In some of the most beautiful Cotswold countryside, just outside Winchcombe and very near the bustling town of Cheltenham, is Postlip Hall. The Postlip Estate is at the end of a three-quarter-mile drive in a valley off B4632, the road between Cheltenham & Winchcombe. There's been a house here since before the Norman Conquest. The Chapel, built about 1145, is the oldest of the present buildings. The Tithe Barn's origins are a bit of a mystery, as no documents have survived- it may be as old as the 12th century Chapel, or could have been built at any point between 1140 and about 1400.
And for £217,000, you could live there. I am not wrong. But it's not so straightforward as all that. Postlip Hall is something of a commune, with eight families cohabiting the building and forming a co-housing group, where the community owns the property. The Hall is divided into eight separate ‘living units’, each with its own front door (and usually a back door) so everybody has a private ‘house’ that’s part of a much bigger cooperative framework. People can thus move fairly freely between private life and group life. They share some communal rooms and they also share the fifteen-acre grounds, pond, stream and kitchen garden. They don’t cook communally, but eat informally together every now & then, especially in the summer.
So, not the traditional housing set up, and certainly not for those who like to keep to themselves, nor for those looking for a holiday home. But there are some real benefits here for those looking for a very peaceful, simple and natural life in a true community. And, in an area where country houses are notoriously expensive, this is an opportunity, for the right family, not to be missed.
Of course, there are plenty of things to be considered here, so please read the details of the property and their website thoroughly. But there is one small event that happens here that could set the stage, and could provide a good opportunity to experience Postlip Hall before thinking about living here (but be warned, an opening in this place is VERY RARE and only comes along every few years at best, and this one may be gone before you can say "stone mullioned windows")- The Cotswold Beer Festival. This is CAMRA's (the Campaign For Real Ale) official festival for locally brewed, proper English Ale, and it's a very cool event.
Here is a snippet of what the folks at Postlip have to say about the dwelling on offer, along with a link for those of you who think you might just be the next family of the Hall:
Would you like to...
... own part of a Jacobean manor? ... bring up your children in fifteen acres of freedom and opportunity? ... eat home-grown organic vegetables and fresh eggs? ... be entertained by musical & dramatic events in the Great Hall & Tithe Barn? ... join with us to get great pleasure from an amazing and beautiful place?
And would you enjoy...
... gardening organically in a walled garden? ... caring for chickens, sheep and Gloucester Old Spot pigs? ... maintaining and preserving a Grade 1 listed historic building? ... rebuilding drystone walls, mowing lawns and weeding flower borders? ... running the Cotswold Beer Festival and other public events? ... taking your share of community activities and meetings?
Postlip now has a three-bedroom unit for sale at £217,000 because one of our families is moving on after nineteen years.
For full details and to make an inquiry, CLICK HERE.
You have to admit, that's a pretty good sales pitch. And if you're not ready to start interviewing for your seat in the Manor, at least mark your calendar for the 2010 Cotswolds Beer Festival, Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th of July! 
