Tudor-era restaurant in Winchester changes hands
Chesil Rectory restaurant, which occupies the oldest house in Winchester, has been sold to Mark Dodd, a former director of Southampton-based licensed property operator Ideal Leisure.
The Elizabethan timber-framed building dates back to 1427 and is renowned for its unusual structure in which the weight of the central valley of the double roof rests on the central beam of the downstairs passageway.
Once a merchant's house, the property served as a rectory to St Peter's Chesil after the reformation and was donated to the city by Queen Mary after her wedding to Philip II of Spain at Winchester Cathedral in 1554.
The restaurant, which retains its original beams, can seat 20 diners on the ground floor while the second floor has two dining areas that can seat 20 customers or parties of up to 40 people.
It reopens this month serving British classics under chef Damian Brown, who has been head chef at Fortnum & Masons over the past two years.
The Winchester office of Christie + Co sold the leasehold off an asking price of £165,000 on behalf of Carl Reeve. Annual rent is £24,000.
By Angela Frewin
