Behind This Hole In The Hill Lies An Amazing Underground Mansion
Far from a subterranean bunker, this 4,000-square-foot home is surprisingly luxurious, full of skylights and a swimming pool, a music room that fits a grand piano, and a stone-vaulted cave with a peat-burning fireplace.
The home — located in the village of Holme, about 22 miles from Manchester — is the vision and design of local architect Arthur Quarmby. He built it and lived there with his family for 41 years.
It is on the market for the first time, Curbed reports, asking in the range of $927,000 at the current exchange rate. (Hey, Brexit is good for something.)
The estate bears an undeniably charming — and nerdy — name: Underhill. That also happens to be a common hobbit surname, and one Frodo uses as a pseudonym in J.R.R. Tolkien’s hit series.
The most hobbit-like characteristic of the home, though, is its circular door, which is at the end of a short stone-lined tunnel that cuts through a grassy bank.
Set on 1 acre of land in England’s scenic Peak District, the house looks out on — and is a part of — some textbook British countryside, with a landscape of pristine, green rolling hills.
Inside, domed ceilings with skylights and stone archways crisscross over a luscious pool, which serves as the centerpiece of the house; 20 feet of sliding windows let in additional light to this main recreation area. Quarmby crafted a suite of rooms for his two children, plus another set of rooms for the parents.
“Sheltered Earth” homes, or “Earth houses,” are big in the design world, and Quarmby’s labor of love is one of the prettiest examples. The Mirror called it “one of the UK’s most amazing houses.”
Wm. Sykes & Son has the listing.
via NYPost
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