Houses with traditional names such as the Manor House, the Old Vicarage and the Old Vicarage are selling for more, research suggests.
Property firm Savills, which carried out the research, found that titles reflecting life in centuries past were among the most expensive property names.
Houses with names associated with the feudal system, religion and beer tend to have higher price tags than others.
It analyzed names linked to at least 30 sales in the past five years, with at least one in five sales involving properties worth at least £1 million. Savills looked at land registry data for England and Wales.
The mansion topped the rankings, with an average property price of £1,423,128. This title was historically given to the main house of the Lord of the Manor in Anglo-Saxon and Norman England and is often the largest house in the locality, researchers said.
Houses with traditional names such as the Manor House, the Old Vicarage and the Old Vicarage are selling for more, according to new research (File Image)
Estate agents Savills discovered that houses with names associated with the feudal system, religion and beer tend to have higher price tags than others because it gives the houses a personality
More than two in five sales of properties with this name were worth more than £1 million.
The Old Rectory – the former home of a headmaster – came in second place, with an average price tag of £1,301,424.
Properties with this name typically date from the Georgian, Regency and Victorian periods and are usually large buildings with land, Savills said.
Half of the properties sold under this name in the past five years were worth more than £1 million.
Former parsonages typically cost around £200,000 more than those called the old parsonage, which was traditionally the home of the vicar.
This lower ranking meant a smaller property, and former parsonages typically take the form of smaller country houses or cottages, Savills said.
Over the past five years, properties with this name have sold at an average price of £1,086,887.
Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, said: ‘Certain English house names have remained stable for hundreds of years and tell us a lot about the origins and history of the property – whether it is related to the feudal system, religion, mythology, flora of our country and even beer.
‘Even today, house names immediately conjure up an image, whether it is the distinctive roofline of an oast house or the intricate woodwork in a tithe barn.
‘Once home to people of the highest status in society, buildings such as the Manor House, the Old Parsonage and the Old Vicarage still command the highest house prices, fending off competition from more contemporary names such as Mallards and Timbers.’
Phillippa Dalby-Welsh, head of Savills’ national department, said: ‘A house’s name can give it a special charm, even an imaginary personality, before a potential buyer has even seen the property. Typically English names symbolize ideal rural life and evoke images of period drama.
‘Country houses, parsonages and vicarages in particular benefit from central locations, usually on the edge or in the center of the village.
‘Properties that historically symbolized high status are also typically very well proportioned, with high ceilings and large windows, and spacious gardens, perfect for modern families.
‘The timeless appeal of these homes means they will never go out of fashion and will always be highly sought after by buyers.’
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