Chance to build a modern grand design in a Wolds walled garden

A computer generated image of the single-storey dwelling that is ready and waiting to be built

A country estate in the Yorkshire Wolds is about to enter a new chapter with the construction of an architect-designed eco house in its former grounds.

Kilnwick Gardens, a contemporary single-storey family home set in two and a half acres of landscaped grounds, will be built in the former walled kitchen gardens of Kilnwick Hall at Kilnwick Percy, near Driffield, once an off-plan buyer is secured. The brick, cedar and glass house will have a sedum roof is available for modification by whoever buys it. The “Grand Designs” style property will be set within the metre-thick brick walls of the former gardens. Extending to around 5,000 sq ft with an indoor swimming pool, it will be surrounded by lawns, trees and water features.

The idea for the new-build property came from Richard Benwell, whose family have managed and owned the walled garden since 1945. The land is currently run as a commercial plant nursery but due to Mr Benwell’s imminent retirement it is to be closed and redeveloped with the construction of the new house.`

The buyers will have the option of a pool

Mr Benwell says: “This really is the end of an era for the walled garden at Kilnwick Hall but it is also the start of an exciting new one. My family have worked and lived here for more than seven decades but now that there is no one to take it on as a nursery, we wanted to ensure that it lives on in a new incarnation.”

He adds: “We are looking for the right sort of person to buy this wonderfully designed modern house. It must be someone who will love the walled garden and who will put their own mark on it with this fantastic new property.”

The Kilnwick Gardens house will be constructed by Richmond-based building firm Randall Orchard, which specialises in bespoke properties. Once agreement has been reached between the buyer and the developer on the final specification, construction is expected to take around 12 months.

Toby Cockcroft, director of Croft Residential, which is marketing Kilnwick Gardens, says: “The sublime blend of ancient and ultra modern, combined with its location in what has to be one of Yorkshire’s finest hidden gems – the Yorkshire Wolds – all add up to a really superb modern family home.” Also included in the price is an existing three-bedroom cottage with its own gardens and driveway. It bears the Latin inscription: “Rus amat, et ramo, felicia poma, ferentes” above the door, which translates as: “He loves the countryside and the branches loaded with ripe apples”.

*www.CroftResidential.co.uk , tel: 01904 328222.