British village FROZEN IN TIME for 50 years goes on sale - to the KINDEST bidder

A SPRAWLING English estate boasting more than 40 houses and a huge manor home has been put on the market for a staggering £20 MILLION.

PUBLISHED:  Mon, Apr 4, 2016

 

 

The English villa of West Heslerton is on the market for £20 million

The quintessential Yorkshire village of West Heslerton and the surrounding 2,116 acres of land, which has been left untouched for the past 50 years, is on sale to carry out the legacy for a "vibrant" community.

Former owner, the late Eve Dawnay - who had no heirs to carry on her remarkable legacy of giving villagers cheap rent and vintage sights and sounds - wanted the next owner to carry on supporting the local primary school, football, cricket and bowling teams.

The estate, which comes complete with 21-bedoom historic hall, 43 houses, garage and sports pavillion, has been dubbed "a blank canvas ready to be shaped for the next generation" following the death of the 84-year-old eccentric spinster in 2010.

Tom Watson, a director of Cundalls estate agency, which is handling the sale, said: "In many respects time has stood still in West Heslerton.

"There are now endless possibilities to convert buildings, develop plots and explore commercial opportunities.

YORKSHIRE POST/ SWNS 

YORKSHIRE POST/ SWNS 

 

The village's former owner wanted the next owner to carry on supporting the local community

"But I know that in an ideal world Miss Dawnay's family would really like to see the estate carry on in a similar vein.

"It [the sale] is a once in a lifetime opportunity - I just hope we can find the perfect buyer."
Dawnay who solely owned the whole of the village, near Malton, North Yorks., kept families living in the village for decades thanks to affordable rents and some clever social engineering.
 
Speaking about the village owner, Tom said: "Miss Dawnay was very wonderful lady - and the property rents are, and have always been, very low.

"This has helped keep a village community with a mixed group of ages and there are obviously a lot of people hoping that somebody with a similar benevolent nature will come along to take over the estate."

YORKSHIRE POST/ SWNS 

YORKSHIRE POST/ SWNS 

YORKSHIRE POST/ SWNS 

 

 

The Yorkshire village and its surrounding 2,116 acres of land have been left untouched for 50 years

The village, which is currently occupied with residents, has been in the Dawnay family name for 150 years and Eve inherited it in 1964 on the death of her father.

She graduated from Oxford University with a BA in French in 1948 and worked in Paris and London before returning to Yorkshire.

When she died in December 2010 there was no single heir and so the only realistic option for the beneficiaries was to sell.

Her younger sister Verena Elliott loved the village before she swapped it for the big smoke when she was 18.

YORKSHIRE POST/ SWNS 

YORKSHIRE POST/ SWNS 

 

Generations of families who have lived in the estate houses hold a real sense of community

Verena, who still lives in London, said: "It's not the prettiest of villages. It wouldn't go on the front of a chocolate box but my great-grandfather, grandfather and father loved it."

Speaking about what it meant to the family, she added: "We all loved it and it would be very hard to find a village with more loyal and lovely people living in it.

"There is a real sense of community, which is hard to find these days. There are generations of families who have lived in the estate houses. In fact, there was a time when nobody ever seemed to move away.