The Newbold Trust is selling Newbold House on St Leonard's Road, Forres for £800,000
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A VICTORIAN baronial mansion on St Leonard's Road that is owned by a social enterprise is up for sale.
Newbold House - owned by the Newbold Trust, a group focused on training, education, and wellness programmes promoting leadership and cultural skills - is on the market for £800,000.
Trust director Liza Hollingshead is disappointed the 14-bedroom residential facility is no longer financially viable.
She said: "The viability of supporting a property of this size has always been a challenge which has both drained our finances and staff. Despite recent efforts in the last seven months to create a new business plan and procure significant funding opportunities from Scottish Government, philanthropists and foundations, we are not able to continue. We can no longer continue to operate as we have in the past and need to put the house and gardens up for sale."
Newbold was built by Colonel John Woodcock who inherited the estate from his uncle, John Little of Newbold Pacey in Warwickshire. Designed by Inverness based architects Ross and Macbeth, it is likely that construction was completed around 1900.
After serving many years as a private residence, the three storey property was later managed by the Newbold Trust who invited guests from around the world to residential courses.
The principal reception rooms include a ballroom with adjoining music room, art room, dining room and a conservatory. There is also a kitchen, laundry room, larders, stores, a workshop, offices, healing room, bedrooms, toilets and showers across two wings. Newbold's walled garden features fruit and vegetable beds, greenhouses and seating areas.
After the Second World War, the House fell empty until it was acquired for £3000 in 1959 by a retired policeman from Keith who turned it into a hotel and bar.
When the business fell on hard times, the Findhorn Foundation started renting the premises from 1979 as an additional workshop space for educational programmes. By the end of that year, the caretaker group took on the rental responsibility themselves and declared themselves an independent organisation. In 1982 the Newbold Trust bought the house for £85,000.
Ms Hollingshead is one of the five trustees.
She said: "We have been running programmes for a long time but we've never made enough profit to be sustainable. It's the end of the road so it's best to sell and let someone else take over.
"The trust cares deeply about Newbold and the community that has supported it, and would dearly love to see it remain in local hands. An alternative to a sale could be a negotiated transfer of the property to a local charity whose aims are similar to those of Newbold Trust.
"We warmly encourage any local charities who share similar aims to step forward with their proposals. Enquiries can be made to Galbraith of Elgin who will handle the sale or to the board of trustees on 01309 690181."
