If you’ve always watched the 1971 version of ‘Charlie and Chocolate Factory’ and thought: I want to live in that, we’ve got exciting news. Bulstrode Park, a nineteenth-century, Grade II-listed mansion in Buckinghamshire which was used in certain shots of the factory, has gone up for sale. A world of pure imagination, indeed.
Bulstrode Park has served many purposes over the years. As well as featuring in scenes from ‘Charlie and Chocolate Factory’, it also starred in ‘Maleficent’ and ‘Midsomer Murders’. The manor’s history and grandeur seem to make it a natural fit for mysterious TV shows and magical movies.
However, Bulstrode isn’t just a building of beauty: it also had a fascinating wartime history. In World War I it was used as a military hospital, while the estate found use in World War II as a training base for the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force.
The estate has existed in some form or other since the fourteenth century, but the current house was built in 1865. As it stands, Bulstrode boasts 12 individual buildings, 40 acres of land, and even a — *checks notes* — Pigeon Tower (which is also Grade II-listed).
Now it’s on the market again, the property has the potential to be even grander. Bulstrode apparently has planning permission to be turned into a luxury hotel, equipped with a spa, gym and restaurant. It’s also well-connected: there are three train stations within a few miles and it’s less than an hour to central London.
Here are a few more pictures of Bulstrode Park, in all its glory.
The price of all this is a whopping £6 million which is, whatever way you look at it, quite a lot of cash. But can you really put a price on having your very own chocolate factory? For all the details, check out the full listing here.
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