Old Thatch up for sale - anyone got a spare 1.85 million?

[Fiona1986]

Stef sent me the link this morning.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -sale.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Anita Bensoussane]

Interesting to hear of the sale of Old Thatch, but what a lot of mistakes in that article! Enid Blyton was not the creator of Brer Rabbit and she had already written stories about him before she moved to Old Thatch. The cottage cannot be said to be "the setting" for The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage (although Peterswood does appear to have been influenced by Bourne End and Coldmoorholme Lane seems to have provided inspiration). Enid's first full-length book was The Enid Blyton Book of Brownies and it was written before she went to live at Old Thatch.

[Tony Summerfield]

You have beaten me to it, Anita, I was just about to post that the article is full of misinformed speculative rubbish! At least we now know the birthplace of Brer Rabbit!!!!!

[Fiona1986]

What do you expect from the Daily Fail?

I went to the website of the estate agent listed at the bottom of the article but there's no listing on it for Old Thatch that I could see.

[Daisy]

No wonder the gardens are no longer open to the public! Nice to see a little of the interior.

[Julie2owlsdene]

Funnily enough once I'd heard the gardens were closing, I had an idea that Jacky would be selling.


http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for ... 15433.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here are the details on Rightmove.

[Moonraker]

Let's hope the new owners will open the gardens to the public, once more!

[Courtenay]

C'mon guys, surely we can all band together and buy it for the Enid Blyton Society? We could start an Old Thatch Fund and have everyone donate as much as they can afford (in my case, er, maybe 20 quid? ). Tony can whip up some publicity, see if we can get a wealthy philanthropic backer (yeah, if only), maybe get a relevant institution like Seven Stories or the Museum of Childhood interested - then, once it's ours, maybe arrange joint ownership with the National Trust or English Heritage to help with the upkeep and promotion, and we've got the most fitting extant memorial to Enid - and the best Society clubroom ever - in our hands...

What are we waiting for??

[Poppy]

It's lovely to see inside Old Thatch and the beautiful gardens. It looks like a lovely, cosy home.

[pete9012S]

Download the pdf for sale brochure here:

http://www.expertagent.co.uk/in4glestat ... ternal.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Eddie Muir]

It is interesting that you should mention the National Trust, Courtenay. It would be wonderful if they bought Old Thatch and opened it to the general public. Enid Blyton is certainly important enough in literary terms for them to consider such a purchase.

[Moonraker]

Does the NT actually buy properties? I always thought people gave them their properties as they couldn't afford the upkeep. I'm probably barking up the wrong tree, though.

[Katharine]

Wow - that's stunning. I just couldn't imagine what it looked like inside. I wonder if the estate agents will be holding an Open House Day? I'd go just to have a nose around, as it's probably the only change I'll ever got to see inside otherwise.

Does anyone know if English Heritage and/or The National Trust have been approached about the possibility of buying the place?

If the Forumites are interested in buying it jointly, I've worked out that we'd need to contribute about £90,000 each (working on the basis there would be 20 of us interested). That's not including any legal fees, and I'd guess a solicitor would charge a fortune drawing up a contract with so many interested parties.

[Eddie Muir]

Does the NT actually buy properties? I always thought people gave them their properties as they couldn't afford the upkeep. I'm probably barking up the wrong tree, though.

I'm not really sure, Nigel. Here is a link that may throw some light on the way the National Trust acquires properties:

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/article-1356395868426/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

EDIT: Our posts have crossed, Katharine. I only read yours after I had posted mine.

[Katharine]

Oops, I didn't spot yours or Nigel's posts either!

I've just had another look at the house details, including the floor plan this time. As far as I can work out, both bathrooms are only accessible through a bedroom - that might well put quite a few people off.