Would you like to live in your own stately home? Otley Hall, a historic moated Tudor manor house near Ipswich, could be yours - if you have £2.25million to spend.
The stunning building, a Grade I listed manor house, was the home of Bartholomew Gosnold, who was one of the founding fathers of America. It is set among formal gardens and woodland grounds of about 10 acres.
The house has five principal bedrooms and four attic bedrooms - as well as a swimming pool, tennis court and games barn.
Thought to date from early Tudor times, the house still boasts a host of period features, including exposed timbers, wooden panelling, decorative wall paintings, high ceilings and distinctive octagonal chimneys.
The outstanding house stands in a rural setting on the edge of the village of Otley, a few miles from both Woodbridge and Framlingham, and has survived largely unchanged for around 550 years. It is one of the few Grade I listed homes to be in private ownership.
The current owners have allowed wider access to Otley Hall for conferences, wedding celebrations and quiet retreats. Further details of Otley Hall Events is available from the agents.
Famous explorer planned his voyages at hall
Former owner Bartholomew Gosnold crossed the Atlantic in 1602 and explored the coast of New England, naming both Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard (named after his daughter.) In 1607 he was the prime mover in the Virginia Company's famous Jamestown expedition, which led to the first permanent English-speaking settlement in America.
Downstairs, Otley Hall's impressive Great Hall has fine oak panelling and moulded beams, and a screens passage. There is also a parlour with linenfold panelling, which is understood to have originated from chambers in Hampton Court Palace owned by Cardinal Wolsey.
The downstairs accommodation also includes a 42ft kitchen/breakfast/dining room, which is part vaulted and overlooked by a minstrels' gallery, as well as a large study and adjoining office, and a snug sitting room overlooking the moat.
The wide Jacobean staircase leads to the first floor, where the five double bedrooms all have views across the gardens and grounds. There are also two updated shower rooms and a laundry/ironing room on this floor.
On the second floor, there are four attic bedrooms and two bathrooms, and there is also a flexible-use apartment, with access from the minstrels' gallery, including a living room, bedroom shower room and kitchenette.
Outside, the exceptional gardens include colourful herbaceous beds and borders, an ornamental knot garden, wildflower garden and H-shaped "canal", as well as a thatched summer house.
Within the woodland grounds there are a heated outdoor pool and pavilion, tennis court, traditional barn and general purpose gardening/workshop stores, as well as garages and further parking.
The property also includes a traditional timber barn and former stables range which has been converted into a multi-purpose function room, games room and party barn, complete with a catering kitchen and bar area.
For more details, contact Jackson-Stops on 01473 218218.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here