A riverside home in the heart of the countryside that inspired Kenneth Grahame to write The Wind in the Willows has gone on the market for £3.45m.
The aptly-named Toad Hall overlooks the picturesque Cookham Reach of the River Thames in Berkshire.
The stunning manor comes with 130ft of private mooring and wet boathouse, which make it the perfect place for messing about on the river.
Riverside escape: The stunning home which inspired Kenneth Grahame to write The Wind in the Willows is on the market
Peace and quiet: The property in Berkshire is on the market for £3.45million and overlooks the River Thames
The new owners could keep a slipper launch, the ‘classic Thames transport’, in the boathouse and head straight out onto the river from their own back garden
The five bed property that looks out onto the river is believed to have been built in 1901, seven years before The Wind in the Willows was published.
Author Grahame spent much of his childhood in Cookham Dean and moved to nearby Pangbourne in later life.
These upper reaches of the Thames and the surrounding rural area are thought to have inspired the writer for the setting of his much-loved novel which was published in 1908.
The stunning property comprises of five bedrooms, a drawing room, family room, dining room with a conservatory leading off it and large kitchen/breakfast room
The inspiration for Richard Grahame also has a utility, cloakroom, sitting room, library, five bedrooms, four bathrooms and an attic room
These upper reaches of the Thames and the surrounding rural area are thought to have inspired the writer for the setting of his much-loved novel
The large detached house up for sale was later renamed Toad Hall in recognition of the classic children’s book.
Toad Hall has an attractive white and black beamed and red brick exterior and classic Edwardian features throughout including an open fire place and large bay windows.
The house has 3,917 sq ft of accommodation with a drawing room, family room, dining room with a conservatory leading off it, large kitchen/breakfast room, utility, cloakroom, sitting room, library, five bedrooms, four bathrooms and an attic room.
‘It’s the classic refined Thames transport’: Buyers could find themselves whizzing around by boat if they choose to make use of the slipper launch
Author of The Wind in the Willows Grahame spent much of his childhood in Cookham Dean and moved to nearby Pangbourne in later life
Plush: The new owners will be able to relax in style in one of the many bedrooms in the luxury country getaway in Berkshire
The master bedroom has its own balcony with a dressing area, en suite and its own balcony with spectacular river views.
It also has additional space with a garage that has planning permission to demolish and build a double garage with a room above and the wet boathouse.
The new owners could keep a slipper launch, the ‘classic Thames transport’, in the boathouse and head straight out onto the river from their own back garden.
Toad Hall has an attractive white and black beamed and red brick exterior and classic Edwardian features throughout including an open fire place and large bay windows
The mature gardens include a lovely lawn, sun terrace, rose pergola, mature trees and hedges and wooden decking along the edge of the river
Charles Elsmore-Wickens, from estate agents Savills said: ‘It’s a lovely Edwardian Thames-side house. It is set on the Bourne End side of the river looking across to Cookham’
Immaculately designed: The home perfectly mixes the tradition of the home with modern tweaks, such as this marbled bathroom
The mature gardens include a lovely lawn, sun terrace, rose pergola, mature trees and hedges and wooden decking along the edge of the river.
Charles Elsmore-Wickens, from estate agents Savills said: ‘It’s a lovely Edwardian Thames-side house. It is set on the Bourne End side of the river looking across to Cookham.
‘The land opposite is Cookham Moor, National Trust land, which means you have a lovely view across protected land.
Idyllic: Purchasers will be able to relax in the stunning morning room and know that their home inspired a literary sensation
Secure: The property has been described as ‘very private, approached down a lovely long driveway and set back’, by the estate agent
‘The property is very private, approached down a lovely long driveway and set back. The house overlooks the river, which is really nice.
‘It has some real elegance but it’s not a big palatial mansion, it’s just a lovely family home in a beautiful setting.
‘It’s been called Toad Hall since long before the owners bought it, but it is almost certainly because of it’s location in Wind In The Willows country.
The aptly-named property Toad Hall overlooks the picturesque Cookham Reach of the River Thames in Berkshire
‘It’s just a lovely family home in a beautiful setting’: The agent insisted that despite the property being elegant, it still had a family feel to it
‘Grahame lived just slightly further into Cookham, which is a very quaint English village.
‘Anything on the Thames is popular but this is a particularly nice stretch of the river, it’s got a lovely feel to it.
‘There’s a boat club nearby so you will see kids in little blazers sailing past in the summer.
The five bed property that looks out onto the river is believed to have been built in 1901, seven years before The Wind in the Willows was published
‘The best of everything really’: The gorgeous home is close to London but still feels like an escape from the city for commuters
‘It’s an idyllic lifestyle and a picturesque spot, part of a village but it’s also close enough to London for commuters – so the best of everything really.
‘You have a wet boathouse, which is nice, you don’t often get that. It is perfect for a slipper launch, that’s what the current owners had.
‘It’s the classic refined Thames transport.’
WHO WAS AUTHOR KENNETH GRAHEME AND WHO WERE THE CHARACTERS HE CREATED?
Literary great Kenneth Graheme is famed for his 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows, which was made into a film in 2007.
Graheme is believed to have penned his novel after being inspired by the actual property named Toad Hall in Berkshire.
The main characters in the book are Toad, a wealthy character who is believed to represent the British upper class, Rat, a kind creature who looks after the others, Badger, a more eccentric, removed character who likes to be alone, and Mole who is benevolent and charitable. The group go on many fantastics adventures together in the children’s book.
Literary great Kenneth Graheme is famed for his 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows, which was made into a film in 2007
Grahame was born in 1859 in Edinburgh to an aristocratic, failed lawyer, whose love for poetry was defeated by his love for vintage claret. The drinking only intensified when Grahame’s mother, Bessie, died soon after the birth of his brother, Roland.
The young Grahame excelled at school and was set for high academic honours when blow struck. The family finances had dwindled so much that he was forced straight into work at the Bank of England.
He later ensured his son Alastair, who was nicknamed ‘Mouse’, had a glittering education. Alastair went to school at Eton College and later studied at Oxford.
As an only child, Mouse was subjected to extreme, uncritical affection from his mother, and absurdly high academic expectations from his father. It didn’t help that his mother, Elspeth, was growing increasingly miserable taking to her bed for much of the day.
Heartbreakingly, Alastair – who was sickly and blind in one eye – threw himself in front of a train aged 19 while at university. It is thought that his poor sight and the weight of expectation he felt left him unable to cope.
Devastated Graheme died 12 years later in 1932.