If you’re looking to invest in international real estate, consider this Grade II-listed Georgian property next to Cambridge. The former home of the de Bruyne family, Pynes House is currently on the market for GPP1.5 million (Dh7m).
While it's most well known as the house that inspired the British television show Spitting Image (see video below), the property dates back to the 18th century. Pynes House was commissioned by a clergy member, Reverend Pine, who also built the still-standing United Reformed Church next door.
Entrepreneur and engineer Norman de Bruyne, the man behind Araldite glue and the Ladybird monoplane, bought the house in 1936, and lived there with his wife, the cellist Elma Marsh. In 1997, the house was bequeathed to their daughter, Anne, and her husband Peter Fluck, the creator of Spitting Image.
The main house has five bedrooms and a vast living area and sitting room. The current owners refurbished the house in 2005, adding larger windows, three mod-con bathrooms and a new kitchen with a baby blue Aga cooking range. Original features include the flooring in the sitting room, which was created in de Bruyne’s factory, and a recess that was built for Elma’s cello.
The property also has a well-manicured garden and a barn, which has been converted into two home offices. A separate two-bedroom cottage, not included in the asking price, is currently open to holidaymakers, and can be a source of extra income should the new owners choose to pay an extra Dh1.5 million for it. In fact, the satirical puppet show Spitting Image is believed to have been inspired by and filmed in this cottage, which Anne and Fluck lived in for many years.
The Georgian-style house is now a Grade II-listed property, and protected by the Historic England organisation for its special architectural and historic interest. It is in the village of Duxford, which is 16 kilometres from Cambridge, and an hour-and-a-half from London.
For more information or to make an offer, visit Cheffins.
WATCH: Spitting Image: Queen sends her Christmas cards
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