Promotional Feature
If the arrival of Downton Abbey in cinemas has you hankering to make a historic house your home, take a look at Norcliffe Hall in Styal near Wilmslow.
This impressive Grade II listed Victorian mansion has just been released for sale as eight unique luxury apartments and provides all the period splendour of Crawleys 'country pile' but without the hefty multi-million-pound price tag.
Original features have been carefully preserved as fantastic architectural talking points within each of the apartments, including grand fireplaces, oak staircases, oak panelling and shutters, stained glass windows and even a four-stage watch tower.
This is the first time in its near 200-year history that Norcliffe Hall has been available for sale on the open market. It was built for prominent industrialist and cotton manufacturer Robert Hyde Greg, of Quarry Bank Mill, and was his family home until the early 1900s, after which it was tenanted and later used as a nursing home.
Norcliffe sits in 9.5 acres of private residents' grounds, which include a spectacular arboretum and sections of the River Bollin. In true 'Lord of the Manor' style, not only can apartment owners enjoy 'walking the estate', they are also automatically granted fishing rights on the River.
Whilst the apartments don't come complete with a butler and team of domestic servants, the estate does have its own groundsmen who hand mow acres of private lawns in perfect stripes and keep the rhododendron bushes blooming in the summer.
Visitors can be 'received' in a grand communal reception room and, whilst they wait, can admire its carved oak fireplace and ornate plaster ceiling, which is decorated with heraldic embosses including Greg's monogram.
There is a sun terrace overlooking the south lawn inviting afternoon tea or evening cocktails in fine weather. 'Below stairs', the 'servants' quarters' have been replaced with modern lifestyle facilities including a residents' fitness suite and access to a communal kitchen and al fresco dining and BBQ area.
Each of the apartments has been comprehensively decorated and dressed in an elegant style to showcase the magnificent original features. There is also the option to purchase the apartment complete with furnishings, suiting city-dwellers or internationals seeking a regular traditional English country retreat just minutes from Manchester Airport.
A slice of this Downton-style splendour will set you back from between £635,000, for a first floor two-bedroom apartment with a grand reception room overlooking the south lawn, and £775,000 for a four-bedroom triplex incorporating an impressive lounge and the Hall's watch tower. There are also penthouse and duplex apartments available.
The apartments are being marketed for sale by Gascoigne Halman and Savills in Wilmslow, Cheshire.
For more information including brochures, a history of the hall and photo gallery, visit www.norcliffehall.co.uk.
