A lovely place to get marooned: Lord of the Flies author William Golding's Grade II-listed cottage goes up for sale for £1million
The former family home of Lord of the Flies author William Golding has gone on sale for £1m.
The Grade II Listed cottage in Marlborough, Wiltshire, is said to have inspired some of the Nobel Prize winning writer's work.
His parents Alec, a teacher, and Mildred, a suffragette, bought the house and moved there in 1905, when Mr Golding obtained a job at the town's grammar school.
Sir William was born in 1911 and he and his brother lived in the property and its location influenced his writing.
He wrote of the property: 'Our house was on the green, that close like square, tilted south.'
The house at 29 The Green dates from 1547, is Grade II listed with an Arts and Crafts style interior with exposed timbers, timber architraves and panelling, an oak staircase and open fireplaces
The Grade II Listed cottage in Marlborough, Wiltshire, is said to have inspired some of the Nobel Prize winning writer's work
Visitors arrive on a ground floor with a kitchen, sitting room and dining room. The basement includes a study or fifth bedroom, a cloakroom, utility and wine cellar
The two main bedrooms and their bathrooms as well as a dressing room off the master bedroom are on the first floor. The second floor has two bedrooms and a shared bathroom
The house backs onto the graveyard of St Mary's church and Golding was said to have become irrationally terrified that the garden harboured a medieval burial ground.
Because of this he climbed a chestnut tree in the garden to try not to step on the lawn.
The house at 29 The Green dates from 1547, is Grade II listed with an Arts and Crafts style interior with exposed timbers, timber architraves and panelling, an oak staircase and open fireplaces.
`The former family home of Lord of the Flies author William Golding has gone on sale for £1m. The Grade II Listed cottage in Marlborough, Wiltshire, is said to have inspired some of the Nobel Prize winning writer's work
There are four bedrooms and three bathrooms with living space of over 2,700 square foot over four levels.
Visitors arrive on a ground floor with a kitchen, sitting room and dining room. The basement includes a study or fifth bedroom, a cloakroom, utility and wine cellar.
The two main bedrooms and their bathrooms as well as a dressing room off the master bedroom are on the first floor. The second floor has two bedrooms and a shared bathroom.
Outside there is a mature, walled garden and a passageway leading to the town's High Street.
In addition to becoming a Nobel Laureate, Golding won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, the Booker Prize and the Nobel Prize for Literature, and was knighted by the Queen in 1988.
However, he became best-known for the disturbing Lord of the Flies, which was published in 1954 and became a sensation, chronicling the story of a group of pre-teen boys who end up living on a desert island, ending with an orgy of violence and cruelty.
Rory O'Neill, of estate agents Carter Jonas, said the house had belonged to a late architect whose family had now decided to sell the property.
He said: 'It has probably got the most prominent position on the Green in Marlborough. It's near to the High Street but also has fantastic views and the most beautiful interior.
'The property would suit a young family or people who wanted to downsize and retire into the centre of Marlborough, a town which is frequently described as one of the best to live in, in the south west.
'Marlborough has excellent local shopping including some of the major retailers.'