‘You Can Feel the History’ in this 400-Year-Old U.K. Barn

‘You Can Feel the History’ in this 400-Year-Old U.K. Barn


A generations-aged historic estate in England’s Hertfordshire countryside is heading on the auction block next month with a pre-sale estimate of £3 million to £5 million (US$3.61million to US$6 million).

The 1-acre residence in the town of Sawbridgeworth, which is an hour from London by coach or automobile and 15 minutes from an global airport, was outlined for £5 million by Amy Odell of United Kingdom Sotheby’s Global Realty last summer. There is an undisclosed reserve price tag.


The sellers, Simon Belofsky, an entrepreneur and former report label head at Universal Songs, and his spouse, Emma, acquired the property, recognised as Bursteads Barn, a decade back and have thoroughly renovated it.

The Belofskys, who now invest far more time at their estate in Portugal, and their two youngsters utilised Bursteads Barn as their U.K. residence.

Package, their 12-12 months-previous son, is a race kart winner who is creating headlines in the activity in Europe Ms. Belofsky travels with him to competitions.

“The barn is a residing fossil and so ordinarily English,” claimed Mr. Belofsky, who is 55. “Its veins are 1000’s of yrs outdated. I appreciate the record of it, the texture of it. It gives you the potential to seem back again in time. When you rub your hand in excess of the timber, you can sense the historical past.”

It will be marketed by Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions on the web bidding will be held March 23-28.

The 400-year-old barn, which has a Quality-II preservation ranking, pairs centuries-aged and modern models with unique rustic barn trusses, soaring ceilings, expansive home windows and an open floor approach.

“The Belofskys have long gone previously mentioned and further than with the information,” Ms. Odell mentioned. “There are, for instance, above 140 architecturally made lights. The barn appears to be remarkable when illuminated at evening.”


The residence, which is surrounded by farmland and guarded by gates, is approached via a grand carriage-design and style drive and a pathway that has landscaped borders.

The 9,409-square-foot barn has two bedroom wings. There is a non-public guest wing with a independent entrance and residing space, as effectively as a one-bedroom, just one-rest room annex with a kitchen, dwelling place and sizzling tub. Other characteristics incorporate smokeless liquid biofuel fireplaces, a sunken spouse and children den, gallery-like partitions for the display of artwork, a games area, a property-theater loft, an integrated audio technique, a chef’s kitchen area with double ovens and a wine refrigerator and an workplace space with quite a few workstations.


The key suite is appointed with a very hot tub and steam space and a pair of spa loos and dressing rooms.

Charlie Smith, Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions’s executive vice president for Europe, the Center East and Africa, claimed that the no-charges-spared restoration remodeled “what was after a straightforward, lofty thatched barn and modest timber-frame house into a person spectacular estate boasting a masterful fusion of its rustic roots with up to date design.”

“I’m truly upset to be advertising it,” Mr. Belofsky stated, adding that he’s hunting for a smaller U.K. residence. “If it hadn’t been for my son’s race career in Europe, I’d be buried here.”