A spacious sitting room is hidden behind a bookcase in this Hertfordshire house. Photo: Fine & Country
Some properties incorporate unusual historic or design features that aren’t immediately apparent but enhance their character or functionality. From concealed rooms and outdoor spaces to new-builds that look like they’ve been there for centuries, all these homes have secrets and twists that are waiting to be discovered.
1. Aberfeldy, Perth and Kinross, offers over £350,000
This single storey house has a secret loch-side beach. Photo: Galbraith
Waterfall Cottage is a timber former bothy, perched on a hillside overlooking Loch Tay. Accommodation includes four bedrooms, a sitting/dining room with a wood burner and a sunroom with triple aspect glazing and access to a deck.
Its garden slopes down to the edge of the water and a very private and secluded pebble beach that can’t be seen from the house. Through Galbraith.
2. Climate Innovation District, Leeds, £415,000
The large roof terrace is completely private. Photo: Jenna-Leigh Photography 2024
You’d never know it from the street, but this contemporary four-bedroom townhouse is crowned by a hidden roof terrace.
The pristine property is within a low-carbon, community-led development and comprises an open plan kitchen, living and dining room and cloakroom at ground level and four bedrooms and two bathroom spread over the first and second floors. Find out more from Zenko Properties.
Move here and wake up to the sound of running water. Photo: Beresford Adams
You're unlikely to find anywhere on terra firma that's closer to water than this charming Grade II listed cottage. For the River Colwyn flows just metres from the door, and the bright living room, two of the three bedrooms and the garden all have fantastic views.
Planning consent will be required if you intend to use it as a second home or holiday let. Via Beresford Adams.
4. Buntingford, Hertfordshire, £850,000
The bay-windowed sitting room is entered through a door in a bookcase. Photo: Fine & Country
This four-storey, four-bedroom townhouse is part of Bridgeford House, a Regency building that was once the town’s workhouse and is now a collection of elegant homes.
There’s tons of space for relaxing, entertaining and working, including a large kitchen/breakfast room, a formal dining room, a games room, a study and snug.
The ground floor sitting room is hard to find as it’s cleverly concealed behind a bookshelf door. Get in touch with Fine & Country.
5. Norwich, Norfolk, £895,000
This hidden house is very centrally located. Photo: Sowerbys
It’s easy to walk past this Grade II* listed Georgian house without realising it’s there as it’s completely hidden from view in a private gated courtyard.
A peaceful retreat just moments from the city centre, it incorporates five bedrooms, a generously sized kitchen/breakfast room, a sunroom and an atmospheric sitting room with full-height sash windows framing views of the garden. For sale through Sowerbys.
Thomas Becket is rumoured to have hidden in the labyrinthine tunnels and caves under this house. Photo: Fine & Country
Beckets, a beautifully decorated five-bedroom house, dates back to the 12th century. and boasts a wealth of original features such as a medieval roof structure and wall framework, exposed beams, floorboards, sash windows and fireplaces.
The big surprise is underground as an external staircase descends to a network of tunnels and caves where, according to legend, Thomas Becket hid while fleeing from Henry II. Contact Fine & Country.
7. Hurst, Berkshire, £1.595m
Quince House blends beautifully into its surroundings. Photo: Knight Frank
If you’d love a period farmhouse but don’t relish the thought of all the maintenance involved, take a look at Quince House.
This traditionally inspired four-bedroom house is the last remaining in Little Acre, a development of four new houses by Westbourne Homes, and includes a classic Neptune kitchen, limestone flooring, oak doors and a landscaped garden planted with cherry blossom trees, climbing roses and lavender borders. Available through Knight Frank.
More secrets may well be discovered when this historic house is renovated. Photo: Fine & Country
You’ll need a big budget to take on Boxley Abbey House as the Grade II* listed, 6,400 square foot Queen Anne property requires full refurbishment.
Together with a modernised cottage and restored barn with a rare Grade I listing, it was built in the ruins of 12th century monastery Boxley Abbey, a scheduled ancient monument.
The gardens contain a chapel beneath a Tudor terrace walk, a secret passage in a former medieval drain and an undercroft previously used for storage. From Strutt & Parker.
9. Sandbanks, Poole, Dorset, £6.5m
The door to the subterranean wine cellar was designed to resemble a boat hatch. Photo: DDRE Global
Located on the waterfront in Dorset’s millionaires’ row, this 6,300 square foot house is the ultimate in top-end coastal living and has five bedrooms, six bathrooms, a steam room, rooftop bar, several terraces and a private jetty.
A discreet electrically-operated hatch in the vast open plan kitchen opens to reveal a spiral staircase leading down to circular wine cellar that holds up to 1,600 bottles. Via DDRE Global.
10. Wixford, Alcester, Warwickshire, £7.25m
There are no draughty corridors in this brand new castle. Photo: UK Sotherby's International Realty
Despite looking like it's steeped in history, Oversley Castle is the first new castle to be built in the UK in over a century.
It's due to be completed later this year and will span nearly over 11,000 square feet, featuring four reception rooms, five principal bedrooms, a two-bedroom apartment, a guest annex, a roof terrace, gym and natural swimming pool.
