King Of The Hill

Situated within one of England’s most sought-after private estates, Abode2 visits Camp End Manor, a stunning new residence in an idyllic and unique setting

St George’s Hill is internationally renowned as one of the most sought-after private estates in England. Situated on the highest plot on St. George’s Hill, Camp End Manor gets its name from the Iron Age fort that once occupied the site, the ramparts of which still define the south and west boundaries of its garden. As a result, the house enjoys stunning views south over the forests, fields and villages of The Surrey Downs. Occupying the highest plot on St. George’s Hill, the house is in an authentic Regency style and extends to around 1,600 square meter set in 6,000 square meters of land and gardens.

There is also a separate private tennis and squash club. The Tennis Club is one of the foremost racquet sports clubs in England, with 30 grass and all-weather tennis courts, two indoor courts and four squash courts. The Tennis Club also has a 20 meter indoor swimming pool, a well-equipped gym and a restaurant and bar.

In addition to St George’s Hill’s own sporting facilities, there are many other challenging golf courses locally including Wentworth, Sunningdale, Woking, Foxhills, Queenwood, Worplesdon and West Hill. Racing is available at Sandown Park, Ascot, Epsom and Windsor. Polo can be enjoyed at Guards Polo Club and The Royal Berkshire Polo Club.

St George’s Hill offers an ideal location for families looking for security and privacy and there are several excellent English and International schools within easy reach, including Eton College, Harrow School, Reeds School, George’s College and The ACS International School amongst others.

Architects Lees Associates, Linley Interior Design and The Stonemasonry Company were appointed in 2014 to work together to create the stunning property, and have succeeded in their quest. Andrew Paulson of Lees Associates says, “Everybody wanted to deliver the perfect house and that’s what we’ve done. We are all really proud. The house is absolutely fantastic – it’s everything we hoped it would be, and more.”

Andrew continues, “We have created a house which fits beautifully into the landscape; it belongs here. The house has been designed so that the four elevations address different aspects of the landscape. The view to the south, across 20 miles of beautiful British countryside, is truly unique – no other house in England has this spectacular view.”

Tim Murray, Interior Design Director at Linley, considered the importance of the remarkable views before commencing work on the interior design of the house. He says, “We don’t often see houses with views as good as these. We didn’t want the interior to conflict or fight with the views, so our starting point for the scheme was sophistication, understated elegance and a sense of calm. We wanted the client to be able come into this house and be relaxed and to feel at home.”

The Palladian style of the house, with its symmetrical footprint, gives harmony and balance to the building’s structure and to all the rooms within. It also means the views can be seen from one side of the house right through to the opposite side. The tall sash windows allow natural daylight to pour in from every aspect and light also floods down from an oculus window in the centre of the roof, set high above the graceful stone staircase.

The stair, a free-standing curve of 270º created by hand in the purest French Limestone, is a masterpiece of design and engineering. Pierre Bidaud, the French master-craftsman and Project Manager at The Stonemasonry Company, is undeniably proud of his firm’s achievement in creating this unique ‘floating’ staircase. He says, “We needed to stay true to the fundamentals of architecture, which are all about solidity, function and elegance. The challenge was to find a way to have 12 tonnes of solid load-bearing stone held up in the air! We worked with Lees Associates and our engineers Webb Yates to test and re-test the design and calculations to create this beautiful structure. At the heart of our work is the history of hundreds of years of stonemasonry and our love for the material with which we work. We hope the family buying this house will remember each stone in this beautiful staircase is part of the earth’s history.”

cem.wernercap.com/