An offer has been made on a 2,000-acre North Yorkshire village that went on the market for £20m earlier this year.
West Heslerton, which has been owned by the Dawnay family for more than 150 years, was put up for sale in April, giving wealthy individuals the chance to purchase a perfectly preserved, quintessential Yorkshire village where “time has stood still”.
From childhood, the late Eve Dawnay, the former owner of West Heslerton, near Malton, loved to build miniature models. When her father bequeathed her the village, she set about creating an archetypal family hub.
From its pub, garage, playing fields and sports pavilion, to a 21-bedroom hall and 43 houses, Eve Dawnay left a remarkable legacy when she died aged 84 in 2010: a functioning English village, with a population of about 375 people, preserved in time.
With no single heir, the village was left to Eve’s wider family and they decided to sell, hoping to find a wealthy yet benevolent buyer, who would help to preserve the bucolic way of life.
On Monday, estate agent Cundalls, which is handling the sale, confirmed that an offer was on the table.
“It is correct that it is under offer and it has been for some time now. There was a lot of interest from many different buyers, but we cannot say any more at this stage,” said Tom Watson, the director of Cundalls.
“Historically, we have dealt with many estates, but for the past 20 to 30 years, this is our biggest sale.”
The village’s Rightmove listing said: “A once-in-a-generation opportunity to purchase a 2,116-acre mixed agricultural, residential and commercial estate with vast development and sporting potential, situated within a beautiful area of North Yorkshire.”
The advert, which includes 86 photographs showing characterful cottages and sweeping scenic shots, is marked as being under offer.
Eve Dawnay graduated from Oxford University with a degree in French in 1948, and worked in Paris and London before returning to the village. When her father died in 1964, she inherited the estate.
The unmarried eccentric kept rents low and, with some clever social engineering, ensured that it retained a vibrant community supporting a host of amenities, including a primary school and football, cricket and bowling teams.
The centrepiece of the estate is the 21-bedroom West Heslerton Hall, which has been empty for 30 years since Eve Dawnay downsized to a four-bedroom house in the village.
The estate has more than 1,500 acres of agricultural land, including 112 acres of woodland.
The annual rental and agricultural subsidy income is listed as about £390,000.
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