The iconic windmill from the ‘60s film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang has dropped its asking price by £2 million after failing to find a buyer in nearly a year on the market.
The familiar structure, which lies on the Cobstone Mill estate in Turville near High Wycombe, hit the market with a £9 million asking price last August.
However, 10 months after its original listing, the six-bedroom, 36-acre property has still not been snapped up, and estate agent Savills has dropped its asking price to just under £7 million.
The sprawling detached property gained fame as the filming location for the beloved 1968 musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, with the Grade-II listed windmill, which was in operation until 1873, taking centre stage.
The Cobstone Windmill was used as the home of fictional inventor Caractacus Potts, played by Dick Van Dyke, who, alongside the beautiful Truly Scrumptious (Sally Ann Howes) and children Jeremy and Jemima (Adrian Hall and Heather Ripley) travels to the strange land of Vulgaria in a magic flying car.
The mill was reportedly built in around 1816 and was in use until it was damaged by a fire in the 1870s, after which it lay derelict for many years.
It was restored cosmetically for the film and the brick and flint house and surrounding estate was then purchased by the actress Hayley Mills and her director husband, Roy Boulting, who continued further renovations.
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In the years, since it has had several owners including David Brown, the famed industrialist who once owned Aston Martin, and was sold to its current owner in the 1980s.
Alongside boasting a piece of Hollywood memorabilia with its own reception, bedrooms and winding staircase inside, the estate also comprises a heated swimming pool and outbuildings adjoining the main house and annex.
In 2016, planning permission was granted to substantially expand the main building – which currently has three bedrooms including a master ensuite – to double its capacity and create three new bathrooms, another kitchen, a family room and a study.
The property listing on RightMove describes it as the perfect spot for “nature lovers who want to be close to London but still enjoy the Chiltern countryside”, with good rail and road links to Central London, Heathrow and Oxford, as well as pretty market towns Marlow and Henley-on-Thames.
Would-be buyers are encouraged to “own a piece of British heritage” with a “rich history in a stunning location”, and scoop up a picturesque patch of Buckinghamshire countryside designated as both an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its fine chalk grassland brimming with wildflowers and rare butterflies.
The estate, which totals around 36.7 acres, also includes a large tractor barn, workshop, store and stabling building.
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