IT IS hard to see how anyone could willingly part with a property as singular and delightful as Rodborough Fort in Gloucestershire. Yet the answer is simple: Peter Lamplough and his son Piers are launching a new mobile phone network in Malawi, and are leaving Rodborough to begin their African adventure.

The Lamploughs, who are telecoms specialists, bought Rodborough Fort, an enchanting Victorian folly with a private chapel, from the National Trust 12 years ago. It is a substantial six or seven-bedroom property, and has a series of outbuildings that could be adapted as studio, office or further bedrooms. It stands on the crown of a 600ft hill, across the 300 acres of Rodborough Common, still owned by the trust. The tower, complete with fluttering flag, rises well above the encircling trees. A half-moon enceinte wall (a boundary wall enclosing a defended area) and low flanking turrets announce that this is a folly with all the trimmings. Indeed to the south the walls continue round a nine-acre meadow – enough space for a jousting tournament.

The one slight disappointment is that you no longer enter through the original battlemented gatehouse; the road leading to it is now part of a public walk round the hill. Perhaps the solution is to build another gatehouse on the present drive, which approaches from the east. It would be a mean set of councillors who did not approve a decent design.

The parking is now outside the kitchen, which is the everyday entrance. The new owner’s task will be to restore primacy to the forecourt. The front door opens into a broad hall running the length of the house and retaining a full complement of Victorian tiles. The main drawing room, which has a ribbed ceiling and large bay window, has a delightful stone fireplace; small columns support its massive lintel.

Most walls are pale cream. This makes the first-floor bedrooms bright and light, but there must be an opportunity for some rich Victorian colouring and even gilding. The Lamploughs have worked hard on the fabric of the fort, but there is still much more to be done inside and out. Good lighting, too, will do wonders.

Rodborough urgently needs a lady who gardens: the Lamploughs have made a pond intended to connect to a waterfall. The walled kitchen garden cries out for box edging and the turrets at the corners are perfect places to sit in the sun or shade. The stonework could be wonderfully softened with climbing roses and clematis.

The fort was first built as an inhabited folly for Captain George Hawker in the early 1760s; his are the battlemented walls and turrets. Alexander Halcombe, who acquired the fort in 1868, rebuilt it on a grander scale. Now’s the chance for another family to add their signature to this extraordinary place.

Marcus Binney reviews more of the finest country houses for sale in Britain at: timesonline.co.uk/marcusbinney

FACTFILE

WHAT YOU GET: Grade II listed Victorian Cotswold folly with 6/7 bedrooms and nine acres. In all, 5,060 sq ft of interior space.

WHERE IT IS: Just over a mile from Stroud, and 14 from Cheltenham. Fast trains from Stroud to London take 1½ hours.

PRICE: £1.85 million, available through Savills, 01285 627550, www.savills.co.uk

Marcus Binney’s latest book, In Search of the Perfect House (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, £30), is available for £27, including free p&p, from BooksFirst. Call 0870 1608080.

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