generous public rooms

Britain's richest towns

The large suburban mansions tucked into the sylvan setting of roads round Hutton Mount, Hartswood and The Homesteads are "well posh". This is deep Essex Wives country where you might bump into Ross Kemp of Eastenders, Jodie Marsh of Silver Leather Beverly 100mm Essex Wives, boxer Frank Bruno or footballing legend Sir Trevor Brooking. It is not an exciting town but is in the "uber commuter" category with a formidable co ed private school, loads of parks, good motorway access, Stansted nearby and a 35 minute train ride to London's Liverpool Street.

Favoured by the wealthy retired from Birmingham, Chipping Campden another trophy town sits high on the Cotswold escarpment and is often described as having "the most perfect High Street in England". It is a symphony in stone, built by affluent wool merchants of the 14th and 15th centuries, with enchanting little shops and a well liked local comprehensive school. The strong community spirit and artistic traditions were established a century ago when 150 East End craftsmen moved into the old silk mill to set up workshops to hand make furniture. Kettle House, with four bedrooms and its companion Kettle Cottage, with two bedrooms, set around a courtyard with a walled garden, is Grade II listed and for sale through Jackson Stops Staff (01386 840224) at

The top flight town in the county, according to Savills research, though in 2004 Country Life voted Midhurst the best. It has a dreamy, magical quality, sitting in the lee of the South Downs at a point where the Arun Valley becomes spellbindingly beautiful. All the fun of the south coast is at hand, but it has a station which gets you Gatwick in an instant and Victoria in 73 minutes. Windlesham House co ed private school is on the doorstep. Three quarters of the working population commute, but there are plenty of retired too, many drawn by the wetlands, the downland walks and the birdwatching.

Burford has emerged as the most expensive town in the Cotswolds, close enough to Oxford for shopping and theatre trips Gold Glitter Balota 160mm (though Stratford upon Avon isn't far either), and deeply stylish in its own right. Together with Chipping Norton and Woodstock, it forms the "golden triangle" of the Cotswold property market. The High Street slopes down from the Wolds to the willow draped River Windrush and its three arched medieval bridge. Crooked stone houses line funny little side streets, teashops abound, and it has a respected co ed comprehensive school with an unusual boarding option.

A star in the Hampshire firmament and the richest pocket near Winchester, Stockbridge is a trophy town. Possibly the best house in the area, Marsh Court, a flint and chalk mansion designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, is on the market through Knight Frank at (020 7629 8171). The Grosvenor Rose Suede Balota 160mm Hotel at the centre of the town juts out its grandiose porch and is home to the exclusive Houghton Fishing Club, which has some of the best and most expensive fishing in England. The wide High Street is still England as it used to be, with a superb butcher and other good local shops.

It is just half an hour from the station here into London's Liverpool Street, but it comes in five places ahead of Brentwood because it has a good villagey feel and is positioned just where Essex starts to get pretty. It also has the high flying co ed state Anglo European School, which was the first in the country to promote both an international and a European outlook in its pupils. The oozing Crouch and Blackwater estuaries lie to the east, beckoning yachties and walkers.

13. No doubt this is why the auctioneers Bonhams keep a presence here, and why Savills call it a trophy town. It is pretty and rural, straddling the Thames by way of a five arched stone bridge, but the train service usually involves a change at Twyford for Paddington. The town bursts into life at the beginning of July when hoards of people come to drink Pimms in the pink and white marquees during the famous Henley regatta. On the water's edge two miles out at Wargrave, a stunning new four bedroom house is priced at through Cluttons (0207 7647 7122).

This is the second highest performing town in the league table, with a 194% margin over the regional average. Hale is the villagey face of Altrincham, intensively sought after and the darling of the Cheshire champagne set, where old pubs have given way to the capuccino lifestyle. New mansions Multicolor Glitter Balota 160mm have been slipped in between the old Victorian villas in the favoured tree canopied roads, and nine estate agents vie to handle them. Channel 4's series, Goldplated, depicted men here as money driven and women as youth and beauty driven. Dingle Dene, a secluded Arts and Crafts detached house with five bedrooms, a cinema and generous public rooms, is on the market at through Jackson Stops Staff (0161 928 8881).

A Wind in the Willows sort of place, just half an hour from London, with pretty river walks, canal boats and a flock of resident swans. The Chilterns spread their majestic beechwoods to the north. No wonder people like Heston Blumenthal and Robbie Williams have gravitated here. The ancient High Street runs to down to the river and has a proper fishmonger and chocolatier, plus Wednesday and monthly farmer's markets. It has its own rowing club and regatta, and the Macdonald Compleat Angler restaurant for posh nosh.