Hillside Farm, the farmhouse where the iconic television series Bagpuss was created and filmed, is on the market for £1.2 million. Located in Blean, near Canterbury, the property was the family home of the late illustrator, artist and puppeteer Peter Firmin, who co-created the beloved pink-and-white cloth cat Bagpuss with writer Oliver Postgate.
The four-bedroom farmhouse sits within approximately 6.12 acres of gardens and grounds on Blean Hill. Estate agents Finn's describe it as a "truly special and historic country estate." It was within a disused cow shed on the farm that Firmin and Postgate brought Bagpuss to life through their production company Smallfilms.
The production was a family affair. Firmin's wife Joan helped create props used on set, and their daughter Emily served as the inspiration for the Victorian child in the show. Only 13 episodes of Bagpuss were ever produced, but they were regularly repeated from the first airing in 1974 until 1986.
In 1999, a BBC poll named Bagpuss the most popular children's show of all time. Smallfilms also produced other cherished programmes such as The Clangers, Ivor the Engine, and Noggin the Nog, all of which remain beloved by generations of viewers.
Postgate died in 2008, followed by Firmin in 2018. Now, the property where some of children's television's most famous characters were born is up for sale. The farmhouse retains original features including fireplaces, tiled floors, picture rails and original internal doors. Its large oak-framed, vaulted first-floor sitting room is described as a "wonderful area for entertaining and family living."
The estate also includes a detached Kentish barn, traditional stables and a brick-built workshop, surrounded by mature gardens, woodland, paddocks and a large pond. Finn's suggest the barn could offer conversion potential, subject to planning permission, while parts of the land may present future development opportunities. The property listing adds that part of the land is subject to an overage, which is an extra payment typically triggered by development actions.
Despite its rural setting, the property is less than two miles from Canterbury city centre and close to Blean Primary School, Canterbury's grammar schools and the University of Kent. The sale comes at a time of renewed interest in the "most magical, saggy old cloth cat in the whole wide world." A new feature film starring Bagpuss and friends in modern-day Britain, blending live-action and animation, is currently in development for a 2027 release.
Meanwhile, the original 50-year-old puppet continues to draw visitors to Canterbury's Beaney House of Art and Knowledge, where it is proudly displayed. Hillside Farm is being offered for sale with no onward chain.
