The widowed husband of late TV presenter Paul O’Grady has lopped almost £1million off the asking price of their stunning rural mansion.
The sprawling property hit the market for £3.5 million in September but sparked little interest from buyers. Now it is available for a much-reduced £2.65million.
O’Grady, who shot to fame as Lily Savage, had lived at Knoll Hill House near Ashford, from 1999 until his death in March 2023 aged 67.
The beloved TV personality died suddenly due to cardiac arrhythmia – though his husband Andre Portasio later confirmed he passed away peacefully while smoking a cannabis joint.
Since then, Andre had tried transforming part of the site – with two bids to convert a security hut slammed by nearby residents.
Neighbours feared they would face a “constant stream” of visitors if the building was overhauled into a holiday let.
The husband of the late TV presenter Paul O’Grady has lopped almost £1million off the asking price of their stunning rural mansion (pictured)
O’Grady, who shot to fame as Lily Savage, had lived at Knoll Hill House near Ashford, from 1999 until his death in March 2023 aged 67 (pictured with husband Andre Portasio)
With the latest bid approved, ballet dancer Andre decided to sell the Edwardian building.
It comes with a sprawling 20 acres of land, boasts impressive views of the Romney Marsh in Kent and has previously been described as “the kind of house you’d find in one of those Enid Blyton books” by O’Grady’s former partner Brendan Murphy, who died in 2005.
Once owned by fellow comedian Vic Reeves, the property mixes traditional elegant characteristics like French doors with quirkier qualities such as bookcase wallpaper and a Gypsy caravan in the garden.
Estate agent Strutt and Parker said: ‘Knoll Hill House sits in a breathtaking position at the top of the escarpment above the Romney Marsh which affords the most sensational far-reaching views, looking across the marsh to the coast and the sea in the distance.
‘Built in 1910 the house has much charm, providing a comfortable and spacious space in which to live and entertain against this stunning backdrop.”
Moving into Knoll Hill completed a long-held ambition of relocating to the Kentish countryside away from the hustle and bustle of London for the star.
In his book Country Life, O’Grady wrote: ‘I couldn’t quite get it to sink in that the house was mine.
‘On my first night in the house I couldn’t sleep I was so excited. I spent the night roaming around the rooms like a cat getting accustomed to its new surroundings (although I didn’t spray), lugging pieces of furniture from one room to another and then spending ages standing back to see if it looked right, which it inevitably didn’t.’
The kitchen is arranged around an island and benefits from an Aga with French doors which open to the terrace and the gardens beyond
On the first floor are five bedrooms, while the main bedroom has a dressing room with French doors opening to a balcony and an en suite bathroom
The kitchen is arranged around an island and benefits from an Aga with French doors which open to the terrace and the gardens beyond.
On the first floor are five bedrooms, four of which face the Romney Marsh, while the main bedroom has a dressing room with French doors opening to a balcony and an en suite bathroom.
Two of the other bedrooms also enjoy access to a balcony.
As well as Knoll Hill House itself, the estate boasts a swimming pool and several outbuildings, including two self-contained cottages, a barn, stables and “Witches House” in the garden.
The cottage, which is now a dance studio, gym and steam room with a kitchen, bedroom and living space upstairs, is the largest of the outbuildings.
As well as Knoll Hill House itself, the estate boasts a swimming pool and several outbuildings, including two self-contained cottages
The cottage, which is now a dance studio, gym and steam room with a kitchen, bedroom and living space upstairs, is the largest of the outbuildings
A timber-clad cottage, nicknamed “the Woodland Hut”, provides additional room and has been described as a “charming and whimsical building”, with a wood burner, exposed brick walls and a galleried bedroom.
As a keen animal lover, as many as 14 sheep, three dogs, two pigs, hundreds of rescue chickens, ducks, alpacas, goats and barn owls all call Knoll Hill home thanks to O’Grady, a keen animal lover.
He also turned the estate into a flourishing natural environment by planting a wildflower meadow, coppicing the woods, and buying a patch of land nearby to prevent it from being turned into a site for motorbike scrambling and paintball – it is now used to rear sheep.
Past and present neighbours in the surrounding include fellow comedians Julian Clary and Alan Carr.
