Loading...
Auction PropertyUnusual Auction Property

The OMG! Blingtastic Home Under The Hammer (With One Of The Largest Lounge’s In The Country)

Property auctions are well known hunting grounds for homes needing renovation.  But today I can offer you out-and-out *BLING!!!!* instead of the usual “bleurgh…but it has potential”.

Here is:

The Watergrove Manor, Lower House Lane, Lancashire, OL12 9PL

Watergrove manor

It’s being sold at Allsop auctions on 12 Feb 2015 (lot 180).  Guide is £1.5M+

Which sounds a lot for Lancashire (I’ve struggled to find many any properties nearby over a million) the closest comparison is this which is on the market for £50 short of a million and has been listed on Rightmove since 30 May 2012.  So it strikes me this isn’t really the area for OTT development.

The house is a beauty though and the refurb is stunning.  This is what the external used to look like before…and hang on till the end when you see inside!

watergrove manor before

Up until recently Watergrove Manor was listed for sale with Fine & Country at a whopping £2,450,000 – so the auction guide is almost ONE MILLION LESS!!

Alternatively, you could have rented the house for £20,000 per month.  Yes, I meant to write that.  The annual rent for this Lancashire lovely was £240,000 per year! Which I think in them parts is rather alot!!!

So what do you get for your moolah?

Well, according to the previous agents blurb:

The Watergrove Manor is a spectacular conversion of this substantial 1920’s former Water Authority building and has created one of the finest residences in the North of England. Set within c900 acres of the Watergrove Country Park encompassing national walks, bridleways, cycle tracks and a reservoir with its own boating club, the property is the envy of all who visit.

The property was transformed in 2008 and some of the Country’s most renowned interior designers and craftsmen were employed to utilise the character from the original industrial framework and to capture the imagination of the most discerning of owners. The result is breathtaking and provides approximately 11,000 square feet of the most luxurious accommodation available anywhere.

This beautiful family home set in two acres of gardens and grounds enjoys seclusion but is within reasonable access of the motorway network and surrounding amenities in nearby Littleborough and Rochdale.

The property has won many accolades for exceptional standards of interior finish from the ‘Cedia Sound System’ installed throughout, ‘Stuart Frazer’ kitchen and the numerous ‘Villeroy & Boch’ bathroom suites, stunning pool and delightful landscaped gardens and grounds.

The accommodation is set over 3 floors and briefly comprises; reception entrance with return stone staircase to all levels, sitting room, family kitchen, large entertaining lounge with bar and glazed gallery, cinema room, indoor pool, self contained house keepers apartment, first floor, three ensuite bedrooms off the gallery level, gymnasium overlooking the pool, mezzanine with two bedroom suites and second floor, large landing, additional bedroom and large bathroom.

Outside the property is approached via remotely operated entrance gates leading to the rear of the property, the driveway leads to the side were there is a detached triple garage and continues to the front and sweeps all the way around the property in a 360 degree loop. The property is protected by infra red security cameras and the landscaped gardens wrap around the property with raised lawns, formal lawns, patio area, summerhouse, raised decking and water feature and paddock.

Which all sounds rather fancy from the building’s roots – which was a filter house!  Yes, this property was built in 1936 to supply Rochdale with drinking water which allowed up to three million gallons of drinking water from Watergrove reservoir to be treated every day.  In 1992 a new waterworks was opened leaving the Filter House redundant and it lay in a state of disrepair until 2007 when the then owners, United Utilities, placed the property on the market for £400,000.

It was in 2008 that the building was converted to a luxury six-bedroom residence that houses one of the largest entertaining lounges in the country measuring 3,500 square feet with bar area and glazed gallery.  Which you have to admit is breathtakingly awesome!

Personally, I love it.  I think this is a fabulously stunning renovation.  But, I hate to think how much the owners are going to take a hit on the sale price.  To me, this property is a prime example of “over-development”.  In a different location, this property would’ve sky-rocketed, but in Rochdale…need I say more?

watergrove manor Watergrove manor watergrove manor watergrove manor watergrove manor watergrove manor watergrove manor watergrove manor watergrove manor

 

And there’s more:

To View:

The property will be open for viewing every Tuesday and Thursday before the Auction between 1.15 – 2.15 p.m. These are open viewing times with no need to register.

8 comments
  1. Debs

    I live not far from this property and have walked past it many times admiring the fantastic conversion. If only I had a few million spare!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.