Favourite haunt of the Romantic poets goes on market for £1.25m

A STATELY home which has played host to some of Britain's most famous poets has gone up for sale for £1.25m.

Overseale House, a Grade II listed building in the village after which it was named, was built in about 1760 for wealthy industrialist Joseph Wilkes.

During its heyday, the house played host to poets Samuel Coleridge and William Wordsworth, as well as James Watt, inventor of the steam engine.

But it became badly neglected after being requisitioned during the Second World War to house evacuees and was left to fall into disrepair for more than 50 years. At one point, the north wing dropped eight inches in places because the drains did not work properly and displaced water washed away some of the foundations.

For a period, the house and gardens were also used as dog kennels.

Present owners Peter and Anne Robinson bought it in 1996 and have restored it to its former glory, preserving many original features.

They are now selling the freehold of the home, which is open to visitors during the summer months, along with the bed-and-breakfast business they run there.

Mr Robinson, 63, said: "We are selling the house and the bed-and-breakfast, which I have run for the past seven years. "It's time for a change. I'm reaching retirement age and I want to go on and do other things.

"Anyone taking it over will have a ready-made business, plus it's a museum in itself. The Romantic poets stayed here and many other famous faces."

The B&B operation now boasts eight bedrooms and three bathrooms running along a central corridor, which extends the full length of the house.

There are three landings and each bedroom has a different style of decoration and fireplace.

The main kitchen is the original one and still has its 18th-Century cupboards.

The sitting room dates from 1760 and is the most original feature of the house. The windows are 240 years old.

Curtain valences, lost for years, were recently discovered under sacking in an outhouse and have undergone a year-long restoration.

The fireplace, which dates from 1801, is still used as a working coal fire, while a chandelier dates from 1900.

Kieran Peterson, of estate agent Colliers Robert Barry, said: "The property is one of significant historical interest and offers much potential."