Research suggests that homes with traditional names like the Manor House, the Old Rectory and the Old Vicarage usually have the highest house prices.
A study by property firm Savills found that the most expensive property names were those that reflected life in past centuries, including links to the feudal system, religion and beer. The study looked at names linked to at least 30 sales over the past five years, where at least one in five sales was for properties worth at least £1 million.
The Manor House came out on top, with an average property price of £1,423,128. This name was historically given to the main house of the Lord of the Manor in Anglo Saxon and Norman England and is often the grandest house in the area. More than two in every five sales of properties with this name were worth more than £1 million. The Old Rectory, which was the former home of a rector, came second, with an average price tag of £1,301,424.
Properties with this name usually date from the Georgian, Regency and Victorian periods and are often grand buildings with land. Half of the properties sold with this name over the past five years were valued at more than £1 million.
Former rectories typically cost around £200,000 more than those named the Old Vicarage, which was historically the home of the vicar. The former vicarages usually appear as smaller manor houses or cottages, says Savills, and are generally less grand owing to their lower status.
In the last five years, houses with this name have been sold for an average price of £1,086,887. Lucian Cook, who leads residential research at Savills, said: “Certain English house names have held steady over hundreds of years, and tell us a lot about the provenance and history of the property whether it be related to the feudal system, religion, mythology, our nation’s flora, and even beer.”
“Still today house names instantly conjure an image, whether it’s the distinctive roof line of an oast house or the intricate timbers within a tithe barn.”
Homes like the Manor House, the Old Rectory and the Old Vicarage, which were once inhabited by society’s elite, still fetch the highest prices in the housing market, surpassing modernly named homes like Mallards and Timbers.
Phillippa Dalby-Welsh, head of Savills’ country department, said: “The name of a house can give it a particular charm, even a notional personality, before a prospective buyer has even set eyes on the property. Quintessentially English names symbolise ideal country living, and conjure up images of period drama.”
“Manor houses, rectories and vicarages, in particular, benefit from central locations, typically sitting on the edge or at the centre of the village. Properties which historically symbolised high stature are also usually very well proportioned with high ceilings and large windows, and good sized gardens, perfect for modern-day families. The timeless appeal to these homes mean that they will never go out of fashion and will always be highly sought-after by buyers.”
Here’s a list of the top property names, how many were sold according to Savills, their average price, and the percentage of homes selling for over £1 million:.
1. The Manor House, 56 sales, average price £1,423,128, 43% sold for over £1 million.
2. (The) Old Rectory, 355 sales, average price £1,301,424 , 50% sold for over £1 million.
3. Mallards, 38 sales, average price £1,164,150, 24% sold for over £1 million.
4. (The) Old Vicarage, 325 sales, average price £1,086,887 , 39% sold for over £1 million.
5. The Oast House, 31 sales, average price £1,038,774, 45% sold for over £1 million.
6. Lime Tree House, 33 sales, average price £981,121, 21% sold for over £1 million.
7. Manor House/The Manor, 204 sales, average price £967,117, 29% sold for over £1 million.
8. Manor Farm House, 41 sales, average price £966,235, 32% sold for over £1 million.
9. Grove House, 68 sales, average price £962,904, 25% sold for over £1 million.
10. Glebe House, 86 sales, average price £940,814, 31% sold for over £1 million.
