Offers are being considered on the infamous farmhouse where Tony Martin killed a teenage intruder with an unlicensed shotgun more than a quarter of a century ago. The couple who inherited Mr Martin's estate are selling the 164 acres of farmland that surround the ramshackle building in two lots, worth a total of nearly £1.4 million. But they are also open to bids for Bleak House, which its former owner never slept in again after being arrested for killing Fred Barras, 16, and wounding his accomplice, Brendon Fearon.
The decision comes days after pub landlady Jacqueline Wadsley, who inherited the property after befriending him, and her husband David had plans turned down to convert outbuildings into homes at the site in Emneth Hungate, Norfolk. Mr Wadsley, 45, said of Cow Croft Field Farm: 'It's been a tough decision. At the end of the day we knew Tony better than anybody and we think we're doing right by Tony. This is a great opportunity for someone to come and do the farm justice, which we perhaps won't be able to.'
Farmland and Property Details
Mr Wadsley, who has worked the land as a tenant farmer, added: 'It's good land and it needs to be farmed properly going forward, with someone who has got the capability of doing that really well.' Turning to the properties, he said: 'If someone was interested in the buildings as well as the farmland, or separately, we would be open to that. At some stage in the past, there were several properties down there in the courtyard around Bleak House. We're trying to return that to its former glory - but whether that's through our hands or somebody else's, that's open as part of the sale. I just think once the stigma side of it has passed, it would just be such a great opportunity for someone to live down there, in such lovely settings.'
Mr Martin shot Barras and Fearon from the steps of Bleak House in August 1999. The incident sparked a national debate about an individual's right to defend their home and their property. Mr Martin was given a life sentence the following year but the murder conviction was later reduced to manslaughter on appeal and he was released from prison in 2003. He died aged 80 following a stroke last year and left his £2.5 million estate to Mrs Wadsley, 52, who ran the Hare and Hounds pub in Wisbech. The inheritance came through before controversial new rules about how inheritance tax is applied to farm estates came into effect.
Abandoned Development Plans
Days ago it emerged the Wadsleys had ditched plans to convert five run-down detached barns into ten new homes around Bleak House. But documents submitted to King's Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council have revealed they have ditched the application. It followed a report from King's Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council's ecology officer, Claire Wiggs, raising concerns that 'no ecological information' had been included in the proposal and calling for 'preliminary' assessments on wildlife to be carried out. 'It is possible that protected species are present on the site including breeding birds, reptiles and roosting bats and could be impacted by the proposals,' she wrote. 'There are known records of roosting pipistrelle within 1km and badgers within 2km of the site.'
Ms Wiggs stated that a preliminary ecological appraisal, including a 'preliminary roost assessment', was needed to assess the likely presence or absence of protected species. Norfolk County Council's highways development management officer, Richard Smith, described the single carriageway road leading to the farm as 'inadequate', as it featured no footway or dedicated cycle links and had poor visibility. He also suggested that the ten homes on the site would produce 60 vehicle movements a day which would be to 'the detriment of highway safety'. The plans should be scaled down to 'no more than four homes' to create a 'more proportional development', Mr Smith added.
Mrs Wadsley and her husband had asked the council for consent to create houses under permitted development rights, which allow agricultural buildings to be turned into homes without full planning permission.
The Land for Sale
The farmland now on the market is available in two lots - one with 109.6 acres with a guide price of £918,000 and the other 54.47-acre plot valued at £460,000. Property agents Cruso & Wilkin described the sale as 'an exciting opportunity to acquire 164.08 acres of arable land and woodland'. Partner Adam Case said the 'good Grade 2 farmland' will appeal to 'reasonably close neighbours' who want to expand their operations. 'It's actually in pretty good order,' he said. 'Over the last 10-15 years it has been farmed quite well - except Tony had his nuances that he didn't want trees cut back, and he really didn't want the ditches tidied up too much. That has been done now, and a lot of the drainage is sorted out. There's a little bit more to do but, actually, if you go look at the crops now, they are probably some of the best they've been for some time.'
Mr Martin never moved back into his home after the double shooting, preferring to sleep at friends' houses or in his car, sometimes parking it in one of the barns. Mr Martin became friends with Mrs Wadsley while drinking in the Hare and Hounds following his release from Highpoint Prison in Suffolk. The pair were said to have formed 'a father and daughter' style relationship, with Mrs Wadsley often cooking him Sunday lunches and him doing odd jobs for her family to keep himself busy. The farmer made her and her husband executors of his will in 2013 but she reportedly had no idea before his death that he was leaving everything to her.
