A Grade II listed cottage on the picturesque British hill featured in the iconic 1970s Hovis advert has sold at auction – for just £165,000.
The three-bedroom house on Gold Hill in Shaftesbury was up for auction October 22. It attracted a lot of bids.
Sir Ridley Scott, a director who made the rural street famous with his 1973 TV advertisement ‘Boy on Bike’ Hovis in 1973. This ad has been repeatedly voted the best-loved TV commercial in the country.

The Grade II-listed building on Gold Hill at Shaftesbury in Dorset was made famous by Ridley Scott’s television advertisement for Hovis bread, ‘Boy on Bike’.

Number 16 Gold Hill is located halfway up the hill. It needs to be completely renovated
Symonds and Sampson sold the property on this picturesque country street last week.
It went for a bargain price of £165,000 as the auctioneers stated it needs a complete renovation.
The auctioneers stated that the cottage could be used as a second home, holiday home, or home once it is complete.
Gold Hill was immortalized in the 1973 Hovis ad, which featured a young baker boy pushing his bike up cobbled streets with a basket of bread to the end of his round.
It is said that the lad said that delivering bread to the house at the top of the hill was like taking bread to top of the world.

The 1973 Hovis ad saw a young bakery boy struggling to push his bike up the cobbled street with a basket full of bread

Floor plan showing three reception rooms and a fully equipped kitchen on the ground floor, two bedrooms upstairs and one bedroom on top.
Ridley Scott directed this commercial. It was voted Britain’s favorite TV commercial in 2006.
It was supposed to show a northern industrial town, but it was actually shot at a small southern market town.
It is known to many as “Hovis Hill” and is still a popular spot to visit for tourists.
The listing stated that the property was located on the Gold Hill, which was famously made famous by the TV commercial “Hovis Bread”.
The property is located within walking distance of Shaftesbury’s town centre, which dates back to Saxon times.
“There are facilities to meet most of your everyday needs, including a modern medical centre, small hospital and library, as well as an arts centre.
“One of the main features is the panoramic views, which can be enjoyed at many vantage points throughout the town.

The cottage is currently in disrepair, but the council has been in contact to discuss its possible extension and renovation.

“The property, once completed, would make an ideal home, second home, or holiday let.”
The 1973 advertisement that made the street well-known features a young boy pushing a bike loaded full of bread up a cobbled hill.
The 57 second advertisement features a schoolboy saying that delivering bread to the hilltop house was like taking bread to top of the world.
Two years ago, the advertisement was seen on TV again after it had been digitally remastered.