The Copingers have been at Copinger Hall for half a millennium in an incredible, though not continuous, line of succession. The house is currently looking for new owners.
There is something intriguing and unusual about houses that have belonged to the same family for hundreds of years. An example that quickly comes to mind is Broughton Hall, the family home of Country Life cartoonist Annie Tempest; Buri lived in the house for 1000 years.
And while Copinger Hall isn’t exactly in that league, Copinger Hall – in the Suffolk village of Buckhall, three miles from the bustling market town of Stowmarket – has spent an astonishing 500 years in the Coopinger family. Unlike the Tempests, this ownership was not continuous, as Copinger Hall was owned by others between 1940 and 1980, only to return to the family. Today it is again out of the hands of the family and Tim Dancy of Jackson-Stops in Ipswich is in the process of selling most of the Grade II listed home for £1.5m.
The hall stands in magnificent regular gardens and on a 4.7-acre grounds adjacent to Buckshall Parish Church, of which many Kopingers have served over the years.
Copinger Hall offers over 5,000 square feet of living space, including three beautiful reception rooms, six bedrooms and four bathrooms.
Of particular note, according to Mr. Dancy, is “a striking, light-filled living room with an open fireplace and a large bay window overlooking the garden, and upstairs the master bedroom with a matching bay window overlooking the church, garden and grounds.”
On the outside, the restored timber-framed barn where Mr. Minoprio kept his racing cars and trophies is a great place for both work and play.
Except for a brief period between 1940 and 1980, Hall has been the home of the Kopinger family for over 500 years. One of the family members, William Copinger, who owned it in 1902, wrote a definitive history of the village and that part of middle Suffolk where, in the early 17th century, a local historian praised “the wholesome sweetness of the air, (which) attracted and kept many gentry here.”
The current seller, Ms. Lisa Minoprio, and her late husband, retired racing driver Steven Minoprio, bought out Copinger Hall in 1980 and spent two and a half years renovating the house, restoring the grounds, and working with garden designers on the driveway. In 1990, the former home offices were split to create a separate garden wing with a separate entrance, which was occupied by Ms. Minoprio’s sister until she sold it eight years ago.
When Stephen Minoprio died last February, his obituary in Motorsport the magazine described his life as “filled with adventure”. Between flying in Africa, sailing the Atlantic on your yacht and racing fast cars, it’s rarely boring.” During their tenure, the Minoprios were very much a part of Buxhall’s village life, and Copinger Hall, which has hosted annual church holidays since 1949, would not be the same without them.
Copinger Hall is on sale for £1.5 million – see details and photos.
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