Lillingstone Dayrell, Buckinghamshire, MK18

This Grade II listed home enjoys a wonderful location, close to two lakes in mature parkland with views over the surrounding countryside. Jacobean in style, the house has been comprehensively renovated and provides elegant and substantial family living with high ceilings, an integral staff/guest apartment and a cleverly incorporated lift to all floors. There are numerous unique features, including a painted ceiling, a secret passageway and, in the Orangery, a mural of the house placed in an imaginary Italianate landscape.

Historical Note

Old Tile House has an ancient history, and in 1693, was the home of Sir Marmaduke Dayrell, who placed his coat of arms above the portico. Sir Nikolaus Pevsner mentions the house in his monumental work The Buildings of England, where he remarks on the English bonding of some of its brickwork and its porch, which he describes as projecting 'in an old fashioned Jacobean way'. Both of which would indicate the house is older than the date of 1693 above the front door. There is a fascinating history available; however, in brief, the house remained in the possession of the Dayrell family until the latter part of the 19th century when the Robarts family acquired it when they purchased the Dayrell estate. The house was then put to various uses until, after falling into decline, it was sold in the mid-1980s when it underwent extensive renovation.

Gardens and Grounds

The award-winning gardens of Old Tile House are truly remarkable and have been featured on television. Traditionally laid out, there is an extensive parterre and knot garden to the front, with a laburnum walk to the rear, as well as a rose garden and various garden rooms, including a statue garden and trompe l'oeil. Other features include a fruit cage, a greenhouse, an obelisk and an ornamental pond, along with a mulberry tree which may well date back to the Jacobean era. The grounds have been cleverly designed to take advantage of the surrounding views with plantings of mature trees, including a very large copper beech tree, various types of magnolia, a paper-bark maple, an amelanchier, a holm oak, a liquid amber, a fig tree along with several types of apples and pears and also a grapevine.

Old Tile House lies within the hamlet of Lillingstone Dayrell in the north of Buckinghamshire, less than a mile from the National Trust Gardens at Stowe. The house has a rural outlook and stands in the private parkland of the Robarts estate, which formerly belonged to the Dayrell family.

Lillingstone Dayrell is within easy reach of Buckingham, Aylesbury and Milton Keynes, all of which provide an extensive range of shopping and recreational facilities. Bicester Village Designer Outlet and the new Restoration Hardware (RH) at Aynho Park are also close by.

Communications are excellent with both the M40 and M1 about 15 miles from the property giving access to London, Northampton, Birmingham and the national motorway network. Milton Keynes railway station offers a regular commuter service to London Euston, with Bicester North connecting to London Marylebone, while parts of the East/West Rail Link from Oxford to Cambridge are soon to be opened at nearby Winslow and Bletchley.

Sporting facilities in the area are extensive, with golf at nearby Whittlebury Park, Stowe and Buckingham and the famous Silverstone racing circuit, which hosts the British Grand Prix only a short drive away.

There are a number of excellent private and state schools in the area. Of note are Stoweand Rugby (both co-educational) from the age of thirteen, Tudor Hall for girls and Akeley Wood, Swanbourne, Beachborough and Winchester House.

Buckingham 5 miles, Milton Keynes 14 miles, Milton Keynes railway station 13 miles (trains to London Euston from 32 minutes) M40 (J10) 15 miles, M1 (J15a) 15 miles, Bicester 15 miles (trains to London Marylebone from 42 minutes) (All distances and times are approximate).