The former pub landlady who inherited Tony Martin's £2.5 million fortune is open to offers on the infamous farmhouse where the farmer shot dead a teenage intruder. Jacqueline Wadsley, who became friends with Martin while drinking at her pub in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, has put 164 acres of surrounding farmland up for sale in two lots, priced at nearly £1.4 million in total.
The first lot includes 109.6 acres with a guide price of £918,000, while the second 54.47-acre plot is valued at £460,000. The move comes just days after it was revealed that the 52-year-old and her husband David, 45, had abandoned plans to convert five barns on the land into ten new homes.
A Tough Decision
Mr Wadsley, who has worked the land as a tenant farmer, said: "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." He added: "If someone was interested in the buildings as well as the farmland, or separately, we would be open to that."
Mr Wadsley also expressed hope for the future: "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."
Abandoned Development Plans
The couple had applied to convert five run-down barns on Mr Martin's former land at Bleak House Farm, in Emneth Hungate, Norfolk, into ten new homes. However, the house and another derelict cottage on the farm were not included in their proposal. Their decision to ditch the plan followed a report from King's Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council's ecology officer, Claire Wiggs, who raised concerns that "no ecological information" had been included and called for preliminary assessments on wildlife.
Ms Wiggs stated: "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. There are known records of roosting pipistrelle within 1km and badgers within 2km of the site." Norfolk County Council's highways development management officer, Richard Smith, also described the single carriageway road leading to the farm as "inadequate", with no footway or dedicated cycle links and poor visibility. He suggested scaling down the plans to "no more than four homes" to create a more proportional development.
Background of Tony Martin
Martin left his entire £2.5 million estate to Mrs Wadsley when he died in February last year, aged 80, following a stroke. He had befriended her while drinking in the Hare and Hounds pub, which she ran in Wisbech, after his release from Highpoint Prison in Suffolk in 2003. Martin served three years there after shooting dead 16-year-old Fred Barras and wounding Brendon Fearon, 29, with an unlicensed shotgun during a burglary attempt in August 1999. Initially convicted of murder, his charge was later downgraded to manslaughter after an appeal, sparking a national debate about the right to defend one's home and property.
Earlier this year, probate records revealed his UK estate, including the farm, was worth £2,573,973, reduced after liabilities to a net figure of £2,567,795. Leaving his entire estate to Mrs Wadsley meant his older brother Robin received nothing. However, Mr Wadsley explained that his wife had helped the farmer with medical appointments, accommodation, and was "there at all hours" when he needed help in his final years. Martin never returned to Bleak House farmhouse after his release, preferring to sleep in a car in an outbuilding.
Sale Details
Property agents Cruso & Wilkin describe the potential 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. He noted: "It's actually in pretty good order. 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."
