It’s perfect for a captain (of industry) and has all the space a family would need.
Hollywood actor Sir Patrick Stewart is selling his stunning “bolt hole” home deep in the Yorkshire Dales.
The Mirfield-born former Chancellor of the University of Huddersfield has put Scar Top House in Hebden, near Grassington, on the market for £535,000.
And the four-bedroomed, two-bathroom Grade II listed house set in 1.6 acres of grassland has already caused a stir among buyers.
The house, described by estate agent Dale Eddison as a “very special home”, only went on the market on Saturday but the phone hasn’t stopped ringing since.
Sir Patrick, 75, splits his time between homes in Brooklyn, New York, and the Cotswolds and has now decided to say goodbye to the secluded Yorkshire home he bought 25 years ago.
The actor, who found fame as Capt Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, said: “Part of me is scared of saying goodbye to the house as I know it will be wrench. It was my bolt hole, my retreat.”
The house, which dates back to 1860, is a mile up an unmarked track and has provided Sir Patrick with the perfect hideaway from the pressures of Hollywood.
Locals have even protected his privacy with the village post office telling curious visitors that Sir Patrick “doesn’t live around here.”
Sir Patrick, brought up in a tiny terraced house in Camm Lane, Mirfield, certainly had room to spare at Scar Top House.
Often alone there Sir Patrick enjoyed the historic features including an inglenook fireplace with original cooking recesses, mullioned and chamfered windows and exposed beams.
The house has three reception rooms including a sitting room with the magnificent inglenook fireplace. A galleried landing leads to the four bedrooms and a walk-in shower room. Accessed by two staircases, one of the bedrooms has a priest hole cupboard.
The brochure describes the house as a “wonderful and historically interesting grade II listed detached house of considerable character, enjoying a truly splendid setting with spectacular bird’s eye views all around.”
WATCH Sir Patrick speaking in Yorkshire dialect below
Sir Patrick has made many improvements since buying the house. He has insulated the roof, furnished the interior with oak furniture and converted a barn into a garage.
Sir Patrick has spoken of how the Yorkshire Dales captured his heart when he was young.
At the height of his Hollywood fame Sir Patrick would flee Los Angeles for the tranquility of the Dales.
He would fly from LA to London before taking a plane to Leeds-Bradford Airport and a taxi to Hebden – just to spend a day at his bolt hole. He admitted it was “madness” but the pull of the Dales was so strong.
“Early vacant possession” is available but Sir Patrick plans one last stay at Scar Top when he returns to Yorkshire to star in Harold Pinter’s No Man's Land at Sheffield’s Lyceum Theatre in August.
A spokesman for Dale Eddison said: “The house is proving very popular, not surprisingly because it’s gorgeous and very much one of a kind.”
For more contact Dale Eddison on 01756 630555 or visit www.daleeddison.co.uk
