Elizabethan country house with Eastern promise

Just as fusion food is all the rage these days, a mash-up of all that Blighty holds dear with an oriental twist has created one of the most noteworthy homes on the market.

Stockton House, an Elizabethan gem in Wiltshire’s Wylie Valley, dates back to the 9th century. With early occupants such as Lord Wulfhere, the monks of St Swithun’s and the Dean and Chapter of Winchester, what could be more English?

Yet, a stroll round this mini-manor with original stone fireplaces, exceptional plaster ceilings and paneled principal rooms, uncovers decidedly Asian touches, thanks to the efforts of its current Chinese barrister owner.

Along with plugging leaks in the ceiling (as a resident in the next village, I remember strategically placed buckets once collecting drips in the hallway), the eminent and tasteful Buddhist vendor (aided by his equally discerning English partner) has melded his Far Eastern art collection to an English frieze with heraldic arms, animal and flower ceiling motifs and an over-mantel depicting men in the fiery furnace from the Bible’s book of Daniel.

The good news, according to selling agent Ed Lucas from Strutt & Parker Salisbury, is that the new owner can purchase a number of the carefully chosen items in the £6.5 million seven-bedroom house. It seems a shame not to claim the four-poster bed in the Georgian bedroom for a start, and I personally would put in a bid for a pair of blue stone elephants guarding the koi fishpond.

“You can’t get perfection,” says Lucas, “but this is one of the best country houses to come along in awhile.” It’s tough to choose a favourite room, but “the first floor Great Chamber with its marvellous ceiling and paneling” gets his vote.

Other treats include the cantilevered staircase built in 1802, a three-bedroom staff/guest flat, two-bedroom staff annexe, former chapel, old squash court, aviary, beehives, magnificent walled kitchen garden, orchard and paddocks.

The piece de resistance is a top floor meditation suite kitted out with calming Buddhas. And the recent addition of an artfully positioned wooden screen in the first floor hallway (to soften the area at the top of the stairs) and a Japanese garden means oriental add-ons will become part of the house’s modern heritage.

There’s already been a good deal of interest from Americans and South Africans (Strutt & Parker’s new affiliation with Christie’s International Real Estate is proving useful), and from a leading English film director, points out Lucas.

“A few have been put off by a footpath that crosses one outer piece of the land and some want more than 39 acres,” adds Lucas.

But as the owner points out, it’s difficult to find a characterful house “that hasn’t been over-renovated and that’s within such easy reach of London”. Not to mention the occidental-meets-oriental blend that somehow feels just right in this quintessential English spot.