OIEO £30M. The Isle of Man’s Most Important Country Estate, at the Heart of Which Sits a Unique 23,000sq/ft English Country House Respecting Classic Palladian Architecture.
Aerial Footage: https://vimeo.com/376192341/3c51276821
The Arragon Mooar Estate, Santon, Isle of Man – Offers in Excess of £30,000,000
One of the Isle of Man’s most important country estates, at the heart of which sits a unique 23,000sq/ft English country house respecting classic Palladian architecture yet reimagined in a unique elliptical form.
Six en-suite bedrooms. Elliptical drawing room, dining room and library. Elliptical galleried atrium. Kitchen/breakfast room. Snug. Offices’ suite. Lift serving lower-ground, ground and first floors. ‘Secret staircase’. Secure three-room collection/exhibition space. Function room/lecture suite with catering kitchen. Photographic studio. Superior ceiling heights. Orangery. 360-degree roof terrace. Extensive garaging. Three cottages. Panoramic coastal and sea views. Formal gardens with parterre and ha-ha.
For sale as a whole with 280 acres or in two lots: Arragon Mooar with 180 acres and Ballafurt Farm with 100 acres.
‘Everything I do has to mean something.’ – Dr John C. Taylor, OBE, owner.
The Arragon Mooar Estate:
The Arragon Mooar Estate is owned by one of the world’s greatest living inventors and a leading authority on early English clocks, Dr John C Taylor OBE.
The estate is now offered for sale as a whole, extending to 280 acres, or separately as two lots: the house, Arragon Mooar, with 180 acres and three cottages, and Ballafurt Farm, set in 100 acres.
Arragon Mooar House:
Arragon Mooar house was designed and curated in meticulous detail by Dr Taylor.
Built in red sandstone to an uncompromising specification under the personal supervision of Dr Taylor, Arragon Mooar house was completed in 2014 and extends to some 23,000 square feet – a bespoke architectural masterpiece that reflects its owner’s passion for perfection and endless pursuit of innovation. As Dr Taylor says: ‘I never like to do what other people have done before.’
Arragon Mooar house’ classical Palladian style is sensitively reinterpreted in an elliptical design – (‘A round house would have been too easy’) echoed in the principal accommodation and galleried atrium.
Crowning the house is a domed copper roof.
Settling discreetly into the landscape and enjoying total privacy and 360-degree views, Arragon Mooar house reveals itself gradually when approached via the wildflower-bordered North Drive, where a bronze cannon dating from the 17th century stands sentinel before the house.
A house of immense stature where every detail, from the cantilevered staircase in Ancaster limestone to the three-dimensional effect design of the atrium floor – even the elliptical glassware and crockery – has been carefully considered by the owner.
Presented in flawless decorative order and finished to exacting standards the principal accommodation features:
• Six en-suite bedrooms (No two bedrooms or bathrooms are alike);
• Elliptical drawing room, dining room and library;
• Elliptical galleried atrium;
• Kitchen/breakfast room;
• Glass and bottle pantries;
• Snug;
• Suite of four offices;
• Laundry room;
• Utility room;
• Owner’s and guests’ cloakrooms;
• Lift serving lower-ground, ground and first floors;
• ‘Secret staircase’;
• Minimum Cat 5 cabling throughout.
Principal facilities include:
• Secure three-room exhibition space with electrically operated shutters and CCTV;
• Function room/lecture suite with catering kitchen;
• Photographic studio;
• Dual washroom facilities.
Galleried Atrium
From the ground floor to its domed ceiling the atrium rises to a height of just over 10 metres.
Viewed from above, the three-dimensional effect limestone floor resembles a dahlia. The first-floor gallery houses display cases of mineral and fossil collections and provides access to the roof terrace which wraps around the house, offering spectacular panoramic views over the Manx countryside and coast and towards Snowdonia.
The bespoke carpets were made in Thailand fashioned out of bamboo fibre and produced in one piece to fit the precise measurements of each bedroom.
‘I want to leave something beautiful behind’
The Orangery
(Or ‘Grandad’s Shed’ as it is affectionately called by Dr Taylor’s grandchildren).
The orangery was created in memory of Dr Taylor’s grandfather who was head gardener at the Ynys-y-Maengwyn estate in Gwynedd and won many prizes for his owner against the Prince of Wales.
Light Fittings
The computer-controlled LED chandelier and wall light fittings, where every fuchsia and hibiscus flower is unique, were designed by Dr Taylor, who also created and manufactured the fittings’ six-strand wiring system.
The petals are of copper, hand painted in vitreous enamel in colours to match the décor of each room. The chandelier in the drawing room features 160 such flowers.
Gardens and Land
More than 1000 native tree species have been planted across the estate – ash, beech, hawthorn, oak and rowan – together with hedges of copper beech and many thousands of wild snowdrops, crocuses, daffodils and primroses.
The garage, which holds approximately 8 cars, hides discreetly below the parterre garden laid out in 17th century English country house style with box hedges, lavender, catmint, roses and a central lawn.
Arragon Mooar house sits in 180 acres of farmland, mostly grazing land let out on an agricultural tenancy and has a 1000-metre sea frontage. A track leads from the end of the south drive to the beach at Port Soldrick. The land also features a 5000-year-old Neolithic stone circle from where there are spectacular views.
The estate includes three cottages, one with two bedrooms and two bathrooms and two with three bedrooms and three bathrooms, all built mostly of reclaimed local stone.
Ballafurt Farm is set in 100 acres of farmland let out on an agricultural tenancy and enjoys extensive coastal views. This complex includes a farmhouse, barn and two apartments all of which are currently rented out.
Dr John Crawshaw Taylor OBE: Inventor, Entrepreneur, Pilot, Philanthropist
Dr Taylor has more than 400 patents to his name but is perhaps best known for inventing a thermostat control that switches off a kettle once it starts boiling, thereby preventing it from boiling dry. That control is now estimated to be in use more than one billion times a day worldwide. He also invented the thermostat control that prevents overheating in small electric motors, such as those found in vehicle windscreen wiper systems.
Born in Buxton, Derbyshire in 1936 Dr Taylor lived in Canada for some six years as a child, before returning to England. He went on to attend King William’s College in the Isle of Man and later graduated from Cambridge University with a degree in Natural Sciences. He worked for his father’s company, Otter Controls, then went on to found his own company in the Isle of Man, Strix, which manufactures his thermostat controls.
Dr Taylor is also a leading authority on the work of 18th century marine clockmaker John Harrison and designed the Corpus Chronophage as a tribute to John Harrison. Dr. Taylor gifted the Corpus Chronophage to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge where it was unveiled in 2008 by the late Professor Stephen Hawking.
Another chronophage, the Dragon Chronophage, occupies pride of place in the atrium of Arragon Mooar.
In addition to his inventing, business and philanthropic activities, Dr Taylor has been flying solo for 65 years.
Dragon Chronophage
The Dragon Chronophage is the third in a series of four created to date designed by Dr Taylor. The clock is three metres tall with a dragon of handcrafted scales and legs which act as the escapement. The creature can wink, swish its tail, roll out a pearl and ripple its spine. The hour is struck on a genuine Chinese gong.
‘It’s the creating I enjoy’
Location
The estate is situated in the south of the Island, close by the village of Ballasalla and about a five-minute drive from the Isle of Man Airport. The Island’s ancient capital, Castletown, lies some 10 minutes by car further to the south, while the present-day capital, Douglas, is a fifteen-minute drive to the north.
Directions
Proceed south out of Douglas on the A25 to a point just before the bridge and a sharp right-hand bend which rejoins the A5 and the gated entrance to Arragon Mooar will be found on the left where a key pad-operated intercom system connects visitors to the estate.
Aerial Footage of the Isle of Man: https://youtu.be/zWI0Oi5plAI
The Isle of Man
The Isle of Man is not a part of the United Kingdom. It is a self-governing British Crown Dependency with its own parliament, Tynwald which, at more than 1000 years old, is the oldest continuous parliament in the world.
The island is situated equidistant between England and Ireland in the Irish Sea. It has favourable strategies with respect to corporate and personal taxation, a highly developed financial services sector and a diverse economy. There is no capital or inheritance tax and no property stamp duty.
Frequent air links operate to London City, London Gatwick, Manchester, Dublin and Liverpool.
The Isle of Man has a population of around 85,000, enjoys an enviable quality of life and is the only entire nation in the world to hold UNESCO Biosphere Reserve status.
The Island has 95 miles of coastline, 32 beaches, 18 scenic glens, 26 amazing official dark sky sites for stargazing (the highest concentration of dark sky sites in the British Isles). It’s the safest place to live in the British Isles, and one of the safest in Europe.
There is an abundance of marine life, birds and wildlife.
The Isle of Man has exceptional education, at 39 schools with high standards of teaching and a strong appetite for sports and culture. The University College Isle of Man (UCM) is partnered with the University of Chester to offer range of degree and Masters courses on the Island, and the Isle of Man Government supports the students attending higher education off the Island.
The Isle of Man has a free NHS healthcare system, a hospital with an A&E department and excellent community care.
There are no restrictions on renting or purchasing property – anyone can buy residential or commercial property in the Isle of Man.
There is no land tax or stamp duty on property.
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