Dacorum says The Bury was never for sale and has ended its agent's contract after a brochure went out in error. The listed house has stood empty since 2016.

The Bury in Hemel Hempstead is not for sale, Dacorum Borough Council says, and it has ended the contract of the agent whose brochure said it was.

The council published a statement on 8 September 2026 after what it calls rumours about the sale of the Georgian house on Queensway, at the entrance to Gadebridge Park. It says a description of the property as “for sale” was “published in error”, that it noticed the problem “late on Monday night (7 September 2026)”, and that it has now “discontinue[d] the current commission with this third party agent” (Dacorum Borough Council, 8 September 2026).

Five days earlier the council had told residents it was market testing the building.

What the council actually said

The statement is short and unusually direct for a council. Its main points:

  • “The Bury is not being sold.” No decision has been taken to sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of it.
  • No proposal is before councillors. The statement says none “is currently before members for consideration”.
  • The instruction to the agent was different. It was “to seek expressions of interest regarding the future use and sustainability of The Bury”, not to market it for sale.
  • The error has been withdrawn. The council says it removed all references to the incorrect information as soon as it became aware.
  • The commission has been ended, and the council is “now taking the time to reconsider our approach”.
  • It calls the episode “simply a human error” with “no intention to mislead”.

Nothing about The Bury appears in the council’s published officer decisions for the period from 25 August to 10 September, which is consistent with the statement that no decision has been taken. We track the borough’s other decisions on our Hemel Hempstead planning news page.

The register says Grade II*, not Grade II

Both the statement and the Leader’s September update describe The Bury as Grade II listed. The National Heritage List for England does not. It records the building as Grade II*, list entry number 1262960, first listed on 18 June 1948 and amended on 17 February 1977 (Historic England).

The distinction is not pedantry. Grade II* covers particularly important buildings of more than special interest, and it is a small minority of listed buildings in England. It raises the bar for what any future owner or tenant could do to the fabric.

The list entry describes a late 18th century house of about 1790: stucco, a hipped Welsh slated roof with two box dormers, a central pediment with a round window, five sash windows with glazing bars, and a pedimented porch on columns with Tower of the Winds capitals. Inside it notes panelling in the hall and on the first floor landing, two panelled elliptical arches, and a staircase with cut spandrels and turned balusters.

How the sale story started

On 3 September the Leader of the Council, Cllr Sally Symington, published her monthly update. Under the heading “Shaping the future of The Bury”, it said the council was “working with our agents, Brasier Freeth, to carry out market testing and identify practical, financially viable and sustainable proposals”, and invited organisations interested in the future use of the building to come forward (Leader’s update, 3 September 2026).

That update also acknowledged the constraint at the heart of the problem. As a listed property, it said, “there are limitations on the types of uses that can be accommodated”.

Key dates for The Bury, Hemel Hempstead, 1790 to 2026 A timeline of seven dates. About 1790, the house is built for the attorney William Ginger. 1948, listed at Grade II star. 1954, bought by Hemel Hempstead Rural District Council. 1969 to 2016, the borough register office, and vacant since. July 2026, Dacorum Heritage Trust submits an outline proposal for a heritage centre. 3 September 2026, the council says it is market testing the building with agents Brasier Freeth. 8 September 2026, the council says The Bury is not for sale and ends the agent's commission. The Bury, Queensway: the dates that matter A Grade II* house that has been publicly owned for 72 years and empty for the last ten. About 1790 Built for the local attorney William Ginger, replacing an earlier manor house. 18 June 1948 Listed at Grade II*, list entry 1262960. Amended February 1977. 1954 Bought by Hemel Hempstead Rural District Council. Public ownership begins. 1969 to 2016 The borough register office, hosting hundreds of weddings a year. Empty since. 8 July 2026 Dacorum Heritage Trust publishes its outline proposal for a heritage centre. 3 September 2026 Council says it is market testing the building through agents Brasier Freeth. 8 September 2026 Council says The Bury is not for sale and ends the agent's commission. Sources: Historic England list entry 1262960; Dacorum Heritage Trust outline proposal, July 2026; Dacorum Borough Council statements, 3 and 8 September 2026. Graphic by Hemel Hempstead Live.
Ten of the building's 236 years have been spent shut. The last week has been the noisiest of them.

There was already a proposal on the table

The council did not have to look far for an interested organisation. Dacorum Heritage Trust, the borough’s accredited museum, published a 19 page outline proposal for The Bury on 8 July 2026 and put the whole document on its own website (Dacorum Heritage Trust).

The trust wants to turn the house into a heritage centre holding its exhibitions, archives, staff and collections store on one site. What it is asking the council for is specific, and it is not money:

  • an Agreement in Principle, or Heads of Terms, rather than a capital commitment
  • an exclusive two year window to develop the scheme
  • a freehold transfer or a lease of 125 years or more, at a nominal or reduced fee
  • recognition of that reduced value as the council’s match funding for a National Lottery Heritage Fund bid

In return the trust says it would fund the condition surveys, architectural plans and business case itself from a Heritage Fund development grant, and would vacate its Museum Store at the Berkhamsted Civic Centre site entirely once The Bury was finished, freeing that site for the council’s redevelopment plans there.

The proposal is candid about the difficulties. It notes the western part of the site sits in a flood zone from the River Gade, that extensions to a Grade II* building are “unlikely to be acceptable”, and that any planning application would be complex on heritage, archaeology, flood risk and setting grounds. Its one building idea is to replace the lock up garages, which the council’s own Old Town Conservation Area appraisal calls “a group of lock up garages of no special interest which could be replaced or removed completely”, with a climate controlled store.

What it means for you

Nothing about the building’s status has changed this week. It was a publicly owned, empty, Grade II* house on Queensway on Monday and it still is.

What has changed is the council’s process. It has withdrawn an agent, said it will reconsider its approach, and repeated that it wants The Bury kept in community or public use. There is no published timetable for what comes next, and no committee date to put in the diary.

Two things are worth watching. The first is whether the market testing restarts, and on what instructions this time. The second is whether the council responds to the heritage trust’s request for Heads of Terms, because that request has been sitting in public since July and a decision on it would have to be made by councillors rather than by an agent.

If you want to make the case for a particular future, the council’s own route in is the Strategic Planning team’s inbox for planning matters and the council’s general contact channels for asset questions. The heritage trust can be reached at info@dacorumheritage.org.uk.

The park the house looks out over is on our guide to things to do in Hemel Hempstead, and the council’s wider planning decisions are on our Hemel Hempstead planning news page.

Frequently asked questions

Is The Bury in Hemel Hempstead being sold?

No. Dacorum Borough Council said on 8 September 2026 that “The Bury is not being sold”, that no decision has been taken to sell, transfer or dispose of it, and that no such proposal is before councillors. A brochure describing it as available freehold was published in error and has been withdrawn.

What listing grade is The Bury?

Grade II star, one level above the Grade II that the council’s own statements describe. The National Heritage List for England records it under list entry 1262960, first listed on 18 June 1948 and amended in February 1977.

How long has The Bury been empty?

Since 2016, when the borough register office moved to The Forum in the town centre. The building had been the register office since 1969, and the council has owned it since 1954. Its windows and doors have been boarded for security.

What could The Bury be used for?

Dacorum Heritage Trust has asked the council for terms that would let it turn the house into a museum, archive and community heritage centre. The council has said only that it wants to keep the building “in community/public use” and that it is reconsidering its approach after withdrawing the sale brochure.

Sources