Farm To Be Auctioned After 114 Years

The last time an auctioneer invited bids for Bellamy’s Farm at Brinkworth in Wiltshire was 1895.

After the hammer fell at £300 - the winning bidder was the tenant who had been paying £32 a year in rent for the farm - the property never returned to the market, until now.

After 114 years away from the public eye Bellamy’s Farm is being offered once again, this time at a sale to be held at the Hilton Hotel, Swindon, at 6.30pm on Tuesday, 28 July.

The guide price, £400,000 to £450,000, is now about 1,500 times more than the previous price achieved, realistic in view of the strong interest in former farms even taking into account the need for total modernisation, believes auctioneer Kit Harding, of Carter Jonas in Chippenham.

“The original house was extended in the 1980s and after work to bring it thoroughly into the modern age is complete it will to make a superb family home,” adds Kit.

“There is good reception space and five bedrooms, four of them doubles. But this is a property that’s about more than counting the number of rooms. It has real character and good rural views.

“It’s no longer a working farm but the house does come with slightly more than an acre of ground consisting of gardens and a small paddock.

“Brinkworth itself is a very popular village midway between Wootton Basset and Malmesbury. There are good local facilities and it’s within easy reach of both Chippenham and Swindon as well as the national road network through junctions 16 and 17 of the M4.

“Another former farm, this time within Swindon itself, is also being offered at the auction. The property, 2 Guernsey Farm, at Guernsey Lane, is a major wing of the Grade II listed former farmhouse that was once the heart of the district’s farm.

“The land was sold for development as Swindon expanded so the old farmhouse is now a rural oasis in appealing gardens amounting to a third of an acre complete with a spring-fed pond and very useful outbuildings.

“The house has many interesting features, including a large inglenook in the kitchen and windows with stone mullions, and there are five bedrooms. The guide price is £350,000 to £400,000 and again represents great value for such an unusual property.

“Our last Wiltshire auction in June saw bidders battling hard to place the winning bid with the result that another former farm, admittedly with more land, went for more than £1 million when the guide was about £800,000 to £850,000. In many cases, though, it’s the house that is the real centre for interest so I am expecting strong interest in both of these properties.”

The auction will also include a building plot in Quemerford with planning permission for a three bedroom house and a guide price of £140,000 to £160,000.  A two bedroom cottage in Compton, Oxfordshire, dating back to the 18th century, is being offered at a guide price of £100,000 to £120,000 while in Andover bids are being invited for a freehold vehicle workshop and store within walking distance of the town centre. Guide price is £190,000 to £230,000.