Trafalgar Park in Wiltshire, a Grade I listed Georgian country house gifted to Admiral Lord Nelson’s family to commemorate the Battle of Trafalgar victory of 1805, has come to the market through estate agent Savills for £12 million.
The estate, originally known as Standlynch Park, was acquired by Act of Parliament in 1814 and given to Lord Nelson’s elder brother, the Rev. William Nelson, and heirs. Thereafter the property was named Trafalgar Park pronounced ‘Traf-al-gaar’, in accordance with the word’s Spanish form, as Nelson would have recognised it.
The Nelson family sold the estate in 1948, and it has remained in private ownership ever since. Set within protected parkland seven miles from Salisbury, Trafalgar Park has undergone a programme of restoration and renovation in recent years – most notably to the Music Room, beautifully painted by Giovanni Battista Cipriani depicting the Arts, Venus and Shakespeare. It is believed to be the only surviving example of a complete room by Cipriani.
In more recent times, Trafalgar Park has been star of TV period dramas and feature films including the 1995 adaption of ‘Sense and Sensibility’ starring Emma Thompson, the TV adaption of ‘Emma’ starring Kate Beckinsale; ‘Amazing Grace’ starring Benedict Cumberbatch and in the zombie blockbuster 28 Days Later, directed by Danny Boyle who spent six weeks filming at the property with cast and crew.
Crispin Holborow, Country Director of Savills Private Office, says: “Trafalgar Park is an architectural gem, and represents the cream of the crop of fine country houses to be marketed in 2016. It has astonishingly fine rooms in a beautiful peaceful location.”
Michael Wade, the current owner, says: “Trafalgar Park is a wonderful family home, and its ongoing architectural restoration has been a labour of love. It has a unique place in Greek Revivalism, a rich history – and it is a place of great fun. During my tenure we have enjoyed and recorded opera and instrumentalists in the Baroque Hall, had the Globe Theatre Company perform Shakespeare – not to mention film stars and zombies for the films made at Trafalgar Park. For me, it is time for a new chapter and to find a successor custodian for this magnificent piece of art set, as it is, in a beautiful landscape affording complete privacy yet so convenient for London.
