NO PROBLEM with social distancing at this 14,085 square foot house at Little Chalfont should a virus cause havoc again in the future.

The recent upgrade and extension cost the current owner five million say the agents at the Unique Property Company where Chalfont Manor is for sale for £8.25 million.

The house with the Tudor style frontage is in a lane typified by properties set back from the road in their own grounds.

Pop stars Noel Gallagher, guitarist in the Oasis rock band and Mike ‘Tubular Bells’ Oldfield are among the well known names who have lived in Nightingales Lane over the years. It runs from Chalfont St Giles through to Little Chalfont.

Simon Stone who is fielding inquiries for the agents says the sale is attracting lots of interest particularly from overseas buyers. The newly enlarged mansion has 11 reception rooms, 12 bedrooms, eight bathrooms, three kitchens.

As well as the rooms in the main building there’s also the West Wing. The accommodation in the West Wing is divided into two self-contained apartments “ideal for staff, guests or renting out for income. One of the flats is a three bed, the second apartment has two-bedrooms.

Other features worthy of star billing in the on-line brochure include a “sumptuous wine cellar,” an “ultimate TV and Gaming Room” and a £1m Steinway cinema, a contender for “this year’s Home Theater of the Year title.”

The house stands in just over two acres although buyers have the option to acquire a further 15.3 acres if they want more land, the agent says. As a place to live, Bucks has considerable appeal for families of all income groups not just the Rich List due to the county retaining the state grammar school system. Parents reason why pay school fees to go private when the state system at its best can produce results that are just as good.

The girls’ grammar school where the future Mrs Amal Clooney was a student in the 1980s and ‘90s is at the Little Chalfont end of the road.

Back in 1962 It was common knowledge that one of the locals, a famous film star, was highly alarmed when news leaked out that a high school for girls was about to built in Cokes Lane as a separate entity from what until then had been the co-ed grammar school in Amersham.

Dirk Bogarde feared his privacy would be breached. He lived next door to the site. To avoid any risk of the girls spying on him by poking holes in the hedge between the two properties he built a ten foot high mound along the boundary fence to block the view.

Today, having excellent schools within a few minutes’ cycle ride will be among the attractions for families interested in Chalfont Manor.

“The house has been redeveloped by the current owner for his own purposes but due to a change of circumstances he’s selling up,” Simon Stone confirms.

n The annual rise in house prices slowed to 1.8 per cent in May compared with a hike of 3.7 per cent in April, reported the Nationwide on Tuesday.

Around 15 per cent of people surveyed by the building society said they were considering moving as a result of life in lockdown.

Twenty two per cent had changed their mind about what constitutes the most important aspects of a home. As a result they are planning improvements to their present place.

Nationwide’s chief economist Robert Gardner said 34 per cent thought differently about their home due to the Covid-19 outbreak, “especially the importance of a garden and the need for more indoor space.”

He added:“In the opening months of 2020 before the pandemic,. The housing market had been steadily gathering momentum. Activity levels and price growth were edging up thanks to continued robust labour market conditions, low borrowing costs and a more stable political backdrop following the general election.”

But then the virus took its toll. In April there were 53 per cent fewer transactions than in April 2019.