ESTATES MAN
NEWS COPY - WITH PICTURES - by Adrian Hearn
An historic English coastal estate with tragic links to the Kennedy dynasty has been put on the market for £16 million.
The Blythburgh Estate is set in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and has a nature reserve designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
But it is also the location where the eldest Kennedy son, Joe Kennedy Jr, died in 1944 while carrying out a top secret US Air Force mission during World War Two.
Kennedy, who was two years older than brother John and destined to beat his sibling to the White House, was taking part in Operation Anvil where they planned to bomb the Nazis over Normandy.
The naval pilot took off from Fersfield, Norfolk, with 21,000lb of bombs strapped to his aircraft but as he flew across the Suffolk estate the plane exploded.
No remains from the aircraft were ever recovered and in 2014, to mark the 70th anniversary of the doomed mission, locals in the village of Blythburgh called for a memorial for the fallen heroes.
The Blythburgh Estate, which has 2,550 acres and has been owned by the same family for almost 400 years, has now been put on the market for £18 million.
It has seven residential properties which generate more than £30,000 per year in rent with total income from non-agricultural activities of around £280,000.
One of the current tenants was living in the same house when Kennedy's plane went down.
But despite the bumper price-tag, the estate isn't being offered with a principal house, so it is likely the buyer will be an investor who will live away from the picturesque setting.
Savills, which is marketing the estate, yesterday (Weds) described it as "a jewel in Suffolk's crown"
Will Hargreaves, associate director of Savills' Farm and Estates team, said: "It is a wonderful place which has been in the Blois family since the 17th century.
"The vendor has now decided that after 50 harvests it is time to retire.
"We are confident it will appeal to a wide range of buyers. The diversity of the land will appeal to people with an interest in conservation and there will also be interest from people looking to invest in land.
"You have a productive arable farm as well as a significant non-agricultural income including seven residential properties.
"The Blythburgh Estate is quite a special place and a lot of work is done with Natural England to preserve the habitat."
The estate, which stretches along the Suffolk Heritage coastland from Blythburgh to Walberswick, is located in a popular and important coastal setting.
More than 1,000 acres of land is used for arable farming, while there is land for grazing and "an exceptional pheasant and partridge shoot".
There are around 75 acres of upland grass which is mainly permanent pasture for grazing and some 427 acres of heathland is largely grazed under an arrangement with Natural England.
Between the 16th and 18th centuries, the marshland areas of the reserve were drained to provide grazing land. During the Second World War, a lot of this land was flooded to act as an invasion defence.
Throughout the 1940s and 1950s the marshes reverted to reedbeds creating a variety of habitats for wildlife including Marsh Harrier, Bearded Tit, Water Rail and Bittern which are now preserved in the reserve.
Peter Start, director of Savills in Ipswich, added: "The Blythburgh Estate is a rare proposition for a buyer offering a large farmable acreage combined with a significant nature reserve, a residential portfolio and some excellent sporting.
"Its diversity and popular location and not inconsiderable non-agricultural income in the region of £280,000 pa is likely to attract a range of buyers."
ENDS