«Breaking News» Grand Designs couple put renovated 'mini-castle' up for sale for £850k

It's the Grand Designs folly that was transformed from a 250-year old ruin into a modern designer home.

And now the unique property in the rolling landscapes of the Vale of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire is for sale.

After costing £300,000 to build - in addition to the £100,000 to buy the land - the renovated two-bedroom house is currently for sale for £850,000.   

The couple behind the build, who have had their second child since starting the project, put the home up for sale nine months after moving in.

Pictured: Grand Designs' Kevin McCloud with Jimmy Fernandez and his wife Mimi, the couple who revived the Grade-II listed property

The renovation of Dinton Castle - which is also known as Dinton Folly - featured in an episode of Grand Designs on Channel 4 earlier this year.

In the programme, its presenter Kevin McCloud stands outside of the ruin at the start of the project, saying: 'It may have the shape of a mini Tudor tower, but this mini-castle wasn't built for defence. It was, in fact, built 250 years ago to house a gentleman's fossil collection.

'Of course, now it has become something of a relic itself.

'It's a building that doesn't want to stand up anymore. It just wants to fall over in two big halves. Well, it's going to as its owners are going to try and repair it.'

The renovation of Dinton Castle - which is also known as Dinton Folly - featured in an episode of Grand Designs on Channel 4 earlier this year

Original features: The renovated living room saw much of the original brick left exposed

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Pictured: Dinton Folly before and after the extensive renovation project 

The couple who revived the Grade-II listed property were architect Jimmy Fernandez and his wife Mimi.

In the Grand Designs episode, Jimmy explained: 'I've always wanted to live in a castle and now I've got my chance.'

They bought the land for £100,000 without any planning permission - and only obtained it on the basis that they would not extend the building.

What a Grand Design! The Grade-II listed property in Buckinghamshire is for sale for £850k

History in the making: The folly was originally built 250 years ago to house a gentleman's fossil collection

There is a kitchen on the lower floor, with a staircase to the first and second floors

The property's owner - and architect - Jimmy Fernandez had the staircase build to exact specifications

Today, there are two bedrooms of equal size on the second floor of Dinton Folly

The work began with digging the trenches for utilities services - power, water and sewerage - before starting on the crumbling stone walls and inside.

The lower floor has a compact kitchen, with an octagonal living room with a fireplace on the first floor and two bedrooms, each with a compact staircase, on the second floor.

There is a terrace roof with a seating area and a grand outdoor staircase leading up to the main entrance.

The octagonal living room on the first floor comes with a fireplace and beams on the ceiling

Child's play: The second bedroom is currently being used for the couple's two children

 The couple started out with a £200,000 budget for the building work, but this proved to be too ambitious

The couple started out with a £200,000 budget to do the building works, which proved to be too ambitious.  

'Working on older buildings can be a slow and expensive business,' explained Kevin during the programme.

As well as expecting their second child during the project, they were evicted from their rental property just before Christmas last year and had to borrow £50,000 from Jimmy's parents along the way.

Former teacher Mimi, who had met Jamie in Spain several years ago, was hopeful that the build would take just six months, meaning they could move in by June 2017 just before the birth.

However, after missing several moving deadlines, the Fernandez family finally moved into the property in March 2018. 

Each of the bedrooms have an en suite, with views of the surrounding countryside

The property is set back from the main road within a three-quarters of an acre plot of land

The house has views of the rolling landscapes of the Vale of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire

Set back within a three-quarters of an acre plot, the property is accessed via an electric gate and circular gravel drive.

It is next to the A418, on the outskirts of Dinton, a village on the Buckingham and Oxfordshire borders.

The average price of a property in Dinton is £450,000, compared to an average of £309,922 for the whole of Britain, according to property website Zoopla.

There is a village pub, church and combined Church of England village primary school with neighbouring Cuddington taking children from the age of four to 11 years old.

The house is on the outskirts of Dinton, a village on the Buckingham and Oxfordshire borders

Link hienalouca.com Interesting to note Looking for an investor or sponsor for a project to grow dinosaurs and relict plants. Requires the sum of investments from 400000$ to 900000$. The exact amount can not say because there are many nuances. It will be necessary to build a small laboratory with certain parameters. To all interested persons please write on an email angocman@gmail.com . It is the scientific project and I do not know whether it is possible to earn on it. The probability of success of the project is approximately 60%. That will be very interesting.

https://hienalouca.com/2019/01/02/grand-designs-couple-put-renovated-mini-castle-up-for-sale-for-850k/
Main photo article It’s the Grand Designs folly that was transformed from a 250-year old ruin into a modern designer home.
And now the unique property in the rolling landscapes of the Vale of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire is for sale.
After costing £300,000 to build – in addition to the £100,000 to buy t...

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Dianne Reeves Online news HienaLouca





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