Going going gone: Mallory's Mobberley mansion goes to the highest bidder

Hobcroft House,  a 10-bedroom mansion in Hobcroft Lane Mobberley, went for more than £200,000 over the guide price of £450,000 at an auction at Cotton’s Hotel on Friday, November 18.

The auction, conducted on behalf of Meller Braggins by auctioneer Adam Partridge, proved to be very popular, with ‘a lot of interest’ from potential buyers.

Adam said: “The guide was £450,000 or so, I would have said it was a total ruin. Everything has been looted out of it and it’s right at the end of the runway. Whilst it looks an attractive proposition it also requires a fortune spent on it.

“If you look at it from the other side, it is a big mansion in Mobberley and comparably, without the aircraft right overhead might be worth £1.5 million to £2 million. It’s a prime location, it’s just not for everyone.

“There was a number of bidders. I don’t actually know who bought it and if I did we could not say who it was but it went very quickly. The bidding went from £400,000 to £689,000 very quickly. Sometimes it can be a lot slower.

““It’s had a bit of a chequered past so I’m glad it’s sold because it will hopefully be restored to its former glory.”

George Mallory was the first to attempt to climb Mount Everest in 1924, but died on the mountain.

Growing up in the house, he honed his climbing skills by scaling the chimney tops of the four-storey mansion.

Adam said he was unsure if the history of the house had an impact on the popularity of the property and speed of the sale, or if it was just an ‘interesting’ side-note.

He has recently entered into a partnership with Meller Braggins to focus on ‘specialist’ properties in Cheshire, with the Mallory house marking the beginning of this partnership and called the sale one he would ‘never forget’.

Hobcroft House was bought as a compulsory-purchase by Manchester Airport in 2011 and former tenants, Anne and Paul Shipton moved out in August of that year due to uncertainty about the mansion’s future.