St George’s Hill, or the Beverly Hills of Britain as it’s sometimes called, is regarded as one of the U.K.’s best private country estates.
The Surrey neighborhood built in 1912 is synonymous with the wealthy global elite and stately supermansions. It was once home to John Lennon and Elton John and is favored by high-flying business and banking types due to its convenient location. The discreet 960-acre gated estate sits just 23 miles southwest of central London.
Agents last year reported a bounce back in the St George’s Hill market after a slump in 2018. Foreign buyer numbers were down due to the Covid-19 pandemic travel restrictions, but they were replaced by domestic buyers motivated to move by the need for outside space, said Stuart Cole, a partner in Knight Frank’s country department, which covers north Surrey.
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According to Simon Ashwell, head of Savills’ Weybridge and north Surrey region, 21 houses sold in St George’s Hill last year compared to 13 in 2019 and nine in 2018.
Mr. Cole said in 2020 there was a “gazumping”— the term used when a seller accepts an offer from one buyer but then accepts a higher offer from someone else before the sale completes—on one property and competitive bidding for another prestigious property and some bids in the mid-teens for other properties, but the deals have not come off as sellers are holding on.
The biggest deal of 2020 was a sprawling new build house known as The Ramparts that sold to an Eastern European buyer for just under £17 million (US$23.17 million) in November, according to Mr. Ashwell, whose agency handled the deal. (Its asking price was £17.95 million).
St George’s Hill and Weybridge, with Cobham and Esher, forms the so-called golden triangle of Surrey, according to agents. Tim Banks, CEO of high-end housebuilder Octagon—which has built about 7% of the 420 homes on the estate—said that while St George’s Hill remains a top address, it is not only estate that demands the premium price point. The likes of the Wentworth Estate and Crown Estate, as well as affluent roads in places like Sunningdale and Esher, all hold their own appeal to high-end buyers.
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Boundaries
St George’s Hill lies on the edge of the town of Weybridge in north Surrey.
Its southern boundary is Byfleet Road, and its eastern side is formed of Seven Hills Road and Foxoak Hill. Its northern edge includes Queens Road and St George’s Avenue while its western edge is Brooklands Road.
Price Range
Homes typically cost from £3 million to £17 million, according to Mr. Cole and Mr. Ashwell. There are a couple of smaller lodge houses that range from £1.25 million up to £2 million and several wings of larger houses which again command over £2 million, Mr. Ashwell said, who has sold houses in St George’s Hill for more than 30 years.
The market’s “sweet spot” currently, however, is between £4 million and £8 million, according to Mr. Cole.
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Housing Stock
St. George’s Hill comprises mostly grand detached houses in traditional country house style. Think scaled-up Georgian manor houses with neoclassical pillared porticos and roof pediments. Plots range from one acre to eight acres and house sizes range from 3,000 square feet to 30,000 square feet.
These pleasure palaces have a host of state-of-the-art facilities including home audio systems, cinema rooms, indoor swimming pool, gyms and saunas, and feature primary bedroom suites with dressing rooms and double bathrooms, handcrafted kitchens and joinery, tennis courts, party rooms, wine rooms and cellars and more, according to agents.
Mr. Banks of Octagon said “matching the new and old has long been popular among buyers on St. George’s Hill in search of a home which feels established yet features all the latest gadgetry.”
Octagon, who have worked on six homes there over the past five years (two built speculatively, four bespoke), is working on Hillside Manor—a 14,000-square-foot white stucco neo-Georgian mansion with a guide price of £10 million. Features include an indoor leisure complex, detached staff accommodation and gym and generous home office.
St George’s Hill’s original houses were built in Arts and Crafts English country vernacular style, but many have been knocked down over the years and replaced with modern creations. High ceilings and large windows feature high up on buyers’ wishlists and people will renovate or even rebuild to get these features, according to Mr. Ashwell.
One of the grandest older houses is the 1930-built Hamstone House, which is on sale for £16 million via Beauchamp Estates and has a grand neo classical front with art deco elements.
One of the grandest older houses in the neighborhood is the 1930-built Hamstone House.
Beauchamp EstatesWhat Makes it Unique
St George’s Hill offers a safe (its grounds are gated and secured), family-friendly environment close to good schools and colleges and transport links in a grand rural setting with a golf course and views (it sits on a hill).
“It has a discreet, low-key vibe, with immaculate grounds, a golf course and an attractive natural setting,” he explained. “You live next door to like-minded people and everything is well looked after…it’s like a hotel.”
Excellent for commuting into London and beyond, it is set three miles from the M25 motorway, 7 miles from the M3 motorway and 13 miles south of Heathrow Airport. Weybridge railway station, meanwhile, has services to London that take half an hour.
Mr. Cole added that the social side of a private estate living appeals to many residents. “It is easier to get to know people here compared with, say, an old English village,” he said. “Foreign buyers are familiar with the gated community concept and like what it offers.”
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Luxury Amenities
The leafy estate was the vision of housebuilder Walter George Tarrant who developed it as an out-of-London retreat for captains of industry in 1912. Sport and exercise were part of its ethos and Tarrant created an 18-hole golf course on the grounds. (Tarrant later went on to build the similarly prestigious Wentworth Estate.)
It retains its 18-hole golf course, with undulating fairways and a clubhouse, has a further nine-hole golf course, as well as St George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club. (Both are membership only.)
Schools are a huge draw, with the area home to many prestigious education institutions including St. John’s School, a co-ed independent school in Leatherhead (10 miles) for pupils aged 11 to 18; Reed’s School, an independent day and boarding school for boys in Cobham (6 miles); Eton College, a boarding school in Windsor (17 miles) for boys aged 13 to 18; and Cranleigh School, a co-ed independent school in Cranleigh (20 miles) offering boarding and day education for pupils aged 13 to 18.
For everyday shopping, Weybridge has a Waitrose grocery store and a range of good amenities. Cobham (11 miles), meanwhile, has an Ivy brasserie restaurant while Esher (5 miles) has a Farrow & Ball paint and wallpaper showroom, a Martin Moore kitchen furniture store shop, a Country Kitchens by Sigma 3 showroom, and an Everyman cinema. Michelin-starred dining spots and swanky nightspots are a cab ride away in London.
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Who Lives There
It’s a niche market, dominated by overseas buyers, according to agents. It traditionally had a 70-30 split between international and British nationals and domestic buyers, but now it’s more 60/40 because of the Covid-19 travel restrictions, according to Mr. Cole.
St George’s Hill is internationally known and has long appealed to global wealthy. “It attracts Eastern Europeans, Russians and Middle Eastern buyers who are either based overseas or are foreign nationals and British buyers,” he said. “The Chinese, meanwhile, are becoming a bigger presence in the market.”
Notable Residents
Though it is historically linked to famous musicians and sports stars, including former Formula 1 racing driver Jenson Button, it is mostly home to residents working in business, banking and finance, including the entrepreneur and judge on the BBC’s Dragons’ Den series Theo Paphitis. He has lived there with his family since the 2000s, according to the Daily Mail.
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Outlook
Mr. Cole said that the bounce back in the market in 2020 should continue this year.
He predicts the return of overseas buyers particularly from China if the U.K.’s vaccine plan is a success. “There was interest from buyers from mainland China and Hong Kong at the beginning of the year due to the political unrest but didn’t translate into sales because of the pandemic,” he said.
Mr. Cole added that interest remains strong and low levels of stock mean sales should continue to be strong in 2021. There are currently around 25 homes for sale in the estate on the open market (homes often change hands off market).
According to Mr. Ashwell, the average home usually takes around 12 months to sell, while more expensive properties can take longer.
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