This English country house inspired a famous children's book. Now it can be yours for $5.1 million.

The Mount at Cookham Dean is so magical that it has inspired famous authors and artists.

A Grade II listed residence near the River Thames has just been listed for £4 million (around $5.1 million), and the historic mansion is the former childhood home of British author Kenneth Grahame. Known as The Mount, the property dates back to the late 16th century, when it served as a hunting lodge at Windsor Castle. Situated on three and a half acres, the property’s waterfront setting is said to have inspired Grahame’s famous children’s book, The wind in the willows.

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The Dean of Mount Cookham — British author Kenneth Grahame’s childhood home in Cookham Dean has just been listed for $5.1 million

“It’s incredibly rare that such a beautiful house with a rich tapestry of history comes to the market in one of Berkshire’s best locations,” says Paul Finnegan of Savills’ regional department. According to the listing, famous English artist Sir Stanley Spencer used the spread as a subject for many of his landscape and still life paintings. However, brothers Alexander and Arthur Levy, best known for cutting the Cullinan diamond, were responsible for transforming the hunting lodge into the Victorian mansion seen today.

Mount Kenneth Grahame — Known as The Mount, the property was built in 1600.

Measuring 7,422 square feet, the home has 12 bedrooms and four bathrooms. The interior maintains its storybook appeal with fireplaces, stained glass windows, and picturesque garden views. However, the pad could use a little TLC. The main floor is furnished with a wood-paneled living room, formal dining room, family room and kitchen. Elsewhere, the upper two levels house all the dormitories.

Kenneth Grahame the mount — The gardens and woods surrounding The Mount are believed to have inspired Grahame’s book, *The wind in the willows*

Since it was last recovered in 1969, 10 years after Spencer’s death, it has remained in the same hands ever since. “We had a wonderful childhood playing at The Mount, with days and days spent exploring the enchanted woods, gardens, fields and orchards that surround it,” says John Kellett, one of the members of the family currently selling the property. “Of course, at the time we had no idea that the same willows, elms and apple trees were the inspiration for the classic Grahame tales that we, and I’m sure many others, loved to read when we were children.

“We are sad to leave home,” he continued, “but it’s a good time for another family to raise their children there, in all the glorious surroundings of the Mt.”

Click here to see all photos of Mt.

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