80-acre Dunsborough Park country estate that was once home to actress Florence Desmond goes on sale

The sprawling eighty-acre country estate that was once home to wartime actress has gone on the market for an eye-watering £10million.

‘Stunning historic’ Grade II listed Dunsborough Park, located in Ripley, Surrey spanned out from a modest Tudor farmhouse into a grand estate owned by Florence Desmond that attracted some of Hollywood’s biggest names. 

Breathtaking photos showcase the property’s period features in its five reception rooms, seven bedrooms and bathrooms, music room and charming country kitchen – it also has tennis courts and stables as well as its own horse paddocks.

The 9,617 sq. ft. property boasts 80 acres of pristinely manicured gardens – meaning you could take that socially distanced walk without even leaving home and you can take in the beautiful tulips growing in the process.

Dunsborough dates back to the 14th century and was home to Conservative MP and aviation pioneer, Sir Oliver Simmonds, during the 1930s – who was largely responsible for highlighting the estate’s stunning gardens, building the Tudor style gatehouse entrance and greenhouses on the grounds.

The estate was also home to British wartime actress and comedian, Florence Desmond, who was known for starring in Sally in Our Alley and Some Girls Do, from the late thirties. 

Breathtaking photos showcase the property’s period features in its five reception rooms, seven bedrooms and bathrooms, music room and charming country kitchen

Dunsborough dates back to the 14th century and was home to Conservative MP and aviation pioneer, Sir Oliver Simmonds, during the 1930s

The wood-floored kitchen has an Aga and original exposed wooden beams with a larder and island providing plenty of storage space to feed residents and guests

The estate was also home to British wartime actress and comedian, Florence Desmond, who was known for starring in Sally in Our Alley and Some Girls Do, from the late thirties

Florence owned the property with her husband aviator Charles Hughesdon, who were visited by the likes of actresses Ava Gardner – who was once hailed ‘the world’s most beautiful animal’ – and Elizabeth Taylor, who is thought to have spent one of her wedding nights there. 

The property has repeatedly changed hands throughout history.

The mansion’s front door opens into a flagged stone hallway – with a breakfast room and wooden-floored card room coming off the space. There is also a drawing room with floral silk and cotton wall coverings as well as wooden flooring and a marble fireplace.

Meanwhile the morning room has floor-to-ceiling windows allowing light to flow in with wooden panelling adorning the walls.

To the rear is one of the property’s most impressive features – an enormous conservatory which overlooks the sprawling gardens – and a specific room for flowers.

In total the house boasts eight double bedrooms, six of them having en-suite bathrooms, as well as a concert hall, coach house and accommodation for house and grounds staff.  

Out in the grounds there is a Potting Shed which has been converted into a two-bedroom house with two bathrooms.        

Former owner Sir Oliver Simmonds was largely responsible for highlighting the estate’s stunning gardens, building the Tudor style gatehouse entrance and greenhouses on the grounds during the 1930s

A Tudor-influenced bridge blends itself in to the landscape of the property’s eighty-acre grounds

There is also a drawing room with floral silk and cotton wall coverings as well as wooden flooring and a marble fireplace

In total the house boasts eight double bedrooms, six of them having en-suite bathrooms, as well as a concert hall, coach house and accommodation for house and grounds staff

Meanwhile a stroll in the beautifully landscaped gardens will reveal a huge array of tulips and a 70-foot Ginkgo hedge – as well as secluded areas lined with oblong pools. 

The grounds have still retained a number of vast traditional Edwardian greenhouses bordered by mature apples growing on wooden fencing.

Within the gardens – which are opened eight times a year to the public at present -there is a Mulberry tree thought to be more than 300 years old – as well as a picturesque waterfall, stone bridge and pavilion.

‘[A] stunning historic country estate, Grade II listed, set within beautiful, tranquil landscaped grounds of approximately eighty acres, within close proximity to London, Heathrow and Gatwick airports,’ the listing states.

‘In all about eighty acres – more land and cottages available by separate negotiation.’

Close to Woking, Dunsborough Park has excellent transport links to London (25 miles away) and Heathrow and Gatwick airports.

Dunsborough Park is on the market with House Partnership, an estate agency which claims to also sell the ‘lifestyle’ their properties ‘enable’. For more information click here.

‘[A] stunning historic country estate, Grade II listed, set within beautiful, tranquil landscaped grounds of approximately eighty acres, within close proximity to London, Heathrow and Gatwick airports,’ the listing states

Dunsborough Park is on the market with House Partnership, an estate agency which claims to also sell the ‘lifestyle’ their properties ‘enable’

Meanwhile a stroll in the beautifully landscaped gardens will reveal a huge array of tulips and a 70-foot Ginkgo hedge – as well as secluded areas lined with oblong pools

Out in the grounds there is a Potting Shed which has been converted into a two-bedroom house with two bathrooms