House Canterbury (United-Kingdom) Price: $ 4,152,800 USD

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Bedrooms 5  Bathrooms 5 

When it comes to privacy, security and discretion this stunning and unique 21st century country house has it all. Whether it is the indoor infinity swimming pool, the custom designed cinema room, the state-of-the art technology or the superb Wolf and Sub Zero designed chef’s kitchen, there is something for everyone. Completely hidden down a wooded dell surrounded by 2.2 acres of grounds that were previously part of the Chilham Castle Estate, it is approached along part of a private road owned by the property that leads to solid wood electronic gates, flanked by a high brick wall. The gates open onto a drive down to the large outer car parking area and an archway to the inner car park and an integral triple garage with electronic doors and a large, detached pitched roof outbuilding currently used for storage.The front door opens into the awe-inspiring entrance hall with its limestone flooring that flows throughout the ground floor and the beautifully designed curved stainless steel and wood staircase that sweeps up to the first floor. Off the hall is a very large storeroom and boot cupboard as well as a spacious shower room with a pair of trendy basins as well as steps down to the truly impressive ‘hub of the household’ that includes the amazing double height kitchen, sitting and dining areas. It is at this stage that you really begin to appreciate not only the uniqueness of this amazing property but also how incredibly light and bright it is with vast picture windows in many of the rooms, walls of glass and bi-fold doors. This is ably demonstrated in the large dining area that includes a glass door and wall that overlooks the indoor swimming pool complex and beyond to the impressive Welsh slate feature wall in the garden, a very large picture window. There are also six bi-fold doors with windows above in the sitting area that also has a raised box fireplace as a focal point. There is also a glass fronted ‘minstrels gallery’ style first floor landing that overlooks the whole room.For anyone who enjoys catering and entertaining the chef level kitchen is a true dream. Wolf and Sub Zero have designed their stainless steel kitchens for such culinary luminaries as Jamie Oliver, Gary Rhodes and Gordon Ramsay and celebrities including Sir Paul McCartney, David and Victoria Beckham, Madonna and Rod Stewart to name but a few, so it means you are in excellent company. The kitchen area has a range of stainless steel wall units housing a large integrated fridge, freezer, two built in ovens and a full height wine cooler as well as islands that include a breakfast bar and a built in teppanyaki griddle for cooking Japanese food, an eight ring gas hob, sinks and an ‘intelligent’ and sensitive air conditioning systems to remove unwanted cooking smells. To ensure that none of the ‘messy’ aspects of catering are seen in the main kitchen area there is a separate kitchen for food preparation and dishwashing facilities.The ground floor includes a delightful library with bespoke shelving and an integrated fridge, a good sized office with a door to the gravel terrace that could always be a ground floor bedroom for elderly relatives or those who find the stairs difficult as there is also the available shower room nearby. There is also a magnificent double height, dual aspect sitting room if you want somewhere quiet to repair to. This light and bright room has a vast double height cathedral style window and a door to the terrace as well as a cosy log burner and is overlooked by a mezzanine seating area with a glass balcony.The main staircase leads to the primary landing overlooking the family space. It has beautiful wood flooring that flows throughout the first floor including into the superb main suite with its various shaped vaulted ceiling and delightful picture window. There is an excellent dressing room with bespoke clothes storage and shelving that leads to the luxurious en suite bath/shower room with steps up to the impressive air bath for relaxation, two infinity limestone basins and a wet room style shower. Both the bedroom and bathroom have a wall of frosted glass and doors that lead to a secondary landing that overlooks the swimming pool and providing delightful views across the garden and includes a glassed in gym and secondary stairs to the swimming pool complex.This floor also provides three further, individually designed double bedrooms with en suite facilities including a fun room for a teenager with steps up to a built in double bed and bath, another with a seating area, large built in cupboards and very trendy en suite stone style bath, black slate basin, shower and walls and the third with a seating area, cathedral style windows, a vaulted ceiling and an elegant en suite bathroom with a stand alone bath and wet room style shower. There is also the ‘snug’ overlooking the sitting room, mirrored cupboards on the landing, a very useful fitted laundry room with Miele appliances and a splendid dual aspect home office/fifth bedroom with vaulted ceilings, feature brick walls, and cathedral style windows.For leisure and pleasure you can enjoy the beautiful infinity swimming pool with its vast internal terrace where you can sit and relax with a cup of coffee or revel in the large sauna and steam rooms, while later in the day take the steps down to the beautifully designed cinema room and sink into a comfortable chair while sipping a glass of wine from the bar and watch your favourite movie.Outside the very easy to maintain garden is primary laid to lawn with a gravel terrace and paved patio as well as the slate wall with steps up to the woodland areas. There are a wide variety of mature and specimen trees and shrubs that surround the property. TechnologyThe property was designed some 17 years ago for a member of the Pentland Homes family and it is believed it took two years to complete as a very special project. Despite the 17 years, from a technological point of view, the house was way ahead of its time and could be considered state-of-the-art even today. It includes a Control 4 system that controls the underfloor heating on all three floors with individual thermostatic controls, a central Vac system, air conditioning, electric blinds and curtains, a Lutron lighting system throughout the house and a top-of-the range AMX audio-visual system as well as a UV and chlorine filter system for the swimming pool. The plant room incorporating all these facilities can be found on the lower ground floor. HistoryAlthough the property is ultra-modern the environment and the grounds are steeped in history. Up until 2006 it was part of the Chilham Castle Estate. The original Chilham Castle was built in 709 by the ‘King of Kent,’ and was probably made of wood. However the Keep dates to Norman times and was erected 1174 while the current Jacobean mansion was built in 1616 for Sir Dudley Digges. Over the years it has had a number of owners and in 1949 it was bought by the 13th Viscount Masereene who lived there until his death in 1992 but is currently a private residence. It has also been the backdrop for a number of films and TV series including Moll Flanders, Poirot and Dempsey and Makepeace.