When Lord Ivar Mountbatten put Bridwell Park, his Grade I-listed Georgian home in mid-Devon, up for sale for £5.5m in April, I revealed there was a very unusual catch.
The television personality, a great-nephew of the late Earl Mountbatten of Burma, and her husband, James Coyle, director of cabin services, appeared to have every intention of staying at the property, come what may.
“Our aim is to find an investor to join us,” Ivar explained, adding that he and James will “carefully analyse how we can make the most of the house and the park.” This is what he described as “a strategic decision that is part of our wider plans.”
Now, however, the couple have accepted an offer for Bridwell, but they won’t stop there.
A close friend tells me, ‘They’ve already found a new house nearby to move into together at the end of this month.’
Lord Ivar Mountbatten (left) with his husband James Coyle at their home Bridwell House in Devon
Aerial view of Bridwell House in Devon, the home of Lord Ivar Mountbatten
A spokesperson for the couple confirmed: “We are welcoming the new owners to Bridwell in September. We hope you will join them in wishing the new family every happiness here in Uffculme.”
Lord Ivar, 61, became the first member of the extended Royal Family to enter into a same-sex union in 2018.
Bridwell had been hidden from the public eye for over 240 years until 2015, when Lord Ivar and James opened its doors for events.
The couple subsequently opened the site further to the general public with the opening of the Orangery Café in 2020. Visitors have also been able to use the park for strolling during the café’s opening hours.
However, in January, Lord Ivar admitted defeat in his battle to persuade pet owners to pay £60 a year to walk their dogs on his estate. He scrapped the charge after visitor numbers rose by 40 per cent since he suspended the scheme.
“Membership and general admission revenues have not strengthened our position as much as we had hoped,” he admitted. “Visitor numbers have also slowly declined. Anyone who was able to join us in January will have noticed, however, how visitor numbers have increased.”
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