Virginia Water Blazing the Trail

In Bill Bryon's latest novel, The Road to Little Dribbling, one chapter details a wonderful period in Bryson's life where he unexpectedly became an employee in a mental health institution. This comical account is set in Holloway Sanatorium, Virginia Water where the very wealthy, who suffered mental illness were able to reside in relative luxury in this secure NHS owned hospital. 

Holloway Sanatorium was built by Henry Crossland for 'mentally afflicted persons' in 1884 and still stands today. The patients are however long gone and today the estate known as Virginia Park is home to a mix of residents who enjoy living in a gated community.

Bryson has very fond memories of the sanatorium, as it was while living there that he met his wife Cynthia. And although Holloway was full of long-term patients who were "quite mad," he loved the quintessential Englishness of the place.

It was in the 1980s that Holloway Sanatorium closed its doors to patients. The grand estate then lay fallow for many years. Thieves took advantage of the disrepair by stealing parts of the roof with the house decaying over time and becoming dangerous.

Then, quite by chance during a family holiday in America, local Virginia Water Resident and Estate Agent Hugh Wyatt spotted a gated community, which had been developed with high class homes, 24 hour security and residents leisure facilities. Hughdecided to take this concept back to England to see if he could create a similar development in his home village.

Wyatt's visionary concept took a great deal of time and effort to develop but it was worth the wait. Working in conjunction with his brother, who owned high end homebuilder Octagon Developments and a local financier, Wyatt was responsible for the first ever UK development where a large Victorian hospital was just part of the plan.  This ground breaking idea has become known as "enabling development".  The only way to make the development viable was to build new houses on the estate which would help cover the cost of restoring the wonderful grade I listed building.

As this was the brain child of Hugh Wyatt, his award winning estate agency, Barton Wyatt, were the selling agents on the estate. Their figures reveal that the real cost of creating each of the homes within the listed building was over £1,000,000 however the houses were sold in 1995 for an affordable £500,000. Today they meet their true value being priced at £1,000,000 - £2,000,000. In contrast the new build homes within the grounds of Virginia Park were originally sold for £325,000 and are now worth around £1,100,000.
 

Some of the owners who bought these homes some 20 years ago are still there today. In this beautiful environment set within 25 acres and with 24-hour gated security, Virginia Park is a fabulous place to live. 

James Wyatt, son of Hugh and now partner of Barton Wyatt, comments:

"I feel immense pride towards Virginia Park and in particular the work that my father and uncle put into creating a development that was the first of its kind in the UK.  They came up against many hurdles during the planning but were very insistent that it was a feasible notion and found solutions to all of the challenges they faced." 

When asked if Holloway House - now known as Crossland House - is haunted, Wyatt says:

"I don't believe in ghosts so it is hard for me to say.  Some of my staff have certainly had the feeling of being watched whilst in the main building.  The contractors who worked on the regeneration were forever telling tales of things that go bump and equipment disappearing or being moved.  Certainly our residents love living there and no one has ever moved out that I know off because of the paranormal!"

Bill Bryson certainly never mentioned ghosts in his tales of Virginia Water.  He fell in love, got married and bought a house in the area, staying for 12 happy years whilst he was a journalist at The Times.

For more details contact Barton Wyatt 

Barton Wyatt Estate Agents in Surrey celebrating Wentworth's 60th Birthday

2014 is a landmark year for the PGA European Golf Tour as it celebrates its 60^th year. The Championship was first played back in 1955, coming to the prestigious West Course at Wentworth in Surrey in 1984 and where it has been played exclusively ever since.

This first class golfing tournament initially only attracted British golfers however in the 1970's it began to entice players from all over Europe and quickly escalated into one the top international golf events on the European Tour Calendar.

60 years ago Englishman Ken Bousfield picked up the title of first ever champion, finishing 17 under par and taking home £400 in prize money.  Compare that to last year's winner, 2013 champion Matteo Manassero who scooped a staggering €791,660 and it's clear to see how this event has grown.

The BMW PGA Championship is six days of high quality entertainment which includes the Official Practice Day, Celebrity Pro-Am, and four rounds of compelling competition from 20^th to 25^thMay.

This year an impressive list of 50 celebrities are already confirmed to take part in the Celebrity Pro-Am including Chris Evans; Olympic medallists Eve Muirhead, Sir Steven Redgrave and Sir Matthew Pinsent; footballers David Ginola, Peter Schmeichel and Jamie Redknapp and rugby stars Chris Robshaw, Ben Foden and Mike Tindall.

For the residents of the exclusive Wentworth Estate this is a week in their lives when everything slows to almost a halt.  Getting about on the main island becomes tricky as the roads are full of golf lovers all anxious to wander on the fairways of England's finest golf course and watch the pros at the top of their game.

Wentworth resident and local business owner James Wyatt has lived in the area most of his life and tells us of the thrills of the PGA week:

"I live on Wentworth and work in Virginia Water so life is not too stressful for me during PGA week.  In fact I love the buzz of it.  It turns our sleepy village into the centre of the universe for a few days.  There are limos, TV crews, dozens of celebs and huge amounts of fun and frivolity, not to mention champagne and strawberries!"

James Wyatt runs the award winning Barton Wyatt Estate Agents in Surrey with his brother Rupert. They became the third generation of Wyatts in 1998, the agency and indeed the village has gone from strength to strength over the years. 

In June 2013 the Telegraph reported that Virginia Water, famed as the home of Bruce Forsyth and Wentworth golf club, was crowned the most expensive village in the country in a survey that revealed a huge jump in the number of property millionaires across Britain.  The Telegraph further stated that "Average values in Virginia Water have climbed 6pc in the past year and in one street, Portnall Rise, homes average £4.3m."

James Wyatt is more reticent about prices in the area, saying:

"Virginia Water and Wentworth are often painted as the most unbelievably expensive place to live outside London, but we really do cater for all pockets with two bedroom flats for £250,000, detached houses for £600,000. But I am also very happy to sell anyone a new house for £30m!!"