Guernsey’s historic Havilland Hall estate listed for £65mn
The nearly 200-year-old private estate spans 80 acres and has links to former colonial-era administrators, a marmalade business dynasty and Hollywood actresses Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine.
A historic private estate in Guernsey has been put on the market for £65 million, offering a rare opportunity to acquire one of the Channel Islands’ largest privately owned properties. Havilland Hall, set across approximately 80 acres, combines a Regency-era mansion with extensive gardens, parkland, agricultural land and a range of residential and leisure facilities.
The property includes a six-bedroom main house with seven bathrooms and five reception rooms. Arranged over four floors, the residence provides more than 17,000 square feet of accommodation and features an indoor swimming pool. The wider estate also includes five guest cottages, staff accommodation, office space and converted farm buildings.
According to estate agent Savills, the property is an unusually large offering for the Channel Islands and is likely to attract international interest. The company is marketing Havilland Hall as the island’s largest private estate.
Havilland Hall was built between 1829 and 1830 by Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Fiott de Havilland. It subsequently served as the official residence of Guernsey’s lieutenant-governors, giving the property a place in the island’s administrative and social history.
Among its former owners was William Keiller, whose family established the commercial Dundee marmalade brand. The estate was purchased in 1922 by Count Lothair Blücher von Wahlstatt. His family traced its ancestry to the Prussian military commander Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, whose forces played a decisive role alongside the Duke of Wellington in Napoleon’s defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
The property is also associated with the wider de Havilland family. Later generations included aviation pioneer Sir Geoffrey de Havilland and Hollywood actresses Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine, whose family connections link the estate to the history of British aviation and the Golden Age of cinema.
Beyond the main residence, the estate offers a substantial range of facilities intended to support private living and hospitality. Its additional accommodation includes five guest cottages, staff quarters, office facilities and converted agricultural buildings.
The leisure facilities include a gym, sauna, steam room, games room and temperature-controlled wine cellar with a tasting room. Formal gardens, parkland and agricultural land form the wider grounds, while the property also has padel courts.
Savills says the estate combines historic architecture with the infrastructure needed to support a business operation. That combination may broaden its appeal beyond buyers seeking a conventional country residence.
Phillippa Dalby-Welsh, head of Savills’ country department, described Havilland Hall as a leading Channel Islands estate, highlighting its Regency villa, gardens, ancillary accommodation and leisure facilities. She said properties of comparable scale were exceptionally rare in the region.
Nick Paluch, head of Savills’ Guernsey open market residential business, called the sale a once-in-a-generation opportunity.
The £65 million asking price places Havilland Hall in the upper tier of the international luxury property market. Its appeal will depend not only on the scale of the grounds and the facilities but also on its historical provenance and location in Guernsey.
The sale also illustrates the distinct market for large historic estates in smaller jurisdictions, where properties combining extensive land, heritage architecture and modern amenities rarely become available. Whether the estate attracts a private buyer or an investor interested in a broader commercial use will become clearer as the marketing process develops.
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