A FORT built 200 years ago to protect the UK from a foreign invasion has been converted into a four-bed home and is available on the market.
Potential buyers could snap up the Grade II listed property, complete with its original ammo store in the ground, for £1.5million.
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High Beeches includes Fosterdown Fort, which was built in the late 19th century as part of the London Defence Positions to protect the capital from overseas attackers.
The four-bedroom property, near Caterham in Surrey, has an Airbnb annex and the historic fort, set in 7.5 acres of ancient woodland.
It boasts a number of rare features, including a three-roomed magazine used to store ammunition, including gun cartridges and shells.
It was one of 13 small polygonal forts built along a carefully surveyed area for a line of entrenchments which could be quickly excavated in an emergency.
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Each fort was equipped with all the stores and ammunition that would be needed by the troops tasked with digging and manning the positions.
The men who worked there used one of the rooms to change into protective and non-spark producing clothes, before taking up their positions in the explosives rooms.
The London Defence Positions were abandoned in about 1905 and the building was sold in 1920.
And for much of the 20th century it was used as a field study centre for school groups.
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The main house is in a red-brick lodge style and is Grade II listed with vaulted ceilings, exposed beams and other original features.
It has an open-plan hallway with a large lounge with a mezzanine and space for an office or guest room, a kitchen, dining room, four bedrooms, one with an en suite and a family bathroom.
Outside, there is a separate annexe which is currently being used as an Airbnb.
The self-contained building has its own parking space and patio with a studio-style living area with a walk-in rain shower room.
A potting shed, which can be accessed through the shower room, is used as a viewing area for visitors who want to enjoy the nightly badger, fox and deer visits to the garden from the surrounding woodland.
The property is located on a private country lane in the Surrey Hills area of outstanding natural beauty, close to the town of Caterham.
Independent estate agent Melanie Attwater, who is selling the High Beeches, said the house belonged to a professional couple with a grown-up family who are relocating abroad.
She said: “It would be the perfect retreat for a family who want to live close to nature. It’s the ultimate wildlife sanctuary.
“As well as the amazing lawn for games of football or rugby with the kids, there’s a real chance to lead ‘The Good Life’ with an established vegetable garden and greenhouse.
“The Fort could provide the perfect opportunity to run a small at-home business or even to rent out as a shoot location.”
It comes after an incredible “Home Alone” mansion based in the UK went on the market for £7million.
Brits who watch the hit movie religiously every festive season, will be able to recognise the original house in Illinois, US, in the blink of an eye.
Now, one property much closer to home in Cobham, Surrey, replicates the iconic mansion.
The huge home boasts seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a cinema, and a swimming pool, as well as a “sprawling” kitchen, breakfast room, and family room.
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