A derelict 20-bedroom manor set in a vast estate is up for sale at £460,000 just seven years after police discovered it was secret cannabis farm worth £5million.
Flass House, a Grade II-listed property in the Cumbrian village of Maulds Meaburn, was valued at £1.4million in 2014 – but it has dropped £1million in value after falling into a decrepit state when squatters took it over.
The huge fall in price follows urban explorers visiting the abandoned estate and posting footage online showing its dilapidated interior. Owner Christine Holmes previously admitted the mansion had turned into a ‘war zone’.
The mansion had initially been awarded to her husband Paul Davies in a divorce settlement after they split and she moved to France – but she is now the owner again following his conviction over the involvement in the drugs farm.
The problems began in 2012 when the property was at the centre of a huge drugs raid when police found Davies was using it to grow commercial amounts of cannabis. Davies is now believed to have been released from jail.
It is a remarkable fall from grace for a palatial residence built in 1851 for tea and opium magnates Lancelot and Wilkinson Dent in the Palladian style, incorporating elements of a previous house dating back to the 1700s .
A 19th century mansion, built by an opium dealer, that used to be home to a £5 million cannabis farm is up for sale at a cut-rate price
Flass House was valued at £1.4 million in 2014, however its current value as listed with Right Move is just £460,000
Flass House’s condition in 2019 (pictured), after it was left to decrepitude and was used by squatters. It is now on the market for £460,000
Owner Christine Holmes previously admitted the mansion in Cumbria had turned into a ‘war zone’
The property was rented out to a London gang. They were arrested in 2012 for cultivating almost 300 kilograms of cannabis
Mark Gallagher, 49, (left) of Wolverhampton, and Philip Branigan, 32, (centre) of Banstead, Surrey, were both jailed for seven years. Branigan organised the installation of a diesel generator at Flass, which powered the cannabis factory. Charles Neophytou, 47, (right) of Banstead was sentenced to five years and six months in jail
Included among the original features of the 52-room estate was marble fireplaces, ivory door handles and friezes with pearls
The estate was bought by songwriter Christine Holmes in 2000, however it was awarded to her husband in a divorce settlement
Flass House, a 20-bedroom mansion in Cumbria, suffered a spectacular fall from grace when it became a cannabis farm
The police raid on the property in the Cumbrian village was the UK’s biggest ever cannabis raid at the time
The secluded mansion has been Grade II-listed because of its historical and architectural significance
Mrs Holmes, a former songwriter for singer Sir Cliff Richard, said in 2017: ‘I was absolutely horrified when I saw it online – I couldn’t believe how anyone could come into my home and believe it was an abandoned building.
‘I think it’s becoming a game to them. They are breaking in every day.’
The house had previously been used by Miss Holmes as a performing arts school and had featured on a BBC television show, but the school began to flounder and the couple separated.
Miss Holmes moved to France while Davies was awarded the Cumbria property, which is just outside the Lake District National Park in the Lyvennet Valley. Miss Holmes played no part in the cannabis operation.
Davies had rented out the property to a London gang, who went on to cultivate almost 300kg (660lbs) of marijuana in the mansion.
The police raid on the property was the UK’s biggest ever cannabis raid at the time.
In 2015, Davies was jailed for three years and eight months at Carlisle Crown Court after admitting conspiracy to supply drugs between 2011 and 2012.
Fellow gang members Dean Cameron, 53, and David Lawrence, 32, both from London, were jailed for eight years.
Mark Gallagher, 49, of Wolverhampton, and Philip Branigan, 32, of Banstead, Surrey, were jailed for seven years and Charles Neophytou, 47, of also Banstead, was jailed for five years and six months.
Prosecutor Tim Evans told the court in 2015: ‘This was cannabis growing on a massive scale. It is not the self-amateurish cultivation of cannabis on a window ledge or in the converted loft of a house.
‘This was growing in a stately home. Flass is a beautiful house, Grade II-listed because of its historical and architectural significance. It is a secluded house – no doubt why it was chosen for this criminal enterprise.
In 1973, a a treasure trove of Mughal Empire artefacts were found in the property’s attic, which were sold for £220,000
The interior of Flass House prior to it falling into the hands of squatters. The tiles are now ashy and pock-marked
Flass House used to feature perfectly mowed lawns and shining white tiles (pictured). It was built in 1853 for opium magnates
In 2014, the estate’s library was adorned with a royal red couch and a wooden desk. The condition now may not be so grand
The 52-room, 20-bedroom mansion was listed on UK Exploration and welcomed hordes of squatters over the past two years
Along with the mansion, the new owners will also get a large range of items left in the house, such as miscellaneous head shots
Despite its decrepit condition, Flass House is still a Grade II-listed property. It even has its own DVD player and CRT television
Much of the furniture left in the mansion has been completely or partially destroyed by occupying squatters
This estate’s grand piano is surprisingly still in marvelous condition and even has an in-tact piece of sheet music attached
The once beautiful, white-tiled estate is now home to countless cigarette butts, empty bottles and miscellaneous items
An abundance of mould, dirt and grime engulfs Flass House, making this property a serious fixer for the estate’s future owner
An abandoned car adorns the estate’s driveway among the dead grass and overgrown foliage that surrounds Flass House
‘Indeed you could drive through Maulds Meaburn every day of your life without ever seeing it or knowing it was there. It sits deep in the valley, surrounded by trees and therefore hidden from prying eyes.
‘No doubt it was the lack of income from this huge house – coupled with the huge bills for its upkeep that would necessarily follow – that led Paul Davies into this conspiracy.’
Included among the many features of the 52-room estate was marble fireplaces, ivory door handles and friezes with pearls.
The estate remained within the Dent family until 1973, when it was sold for £17,000 to historian Frank Walsh.
Prior to selling the property, then-owner Sir Robert Dent found a treasure trove of Mughal Empire artefacts in the property’s attic, which he sold for £220,000.