Snap up Mary Berry’s former home for £2.5 million

Feast your eyes on Britain's favourite baker’s gorgeous Buckinghamshire house

Mary Berry's amazing former home is up for sale – and we just couldn't wait to take a look around.

She made her name whipping up fabulous cakes and presenting the Great British Bake Off with Paul Hollywood, and anyone who's ever admired her style will know her to be a woman of exceptionally good taste. So it's no surprise that she brings the same effortless elegance to her home.

On the market with Hamptons International, the six-bedroom property is built in a vibrant brick that has bestowed its name of 'The Red House'.

For the sale price of £2.5 million, the lucky buyer will also get their hands on the chef’s former AGA stove; the same one that she used to whip up many feasts over the years as she honed recipes at home.

Mary bought the house for £25,000 in 1970 and lived here for 18 years with her husband, Paul Hunnings, and their three children.

The front gardens are perfectly manicured and include a neat gravel pathway to the door. A stately turning circle in the sizeable driveway is also of note, while the detached coach house that can be seen contains a garage, workshop and storeroom on the ground floor and a bedroom, sitting room and kitchen upstairs.

Inside, the accommodation is arranged over three storeys and naturally includes plenty of space to dine and entertain.

The open-plan kitchen is found to the rear of the home and overlooks the garden, with French doors opening onto the terrace.

Here you’ll find Mary’s famous AGA as well as hand-painted units, stylish dark stone surfaces and a neatly tiled floor.

The kitchen benefits from a utility room, complete with a Belfast sink, and a pantry. An arch leads on to a good-sized breakfast room.

Also on this level is the impressive 30-ft dining room, which is the ideal place to entertain guests and show off your culinary skills.

A handsome fireplace proves to be the focal point in the neutral space, while soft spotlights offer subtle lighting. We love the heavy curtains and ornate mirror, too.

A reception room, drawing room, family room and a cloakroom are also on the ground floor and each room is in excellent condition and beautifully decorated, seamlessly blending classic period details such as feature fireplaces and ceiling cornicing with modern fittings.

Upstairs, the elegant master bedroom offers a dressing room and ensuite bathroom as well as a south-facing deep bay with sash windows and a fireplace, while the guest bedroom also comes complete with an ensuite.

Another two bedrooms and a shower room are located here, while the final two bedrooms can be found on the top floor.

Outside, the grounds include rolling green lawns, well-kept borders, a vegetable patch and even a pond, as well as terraced areas to the rear of the home, which creates a wonderful area for al fresco entertaining.

As well as her sweet tooth, Mary Berry is also well known for her green fingers, so you can expect the place to be in fine condition.

However, Mary didn’t just sell up and leave The Red House when she moved in 1988. In fact, she swapped the pretty Georgian home with one of her neighbours, Lady Heath, the widow of Battle of Britain hero Sir Barrie Heath, who lived elsewhere in the Chilterns village.

She describes the unusual turn of events in her autobiography Recipe for Life.

"We took Joan back to her house and had tea in the morning room looking out over the courtyard I had always admired (and rather envied).

"As the sun started to set, Joan turned to us and said, 'My house is going on the market tomorrow'. I looked at Paul and knew we were thinking the same thing. 'We would like to buy it,' I said. 'Well I’d like to look at The Red House,' she said.

And that was that! Rather than moving all their furniture, the friends even decided to swap that too, leaving everything in place when they moved.

Mary and Paul took on Waterfront in Penn in 1988, before moving to their current home in Henley in 2017.

A spokesperson for Hamptons, who is marketing The Red House said: "It is steeped in history and represents an exquisite example of a traditional Georgian house with a unique blend of bespoke craftsmanship, elegance and functional design.

"Benefiting from considerate renovations and additions throughout its history, the house is in beautiful condition and decorative order, seamlessly blending attractive period features with modern fittings to create a wonderful family home ideal for modern living."

Situated in the heart of an idyllic village, the home is close to the local village green and duck pond, as well as various shops and a dreamy delicatessen.

Thanks to its location in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, it also enjoys peaceful surroundings and plenty of rolling countryside.

Main image: Shine TV. All house images from Hamptons International.