Cruella de Villa! Georgian mansion that inspired terrifying home of The One Hundred and One Dalmatians villain could be yours for £1.1million
- Author Dodie Smith used the house as the inspiration for the fictional Hell Hall
A Georgian mansion which inspired the ramshackle home of Cruella de Vil in The One Hundred and One Dalmatians is on the market for £1.1million.
Author Dodie Smith who wrote the novel, which was turned into the Disney films, is thought to have been friends with the owner of Greys Hall in Sible Hedingham, Essex.
She used the house as the inspiration for the fictional Hell Hall, the home of her sinister character Cruella who wanted to create a black and white spotted coat from Dalmatian fur.
The six bedroom Grade II* listed house offers ‘elegant and spacious accommodation, with many fine period features, and far-reaching panoramic views towards Hedingham Castle’.
Estate agents Fenn Wright describe Greys Hall, which was built in 1714 beside St Peter’s Church, as ‘steeped in history’.
Greys Hall in Sible Hedingham, Essex, which is on the market for £1.1 million
The Georgian house inspired the fictional Hell Hall home of Cruella de Vil in the novel and Disney classic film The One Hundred and One Dalmatians
Sinister character Cruella who wanted to create a black and white spotted coat from Dalmatian fur
The details for the property state: ‘The house has a feeling of grandeur and is very well-presented throughout, having been sympathetically restored.
‘There is flexible accommodation set over four floors, with features including beautiful sash windows, original shutters, and window seats occupying elevated positions.’
Steps to the traditional front door lead to a ‘welcoming’ entrance hall featuring ‘a resplendent easy rising carved oak staircase’.
Several reception rooms feature extensive wood panelling and original fireplaces while there is also a library and study on the ground floor.
Stairs lead down to a lower ground floor kitchen and breakfast room with a large central island, and granite work surfaces.
The rear of the kitchen features an ‘attractive nook with exposed brickwork and space for a table and chairs’.
A wood-panelled dining room is also across the hall with a distinctive feature fireplace and original wooden flooring.
The first floor has three bedrooms including an en-suite and a family bathroom while three further double bedrooms and a shower room are on the second floor, along with double doors leading to a balcony.
How Greys Hall was portrayed in the classic novel, which was turned into the Disney films
Stairs lead down to a lower ground floor kitchen and breakfast room with a large central island, and granite work surfaces
The first floor has three bedrooms including an en-suite and a family bathroom while three further double bedrooms and a shower room are on the second floor
The house has a 200ft long tree-lined driveway and gardens which include a York stone terrace and an outbuilding currently used as a games room with apart-vaulted ceiling, exposed floorboards and a cloakroom.
Smith, who lived in nearby Finchingfield between 1934 and her death in 1990 at the age of 94, wrote her best known novel in 1956.
The first editions of the book contain illustrations of creepy Hell Hall which are clearly modelled on the old frontage of Greys Hall.
The book was turned into the animated Disney film The One Hundred and One Dalmatians in 1961, and into a second film 101 Dalmatians starring Glenn Close as Cruella in 1996.
There was also a sequel 102 Dalmatians in 2000, featuring Close and Tim McInnery as her stuttering butler.
Walt Disney is said to have visited Greys Hall to get a feel for Hell Hall when he met Dodie Smith at her home to negotiate the film rights for her novel.
The plot famously involved Cruella buying Dalmatian puppies and arranging for some litters to be stolen for her, and keeping them at Hell Hall to create her dream coat.
All 87 puppies are eventually rescued in the book by canine heroes Pongo and Missis who find their own stolen litter in the country house.
The dogs all make it back to the London home of Pongo and Missis owners’ Mr and Mrs Dearly who end up buying Cruella’s mansion so they have space to keep all the dogs.
Smith was inspired to write her timeless tale by her own Dalmatian pup Pongo.
Briege Rix, Associate Partner at Fenn Wright said: ‘We are absolutely delighted to be marketing Greys Hall, an iconic Grade ll* listed Georgian property with an interesting history.
‘According to our vendors, and the generations of owners before them, it is believed that Greys Hall was the inspiration behind Cruella De Vil’s country mansion in Disney’s 1961 production of 101 Dalmatians.
‘The author Dodie Smith lived in nearby Finchingfield in her early years, and it is reputed that her friend lived at Greys Hall.’
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