Inside the riverside home of a ballet icon, which is up for grabs for £1.65million

Fit for a dancing queen! Inside the 15th century five-bed and former riverside home of prima ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyn, which is listed for £1.65m

  • Five-bedroom riverside home belonged to Royal Ballet prima ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyn
  • The period property is called Amerden Bank and it is in the Buckinghamshire village of Taplow
  • Amerden Bank is currently on the market and is being sold by estate agents Savills with a price tag of £1.65m

Advertisement


It was the country home of a Royal Ballet prima ballerina at the height of her fame.

Dame Margot Fonteyn was considered the best ballerina in the world during the 1950s and 1960s.

As a retreat from her life on stage at Covent Garden, she headed to the Thames-side village of Taplow in Buckinghamshire. This is where her family had bought a fifteenth century former coach house called Amerden Bank.

Amerden Bank is now up for grabs and is being sold via estate agents Savills with a price tag of £1.65million.

The period property is called Amerden Bank and it is being sold by estate agents Savills with a price tag of £1.65m

Amerden Bank was the country home of Royal Ballet prima ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyn at the height of her fame during the 1950s and 1960s

Amerden Bank was the country home of Royal Ballet prima ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyn at the height of her fame during the 1950s and 1960s

The five-bedroom property attracted a community of ballet dancers while Dame Margot was there.

Russian star Rudolf Nureyev would often join her at the property. He was the first Soviet from the arts world to defect to the West.

And fellow ballet star Pamela May and her family installed themselves in one of the property’s wings, while ballet teacher Gerd Larsen stayed in a cottage nearby.

‘The loneliness of her London flat was relieved by weekends spent at Amerden,’ wrote author Meredith Daneman in her biography of Dame Margot.

The house stayed in the Fonteyn family until 1999, and Dame Margot’s affection for the property was such that she named one of her US dance studios Amerden Bank.

Pictured: Dame Margot Fonteyn spent her entire career as a dancer with the Royal Ballet (

Pictured: Dame Margot Fonteyn She spent her entire career as a dancer with the Royal Ballet (formerly the Sadler’s Wells Theatre Company)

The fifteenth century former coach that was the ballerina's country retreat has a large living room with a feature fireplace

The fifteenth century former coach that was the ballerina’s country retreat has a large living room with a feature fireplace 

The large dining room leads off the main entrance hallway at the property and has been painted in a darker tone

The large dining room leads off the main entrance hallway at the property and has been painted in a darker tone

The five-bedroom house stands on a private lane and also has access to a towpath along the River Thames via a secure gate.

The period property has a large conservatory overlooking landscaped gardens, a bright dining room, and a drawing room with a limestone fireplace and French doors opening onto a terrace.

An oak staircase leads to the first-floor bedrooms. The master bedroom overlooks the garden and River Thames and has an en-suite dressing room.

The house is accessed via a gravelled driveway, and has off-street parking for several cars.

The kitchen at Amerden Bank has a tiled floor that runs through into the conservatory that opens out onto the landscaped garden

The kitchen at Amerden Bank has a tiled floor that runs through into the conservatory that opens out onto the landscaped garden

The period property has a large conservatory overlooking landscaped gardens with space for seating and a dining table

The period property has a large conservatory overlooking landscaped gardens with space for seating and a dining table

The house stayed in the Fonteyn family until 1999, and Dame Margot's affection for the property was such that she named one of her US dance studios Amerden Bank

The house stayed in the Fonteyn family until 1999, and Dame Margot’s affection for the property was such that she named one of her US dance studios Amerden Bank

John Henson, of Savills, said: ‘This is a wonderful elegant property with an interesting history being the former home of the UK’s Prima Ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyn and her husband the politician Roberto de Aris.

‘Beyond its notable former residents, Amerdan Bank is an historic period home that retains considerable charm and character, while its secluded garden enjoys access to the towpath where the owners can embark on beautiful walks along the Thames to Bray Lock and on to Taplow riverside. 

‘This beautiful home’s features and living spaces make it ideal for family life and entertaining.’

Th entrance hallway has tiled flooring, light-coloured walls and an oak staircase that leads to the first-floor bedrooms

Th entrance hallway has tiled flooring, light-coloured walls and an oak staircase that leads to the first-floor bedrooms

The Victorian home has five bedrooms, including this large one with space for a four poster bed that overlooks the garden

The Victorian home has five bedrooms, including this large one with space for a four poster bed that overlooks the garden



Read more at DailyMail.co.uk