The English countryside, home of beautiful rolling hills and often not-so-beautiful weather, has been a literary inspiration for countless novelists and poets over the centuries – and George Orwell is no exception. But what Orwell really loved was pubs. The writer of ‘1984’, ‘Animal Farm’ and the like had several fave boozers, even going so far as to write at length about his perfect pub in a 1946 essay called ‘The Moon Under Water’.
In other words, Orwell knew a great pub when he saw one. And one of his favourites is now up for sale. In the village of Wallington in Hertfordshire, it’s been turned into a family home and is on the market for £1 million.
The picturesque country house features four bedrooms, two bathrooms and two reception rooms. Classic English quirks are dotted throughout – there’s even a retro phone box on the corner outside. While the old beer cellar has been converted into a remote working and games room space, there’s plenty of charm left in the inglebrook fireplace, log-burner and quarry tiling.
Wallington was a significant place for Orwell. He lived in the village on-and-off for about a decade and married his first wife Eileen in its fourteenth century church. Wallington’s Manor Farm was also apparently the inspiration for the setting of ‘Animal Farm’.
If the hills of north Hertfordshire don’t provide enough greenery for you, the house is settled in a hearty three-quarter-acre patch of land. Oh, and did we mention the heated pool? Yeah, it’s got one of those. Here are a couple of pics of the place.
Wallington is just three miles from Ashwell and Morden train station and is under an hour’s journey from both Luton and Stansted. Though the former pub is almost double the average house price for the village, it’s a quaint literary fantasy within commuting distance from London.
If you fancy a life of tranquillity in a famous author’s old fave boozer where you’ll also be able to swim outdoors for more than four days of the year (and if you also have at least £1 million going spare), check out By Design’s official listing here.
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