A significant farm business near Haverhill has hit the market with a price tag of £4.45m. 

Ruses Farm and Hempstead Hall Farm in Bumpstead Road, Hempstead, is for sale in up to eight lots or as a whole.

Agents Carter Jonas described the farm - which lies in the Uttlesford district - as a "prime rural investment opportunity" which includes a ring-fenced block of Grade 2 arable land and mixed woodland.

East Anglian Daily Times:
The site includes an "impressive" farmhouse, barn conversion opportunities and a 392-acre holding.

The farm is made up of six principal field enclosures and the Ruses Farm block is currently farmed on a contract basis with a traditional arable cropping rotation. The soils comprise of lime-rich loamy and clayey soils suited to autumn-sown crops.

The property also includes Hempstead Wood - a "substantial" block of woodland mainly made up of mature native broadleaf tree species including oak, hornbeam, ash, and beech, said the agents. Sporting rights are included in the sale.

East Anglian Daily Times:

Carter Jonas senior surveyor Jamie Elbourn said the setting of the two farms was "exceptional" and the mix of arable land, woodland, five-bedroom farmhouse, barn conversion opportunities and amenity land offered a "multitude of opportunities".

"Ruses Farm & Hempstead Hall Farm provides an idyllic investment opportunity of a residential farm in the picturesque rolling Essex countryside," he added.

“The arable land provides opportunities for game cover to be drilled, while the substantial block of woodland includes two pheasant pens and a container for hosting shoot lunches, making this block of woodland tailor-made for sporting or amenity interests."

East Anglian Daily Times:

Ruses Farmhouse - which dates back to the 17th century - is a five-bedroom Grade 2 Listed, timber-framed and rendered house situated in a plot of 1.28 acres.

There is an opportunity to purchase additional land for equestrian use or to establish a smallholding.

East Anglian Daily Times:

Ruses Barn is a grain store and is situated in a farmyard with three recent barn conversions.

"We anticipate that strong interest will be received from a wide range of buyers, including farmers for the land, house buyers for Ruses Farmhouse, developers for the barn conversion opportunities and equestrian buyers for the amenity land," said Mr Elbourn.

Ruses Farm lies eight miles east of Saffron Walden.