Sunday nights are rather special these days as that’s when you can lose yourself in the period drama, Belgravia.
The show features several lavish homes belonging to the upper classes, some of which have their own ballrooms.
In Forres, there’s one fabulous home for sale which may well have seen similarly elegant parties held there as it too has its own ballroom.
Set among landscaped grounds of more than six acres, is Newbold House, an impressive B-listed Victorian mansion on the eastern outskirts of the town.
Believed to date from the turn of the last century, Newbold was built by Colonel John Woodcock, a retired officer who had served in India and who later made his fortune trading tea.
He had inherited the estate from his uncle and had the house designed by Inverness-based architects Ross and Macbeth.
If walls could talk, the walls here would have many an interesting tale to tell as the accommodation comprises a grand hallway and four reception rooms which include a ballroom, music room, art room and dining room.
The accommodation is laid out over three floors and the house is packed with period features from ornate cornicing and decorative fireplaces, to wood panelling and deep bay windows.
In time, the Woodcocks sold the 14 bedroom house to a Mr Sommerville and his wife and during their time, the house was requisitioned during World War II.
During that time, Mrs Sommerville had another house – ‘Kedah’ – built further down St. Leonard’s Road.
After the war Newbold House fell empty for while until a Mr Donaldson, a retired policeman from Keith bought it for £3,000.
He changed the house into a hotel and converted a billiard room, which is now the art room, into a bar.
For the past 40 years or so the property has been managed by the Newbold Trust which has run various residential courses at the property with guests from across the globe.
Rod Christie, who is handling the selling agent, Galbraith, said: “The sale of Newbold House offers a fantastic opportunity to purchase a beautiful and architecturally important property.
“Newbold House would make a superb family home being easily accessible yet offering a good level of privacy whilst also presenting a business opportunity, subject to obtaining the necessary consents.”
On the market with a guide price of £800,000, other features of note include a large lawn, thought to have once been a tennis court; a substantial and beautifully maintained productive walled garden with fruit and veg beds, two greenhouses and quiet seating areas
