Douglas Baders former family home for sale

It's doubtful that it bears any resemblance to his time living there in the 20s and 30s, but it is now up for sale
Via
www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/heritage-and-ret...-ps17million-3822181

Yorkshire rectory where World War Two flying ace Douglas Bader lived for sale for £1.7million

The Grade II-listed former rectory that was the childhood home of Battle of Britain ace Douglas Bader has gone on the market.

The Old Rectory in Sprotbrough, near Doncaster, dates back to the 17th century and was remodelled in the Gothic style in 1850, after the Church of England purchased it.

Bader, who was credited with 22 aerial victories while a pilot in the RAF during World War Two, grew up in the 10-bedroom property in the 1920s, after his mother married the local vicar, the Reverend Ernest Hobbs, and moved her family from London. His father, a civil engineer who had been working in colonial India, died in 1922 from complications caused by wounds sustained in World War One.

Although he was sent away to boarding school in Oxford, The Old Rectory is where many of Bader's teenage escapades took place. He shot a local woman with an air gun through her bathroom window as she was about to enter a bath, and the vicarage's dining room window still has a crack from one of his pellets. He also went poaching in the woods near the house, which is a short walk from the River Don and Sprotbrough Flash.

He joined the RAF in 1928, but continued to visit to see his family, and was known for driving a small red MG sports car around the village.

He even flew over Sprotbrough once in a biplane and threw a parcel containing his mother's birthday present into the rectory garden.


In 1931 he lost both of his legs after a flying accident, but returned to Sprotbrough to convalesce. He was eventually invalided out of the RAF and joined Shell until the outbreak of war, when he was accepted back into the forces.

Bader took part in missions over Dunkirk and achieved fame for his exploits in the Battle of Britain, but was eventually captured in Nazi-occupied France and ended up a prisoner at the notorious Colditz Castle until the war ended, after which he returned to working in the petroleum industry. He died in 1982.

Etc....

More recently a guest house, the description from a booking site .......

The Old Rectory is a 400 year old grade II listed building, set in over an acre of landscaped gardens. This Elizabethan house now has a 4-star silver award.

Now guests can enjoy for themselves the elegant and very English ambience of The Old Rectory. From the tiled entrance porch to the arched stone windows, the view across the lawns through the French windows to the sumptuous furnishings; all this and more makes a stay here a unique experience. The Old Rectory also has a vintage and classic car collection on-site. This is the former home of World War II hero Sir Douglas Bader. Many photos of Sir Douglas are displayed throughout the house. The hotel has a four-poster bridal suite and venue for over 100 guests and vintage wedding cars. The Pennine Trail, a nature reserve, river fishing, mountain biking and a water bus are all close by. A 7 seater limo for hire. A conference room is available, and The Old Rectory is ideal for a wedding venue. Doncaster Airport is 7 miles away.

Visited yesterday, still for sale