The country house once owned by Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, known as Lord Snowdon, has been listed for sale for approximately $5.3 million. This marks the first time the property, referred to as The Old House, has been publicly available on the market.
The cottage in West Sussex, originally built in 1481, was a gift to Lord Snowdon from his uncle, designer Oliver Messel, before his marriage to Princess Margaret. The Messel family acquired the property in 1890 and passed it down through generations.
Following its acquisition, Lord Snowdon transformed the 5,750-square-foot home on 5.52 acres into a private retreat. The property became a gathering place for notable figures of the 20th century, including actor Peter Sellers, ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyn, Bianca Jagger, and financier Sir Evelyn de Rothschild. The home's history was later depicted in an episode of the Netflix series "The Crown."
Among the notable features Lord Snowdon introduced were a redesigned kitchen, a balcony salvaged from Ascot Racecourse's Royal Box, and a created lake. He also compiled a "time capsule of royal, cultural and family life" using newspaper clippings detailing royal scandals and significant events.
The estate includes a main house with six bedrooms and a pool house that can serve as a guest suite. Additional amenities on the grounds include a garden office, a library, and a tractor shed.
While this is the property's first public sale, Lord Snowdon privately sold it in 2003, and the current owners purchased it off-market in 2005. Theo James-Wright, Director at Blue Book Agency, described the property as an "extraordinary creative retreat" and a rare opportunity to acquire a house of significant provenance, architectural importance, and cultural significance.
Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon married in May 1960, the first royal wedding to be televised globally. They had two children, David Armstrong-Jones and Lady Sarah Chatto, before announcing their separation in March 1976 and divorcing in July 1978. They reportedly remained friends after their divorce. Princess Margaret died in 2002 at age 71, and Lord Snowdon died in 2017 at age 86.