By Richard Percival and Charlie Maloney
09:47 11 Feb 2024, updated 09:47 11 Feb 2024
- EXCLUSIVE: Locals in quaint Turville say property prices don’t bother them
- Homes in the area sold for £1,053,900 in 2022 an increase of 63.5 percent
- One local grade II, listed, 13-bedroom mansion is on the market for £12.75m
Residents in a leafy village which has seen the largest leap in house prices in Britain say they don’t care about property prices soaring – because they would never leave.
The village of Turville, set in a valley in the Chilterns countryside and situated in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, sports a population of around 240.
Rows of cottages and larger country houses are dotted around a village church, the Bull & Butcher pub and a local nursery.
It has also been the backdrop for much-loved films and television shows, including The Vicar of Dibley, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Goodnight Mr Tom, Midsomer Murders and Killing Eve.
Properties in the quaint village, located five miles west of High Wycombe, and the same postcode sold for £1,053,900 on average in 2022.
While last year they leapt to £1,723,333 – 63.5 percent increase, research by the Telegraph showed.
As house prices continue to rise across the UK, Turville residents have seen the value of their homes soar.
Gina Wessels, who had been living with her husband Elie Truyen in the village since 2019, said she felt ‘very honoured’ to live in the village.
‘We feel very lucky and very grateful that we are able to live in such a beautiful place’, the 43-year-old told MailOnline.
The couple explained that rising house prices are not immediately impacting them because they don’t want to leave.
But Mrs Wessels said she did worry for others renting in the village who would like buy but rising prices make that very difficult and for younger couples or families moving to the village as well as for future generations.
‘What is really concerning is some of the house prices are inflated, in many instances artificially. I do not want that to come at the cost of our community’, she explained.
Many of Turville residents had lived in the village for generations, with ancestors buried in the village churchyard and all their neighbours were friends, the couple said.
They worried about the potential for weekend houses and Airbnb’s if the area became ‘commercial’ with the rising prices.
‘We bought here because of the community’, Mrs Wessels explained. ‘It is a super supportive community.’
She also stressed ‘the importance of preserving villages like ours’.
Another neighbour, who did not want to be named, said the houses in Turville had ‘always been pricey’ and added she was ‘not planning to move any time soon’ in any event.
But she said she was concerned about rising house prices generally. ‘I have got a friend who is struggling to buy at the moment – really struggling, not being able to get into the market. It is just everywhere, people are struggling.’
Christine Massey, 78, speaking from her cottage in the village, said she had lived in the village for 44 years and that it had ‘always been a very expensive area’.
‘We have got an awful lot of hikers, visitors and bicyclists, so it is very popular’, Mrs Massey said. ‘But it has got nothing really, no shops’.
But one local property – a grade II, listed, 13-bedroom mansion – is on the market for £12.75million. Others are on sale for over £9million.
The property, Turville Grange, is set in some 49 acres of gardens, grounds and heathland and boasts a swimming pool complex and tennis courts.
Sean Connery, King George V and Michael Caine have all been guests at the sprawling country house which spans 7,998 sq ft.
The main house has five bedrooms, five reception rooms, a lift, five staff bedrooms and a guest wing with a sitting room and two guest bedrooms.
It used to belong to Jacqueline Kennedy’s younger sister, Lee Radziwill, and her husband, Prince Stanislas Radziwill who purchased it in 1966 for £55,000.
Nick Warner, office head at Knight Frank Henley, who are also marketing Turville Grange, said: ‘Turville nestled towards the top of the Hambleden Valley, is genuinely picturesque itself, with beautiful surrounding hilly Chiltern countryside.
‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Midsomer Murders plus so much more have been filmed locally including of course The Vicar Of Dibley, in the heart of the village.
‘Private landed estates surround the village so it is greatly protected, yet within 10 minutes’ drive of J5/M40 and within reach of Henley on Thames and Marlow.
‘Properties rarely come on the market, so buyers have to be decisive when opportunities arise.’