Stylish farmhouse comes with Freddie Mercury’s old koi carp

A COUNTRY estate near Marlow which provided a safe haven for 14 bankers, doctors and lawyers during the covid pandemic is now up for sale.

Plastic surgeon David Crawford and his wife Jackie, a dermatologist, bought the estate in 2008 as they wanted a proper country life for themselves and their four
children.

The couple, who are now in their early sixties, had been living in Beaconsfield.

Blueys Farmhouse is a seven-bedroom property with 116 acres of land and offers everything to do with horses, shooting and walking.

“We had so much fun during lockdown,” says Mr Crawford. “We had to install multiple 5G connections for everyone so they could work from here.

“We played tennis, we swam in the pool, we cooked together, we went shooting and rode horses on the bridlepaths through the fields and woodland. They were very special times.”

The main residence has five bedrooms and five reception rooms and covers a total of 6,156 sq ft. There is a two-bedroom cottage in the grounds next to a laundry room, a triple garage with a studio/gym above and an oak stable block with four stables, a workshop, tack room and tractor shed as well as a large manège.

Built in 1657 and originally known as Finnamore Manor, the house and cottage are both Grade II listed owing to their architectural styles from over the centuries.

A combination of light oak beams and Jacobean-style panelled oak reception halls reflects the property’s history. The large kitchen offers French country elegance with a wall of glass doors opening on to the gardens. Surrounded by its own formal gardens, grazing land, woods and valleys, Blueys offers lovely views.

A farmer grazes sheep on some of the land while other parts are retained for partridge and pheasant shoots.

The formal gardens climb a gentle slope with a brick path that leads to a sunken, hard tennis court with a pavilion viewing

The outdoor swimming pool is accessible from both the games room and the drawing room. Among the wonderfully idiosyncratic features are the ornamental ponds with koi carp that were once owned by Queen frontman Freddie Mercury.

A newly built 3,000 sq ft wing comprises a large reception area with a spiral cellar, study and bedrooms above.

All the reception rooms on the ground floor have access to the York stone terrace and garden via French doors.

The house has three sets of stairs to the first floor where there are five charming bedrooms. Mr Crawford said: “The name Blueys Farmhouse comes from Bluey Mavroleon, a party-loving Greek shipping owner in the Sixties and Seventies. He ran it as a stud farm with Spectator columnist Taki and held game shoots here.

“There is so much space for entertaining. We held our eldest daughter’s wedding here with 270 guests. She was married at Hambleden church and it was the most wonderful occasion.

“Now that the children have left home, my wife and I would like to travel more but keep a property in this area because of its close connections to London perhaps with less land.

“It’s a great family home, especially with all the sporting activities you can do, but we feel it’s time we embarked on something new.”

The secluded house is approached via a private lane with electric timber gates. The gravel area at the front of the house has manicured topiary and lavender and at the back the lawns run to the parkland and there are easterly views across the valley.

• Blueys Farmhouse is on the market with a guide price of £8,950,000. For more information or to arrange a viewing, call Knight Frank on (01491) 844901.