Country estate that inspired James Bond novelist Ian Fleming on market: $2.95 million
With the next James Bond movie set for release in April, a country estate that inspired spy novelist Ian Fleming is on the market for $2.95 million.
Black Hole Hollow Farm in Cambridge, New York is where Fleming, a former British intelligence officer-turned-author, wrote parts of his James Bond thrillers “Diamonds Are Forever” (1956) and “Goldfinger” (1959), according to real estate website TopTenRealEstateDeals.com.
Fleming was a long-term house guest of his friend Ivar Bryce, also a former British intelligence officer. Bryce and his wife Josephine Huntington Hartford Bryce, an A&P supermarket heiress, owned the house.
The home hosted other famous guests, such as Princess Margaret and Jackie Kennedy.
The farm estate is nestled among 440 acres of woods, pastures and English-style country gardens. The 1770s-era main residence has 8,143 square feet of living space, eight bedrooms, seven baths, multiple fireplaces, a large kitchen and dining room that can accompany numerous dinner guests, according to the official listing.
The expansion of the original farmhouse was designed by Jerome Cerny, an architect know for his elegant country homes.
Fleming spent much of his time in the property’s spectacular greenhouse, which opens to a large roofed garden room and features paths winding through the greenery and a koi pond.
Fleming often stayed in guest quarters known as the Yellow Room, TopTenRealEstateDeals reported.
“Lived here like a king — an uninvited one — in fragrant and luxurious solitude,” Fleming once wrote.
The property has a lodge and cottage, each with three bedrooms, a two-bedroom Federal House, and a former milk house that is now a one-bedroom home.
Other amenities include a maple syrup-production facility, an outdoor swimming pool and three stocked ponds.
Literary 007 blog wrote that many of Fleming’s experiences at Black Hollow Hole found their way into his books.
In one story, “Bond makes his way to the Green Mountains of Vermont, where his target was staying at Echo Park, which was based on Black Hole Hollow Farm,” according to the blog.
The listing agent is Story Jenks of LandVest, an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate, Woodstock, Vermont.
The home was listed at $3.7 million in April 2018, according to realtor.com. The price dropped to $2.95 million last October.
Daniel Craig will appear in his fifth and final role as the fictional British MI6 agent James Bond in “No Time To Die” in April.
This story was originally published February 20, 2020 at 10:47 AM.
