Cottage up for £1.25m as Cornish locals hit out at soaring prices

From fishing net loft to £1.25m HOLIDAY LET: Locals’ fury as once-humble Cornish cottage that has featured in Vogue goes on sale for five times average UK house price amid anger at second homes and Airbnb pricing residents out

  • Grade II-listed Hope House sits beside picturesque harbour in sought-after ex fishing village of Mousehole
  • House used to be a net loft but is currently arranged as a three-bedroom cottage with a separate apartment
  • Jayne Kirkham, a councillor for Falmouth Penwerris, said price was proof of challenges local people face

A former fishing net loft transformed into a holiday cottage with stunning sea views has hit the market for £1.25million – with Cornish locals hitting out at soaring house prices fuelled by second home owners and Airbnb lets.  

Grade II-listed Hope House sits right beside the picturesque harbour in the sought-after former fishing village of Mousehole on the south coast. It costs nearly five times the average price for a UK property of £278,000. 

The house, which has been featured in Vogue, used to be a net loft in the 17th century but is currently arranged as a three-bedroom cottage with a separately accessed one-bedroom apartment.  

Jayne Kirkham, Labour councillor for Falmouth Penwerris, said the fact a relatively humble cottage was on sale for over a million showed the challenge local people were up against. 

Grade II-listed Hope House sits right beside the picturesque harbour in the sought-after former fishing village of Mousehole on the south coast (pictured is the view from the sitting room) 

The house used to be a net loft in the 17th century but is currently arranged as a three-bedroom cottage with a separately accessed one-bedroom apartment (pictured: one of the cottage’s bedrooms) 

The property has whitewashed wooden floors and beamed ceilings – with all the mod cons befitting a high-end holiday let 

‘These kinds of homes are so far out of reach for local people – the average salary in Cornwall is 20 per cent lower than the national average but property prices are higher,’ she told MailOnline. 

‘What we’re increasingly finding is that key workers and people who work in hospitality have to live miles and miles from where they work. Anyone with a normal job can’t live in places like Mousehole any more. 

‘The prices down here have shot up recently, as have private rents. It didn’t help during the pandemic when lots of people realised they could come to Cornwall and work from here as well as have a second home and make money from holiday lets. 

‘What we’d really like in Cornwall is some more devolved power to deal with these issues like they have in Wales.’ 

Estate agents Lillicrap Chilcott say Hope House is one of the best positioned cottages in Mousehole, where harbour-fronting homes rarely come on the market. 

It has been let as two holiday homes through Unique Homestays since 2012 under the names Oystercatcher and Herringbone.

The 1,500-sq-ft cottage, which has whitewashed wooden floors and beamed ceilings, has featured in Vogue magazine, numerous coffee table books and was ranked number one in a poll of 50 Best Self-catering Cottages in 2015.

Jayne Kirkham, Labour councillor for Falmouth Penwerris, said the fact a relatively humble cottage was on sale for over a million showed the challenge local people were up against. It is seen in the centre of this photo on the right of the blue door

Hope House consists of a cottage and a separate apartment. The apartment, which is accessed through a courtyard, has a kitchen (pic), sitting room and bedroom with an en suite shower room with harbour views from the sitting room and bedroom

Downstairs is an entrance hall, master bedroom with en suite shower room, two further bedrooms and a family bathroom on the ground floor, with a sitting room and kitchen/dining room on the first floor and a balcony.

The apartment, which is accessed through a courtyard, has a kitchen, sitting room and bedroom with an en suite shower room with harbour views from the sitting room and bedroom.

The two properties could be combined to create a four-bedroom home, subject to planning permission. Outside there is a private rear courtyard and enclosed garden. 

Mousehole has previously been dubbed the ‘prettiest village in England’ by writer Dylan Thomas.

It has lots of listed fisherman’s cottages along its winding streets, and is famed for its harbour Christmas lights.

Jack Greenwood, from Lillicrap Chilcott, said: ‘Hope House is exquisite in its presentation and sits in a truly wonderful location to match’

The two properties could be combined to create a four-bedroom home, subject to planning permission. Outside there is a private rear courtyard and enclosed garden

Jack Greenwood, from Lillicrap Chilcott, said: ‘Hope House is exquisite in its presentation and sits in a truly wonderful location to match.

‘Perched above the harbour with amazing views, Hope House represents a very special opportunity for a lucky buyer.

‘Mousehole is very pretty and incredibly sought after with meandering streets and fisherman’s cottages all surrounding the harbour and those properties that front the harbour are rarely available for sale.

‘It is ideally positioned for the Christmas Lights yet is just a short walk to a wonderful array of restaurants, shops and delis.’       

Estate agents Lillicrap Chilcott say Hope House is one of the best positioned cottages in Mousehole, where harbour-fronting homes rarely come on the market

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