After William Golding found international fame with his debut work Lord Of The Flies, he sought a haven from which to pursue his literary career. In 1958, flushed with cash thanks to the success of his dystopian novel, Golding and his wife Ann bought Ebble Thatch, a beautiful five-bedroom property near Salisbury, Wiltshire.
Golding wrote several more books during his time at Ebble Thatch and the couple remained there until 1985. They then bought a Georgian mansion in Cornwall, the county of the author’s birth.
Ebble Thatch was bought by Dick Hornby and his wife Stella for their retirement. Dick, a former Conservative MP, was chairman of the Halifax Building Society at the time.
After William Golding found international fame, he brought a beautiful five-bedroom property near Salisbury, Wiltshire (pictured)
‘My father met William Golding when they exchanged contracts and he found him to be extremely courteous,’ says his son John Hornby, a former City solicitor. ‘My parents bought the house because of its idyllic location, the picturesque views and the stream flowing through the gardens. It was a very happy family home.’
Stella recently moved into a residential care home and the family is now selling the property for £745,000 through estate agents Strutt & Parker.
The open-plan kitchen and dining room features an Aga, while the impressive drawing room has large windows that allow the light to flood in. There is also a snug and a conservatory.
All the bedrooms have fitted wardrobes, and there are two bathrooms, one of which could easily be turned into an en suite for the master bedroom.
Ebble Thatch is accessed via a gravel driveway and has plenty of parking.
Following the death of her husband in 2007, Stella had the garage converted into a self-contained cottage. It has an en suite double bedroom, underfloor heating, an open-plan kitchen, sitting room and a garden room with skylight.
The country garden, flanked by a babbling stream, has extensive lawns, mature trees, flowerbeds and established shrubs and hedgerows.
Ebble Thatch, which has a blue plaque marking Golding’s time there, is located in a quiet country lane, surrounded by the Cranborne Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Golding wrote several more books during his time at Ebble Thatch and the couple remained there until 1985. They then bought a Georgian mansion in Cornwall, the county of the author’s birth
London, £1.25million
Bedrooms: 5
Unique features: Former home of Charles and Mary Lamb, whose Tales From Shakespeare popularised the Bard’s works with children in the 19th Century; late 17th Century Grade II* listed building in Edmonton, North London; three reception rooms; English Heritage blue plaque; two outhouses and a gardener’s WC.
Contact: Fine & Country, fine andcountry.com, 020 3475 1476
Dorset, £1.15million
Bedrooms: 4
Unique features: Former home of Robert Southey, writer of The Story Of The Three Bears; Grade II listed thatched cottage near the town of Christchurch; family room with projector and screen; triple-aspect lounge with wood-burner; chandeliers in the bathrooms; substantial grounds.
Contact: Lovett, lovettinternational.com, 01202 303044
Surrey, £2million
Bedrooms: 9
Unique features: Arts & Crafts house near Haslemere that was previously a hotel which welcomed Wind In The Willows author Kenneth Grahame; leaded windows and moulded ceilings; pool house with heated indoor pool, gym area, changing room and WC; gravel drive, stone rotunda, cascade water feature and gazebo.
Contact: Savills, savills.com, 01483 796800
Devon, £7million
Bedrooms: 16
Unique features: Grade II* listed house where poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (right) grew up, near Ottery St Mary; gym, billiards room and Victorian conservatory and aviary.
A Palm house; west wing consisting of, at ground-floor level, a huge library, the largest west of Salisbury and designed for Lord Coleridge’s 18,000 books; indoor pool; coach house and stables; entrance lodge; walled garden; tennis court; stream.
Contact: Strutt & Parker, struttandparker.com, 020 7318 5156