This Georgian house with huge secret garden in Wensleydale starred in All Creatures Great and Small and is now for sale
This Grade II listed Georgian property in Leyburn is a true hidden gem and sits in an acre of grounds, hence its name “Secret Garden House”. Now for sale with JR Hopper for £1.2m, it is tucked away in its own idyll, few visitors to the Dales market town know of its existence.
Formerly known as The Grove, the property stands a large and secluded walled garden and includes the historic six bedroom house, a coach house converted into two apartments, a stable and workshop.
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Hide AdConstruction of the main house started in 1720 and part of the property was used as a theatre in 1800. Impressive period features abound both inside the home and in the garden, where there is a summer house that is more than 200 years old, along with a Georgian sundial and a 1,200 year-old yew tree.
The property also comes with claims to fame. Lord Nelson’s surgeon, Peter Goldsmith is a previous owner and in the 1980s, the house and garden were used as a location for filming the first series of All Creatures Great and Small for the BBC.
Norma and Dermot Digges bought Secret Garden House in 1987, keen to move from Essex to Norma’s native Yorkshire, where they had enjoyed family holidays.
“The idea was to leave the rat race and have a career change, so they were looking for somewhere they could do bed and breakfast,” says their son Philip. “My parents were quite eccentric and guests enjoyed that and the amazing location and they returned again and again but what really put the B&B on the map was the filming of All Creatures Great and Small in the house and garden. Some of the cast and the director also stayed there.”
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Hide AdWhen the Digges retired, Secret Garden House reverted to being a much-loved home. “It’s a wonderful place, a complete one-off and we are sad to sell it but it is time for someone else to love and look after it,” says Philip.
The house has an entrance hall, three reception rooms, a conservatory, kitchen/diner, utility, w.c. and a boiler room. On the upper floors are six double bedrooms, two loft rooms, three ensuites and a house bathroom. The coach house has been converted into two apartments.Outside is the workshop, stable with potential subject to planning, gardens, treehouse and sundial plus ample parking.
*For details contact: JR Hopper, Leyburn, tel: 01969 622936, www.jrhopper.com