This stunning country house that has the New Forest as its back garden and is the perfect place for a recluse is up for sale for £2.75m.
Beachern Wood is on the edge of the village of Brockenhurst but has nothing but open forest as far as the eye can see for 180 degrees of its view.
Civilisation is only 200 yards away in one direction, but there is a field between the village and the property and a line of trees obscuring it from view.
This seven-bedroom home on the edge of the New Forest in the Hampshire National Park is the former home of Professor William Penny, the man who pioneered the ‘black box’ flight recorder
The property, which was built by the Barings family of Barings Bank in 1898, has been owned by Prof Penny since 1972
The house, which is in need of modernisation, was also the former home of the Duchess of Westminster, Anne Grovesnor
Until recently it was the home of Professor William Penny, who is best known for his leading role in developing the ‘black box’ flight recorder.
But Professor Penny and his family have now put the secluded house on the market with estate agents Spencers for £2.75m.
The location is said to be one of the finest in the Hampshire National Park, but the house is in need of some modernisation.
It was built in 1898 for the Baring family, who founded the world’s second oldest merchant bank in the world in 1762.
Barings Bank helped facilitate the Louisiana Purchase, the largest land purchase in history, and helped finance the US Government in the War of 1812. By 1818 the company was called ‘the sixth great European power’, after England, France, Prussia, Austria and Russia.
The bank collapsed in 1995 with staggering losses of £827 million following a series of fraudulent trades by employee Nick Leeson, as told in the movie Rogue Trader, starring Ewan McGregor, released four years later.
The Duchess of Westminster, Anne Grosvenor, was another famous resident of the property.
It was sold to Professor Penny in 1972 and he has owned it for the last 46 years.
Professor Penny founded aerospace and industrial technology company Penny & Giles with instrument maker James Giles in Christchurch, Dorset, in 1956.
Until 1957 it was only possible to record a pilot’s voice but Penny developed transducers which could measure air speed, altitude, acceleration and control surface positions, which were then recorded magnetically in the high survival potential device known as the black box data recorder.
Prof Penny and his team pioneered the use of flight data recorders which have been responsible for improving the safety of the airline industry by allowing accident investigators to see what happened to an aircraft before it crashed
Professor Penny founded aerospace and industrial technology company Penny & Giles with instrument maker James Giles in Christchurch, Dorset, in 1956
It revolutionised air accident investigation and made an enormous contribution to airline safety.
The house is a substantial country house set in nine acres of grounds with direct forest access.
There are three properties to the east of the house, but hidden from view by trees, and nothing else nearby.
The house has 8,369 sq ft of accommodation across three floors with a drawing room, dining room, study, family room, kitchen/breakfast room, TV room, seven bedrooms and five bathrooms on the ground and first floors.
The master bedroom has an en suite, built-in wardrobes and three front aspect windows overlooking the garden and open forest beyond.
On the top floor it has accommodation that could be used as a self-contained annexe for family or guests with a kitchen, living room, two bedrooms and a bathroom as well as a large attic storage room which could be converted into further accommodation.
There is also two garages, a tool store and garden store and a stable block with tack room and feed store.
The house is located near Brockenhurst and has direct rail links to London’s Waterloo station
As well as the house, there are a further 18 acres of land which are available for sale under a different agreement
The property is screened behind trees but the area has 180 degree views towards the New Forest
Alec Fry from the selling agents Spencers, said: ‘It’s a magnificent and substantial country house set in delightful gardens and grounds and enjoys direct forest access’
The property has a long sweeping driveway from the road and is surrounded by established tree and hedge borders on all sides that provide a high degree of privacy.
It has a large area of lawn as well as woodland walks and a further 18 acres of land is available to purchase separately.
Brockenhurst has plenty of amenities, including a primary school, college, shops and restaurants, and a railway station with direct links to London Waterloo.
There is also a marina seven miles away at Beaulieu and extensive yachting facilities four miles away at Lymington.
Alec Fry, from Spencers, said: ‘Set opposite miles of open forest extending as far as the eye can see, the location for this wonderful residence is arguably one of the finest in the New Forest National Park.
‘It’s a magnificent and substantial country house set in delightful gardens and grounds and enjoys direct forest access.
‘The scene is set by a long sweeping driveway flanked by rhododendron bushes either side leading down to a turning circle and parking area in front of the house.
‘The stunning grounds surround the property to all sides with established tree and hedge borders providing a high degree of privacy and seclusion.’
The New Forest is to the rear of the property while it is only two minutes walk from the village of Brokenhurst, Hampshire
What is the black box recorder? How a Hampshire engineer revolutionised aircraft safety by developing the flight data recorder
Prof William Penny’s development of the flight data recorder revolutionised airline safety and crash investigations
The first flight data recorders were used in the 1930s, but were of limited use.
In 1954, the world’s first Black Box was invented by Australian scientist Dr David Warren however, the following year Prof William Penny and his business partner develop the first magnetic FDR.
By 1957, Prof Penny further developed the technology to invent the first aircraft accident recorder using magnetic recordings.
In 1960, the UK Ministry of Aviation orders all UK civil carriers to be fitted with a black box following the Munich air disaster in 1958.
The initial black boxes recorded basic flight information such as the aircraft’s airspeed, altitude, pitch and acceleration.
Information was also recorded about the position of the control surfaces as well as engine data.
Prof Penny’s device also had ‘high survival potential’ which was essential when it came to investigating the sequence of an accident.
Prof Penny was central to the investigation of the crash of a Vickers 739A Vicount which crashed on the Nurenburg to Munich autobahn in 1968.
He was able to retrieve the flight data recorder and explain what happened to the aircraft in the minutes before the disaster.