State of Georgia Founder's Home Goes on Sale, and You Can Own It for $5.7M

A six-bedroom mansion built on the site of Cranham Hall, formerly home to British soldier and politician James Oglethorpe who founded the state of Georgia, has gone on sale for £4,495,000 ($5,720,000).

The property in Essex, on the eastern outskirts of London, in England, comes complete with a lake, indoor swimming pool, games room and separate "Scandinavian-style log cabin" complete with a hot tub. It is situated next to All Saints Church where Oglethorpe was buried alongside his wife following his death in 1785.

Its sale is being managed by Strutt & Parker, a British estate agent which specializes in country houses, describing itself online as "for the people who are rather particular about their neighbors."

The mansion is advertised for sale on rightmove.co.uk, which claims to be Britain's "number one property website for properties for sale and to rent."

Its listing states: "The property is approached via a large reception hall, with space for seating and an attractive, open fireplace. The study lies to the right, entered via double doors. It has a feature stone fireplace and dark stained wooden paneling. Beyond, an inner hall provides access to further reception rooms including the drawing room, swimming pool complex and kitchen/breakfast room."

"A sweeping staircase leads to the first floor where the principal bedroom suite offers luxurious accommodation, including an en suite bathroom and dressing room with large fitted cupboards... The second floor comprises a spacious games room presently featuring a snooker table and enjoys wonderful views over the grounds," the listing continues.

The property is described as coming with "wonderfully private and well protected" gardens and parkland, which features a lake "stocked with a variety of hand-fed fish."

The estate also features a 5,000-square-foot barn, which incorporates a two-bedroom staff flat, along with a log cabin containing "one bedroom and a shower room and a discreet, decked hot tub."

Oglethorpe was born in London on December 22, 1696 to a powerful family and began his career as a soldier, fighting on the Austrian side of the Austro-Turkish war, before returning to Britain where he was elected as a member of Parliament aged 26.

In 1729, Oglethorpe was put in charge of a committee investigating conditions in debtors' prisoners, where those unable to pay their debts were incarcerated in often squalid conditions. During this time he had the idea of establishing a new colony in North America, to serve as a haven for the poor and destitute of Britain.

Three years later, in 1732, Oglethorpe received a charter to found the colony which became known as Georgia, and the following year, set out with a party of settlers who founded the town of Savannah. When Britain went to war with Spain in 1739, in what became known as the War of Jenkins' Ear, Oglethorpe led the successful defense of Georgia, though his attempt to seize St. Augustine in Florida from the Spanish was a failure.

Oglethorpe returned to Britain in 1743 where he was largely driven from public life after being court marshalled for his failure to block a retreating Jacobite force during the rising of 1745. He avoided commenting publicly on the American Revolution, though he did urge the British government to agree a truce in 1777-1778. In 1785 he met John Adams, the U.S. ambassador to Britain, expressing his "great esteem and regard for America." He died three weeks later at Cranham Hall, which according to the Right Move listing was later demolished at some time around 1789.

In 2022, a disagreement broke out over plans to install a statue of Tomochichi, a chief of the Muscogee tribe, in Atlanta, partly over his relationship with Oglethorpe. Tomochichi became a key British ally in Georgia, and even traveled to London in 1734, where he met King George II.