But is it worth it?
Cheyney Court, which lies on The Close and used to house the headmasters of The Pilgrims School, is on offer through Carter Jonas, which says there has already been considerable interest in the property.
Speaking on behalf of the estate agent, Zaza Oswald said: “We had someone who was going to take it but sadly their circumstances changed.”
READ MORE: Pilgrims School headteacher’s house in Winchester to be restored
The kitchen area (Image: Carter Jonas) She also talked about the special nature of the property. Its location, in particular, could prove a draw to those families, “from abroad or English”, who want to send their children to Pilgrims or Winchester College.
“The Close is obviously completely owned by the cathedral,” she said. “It’s the number-one address in Winchester; it’s also been completely refurbished.”
This, explained Ms Oswald, was necessary because when it was handed back by Pilgrims, it was in no state to rent to the public.
While Cheyney Court almost classifies as the most expensive rental property in Winchester (at least on Rightmove) it is just pipped by another – a seven-bedroom house on Quarry Road near St Giles Hill on the market for an eye-watering £7,750 per month.
The cathedral’s grade-I-listed property on The Close will cost whoever ends up renting it £84,000 yearly.
The garden (Image: Carter Jonas) If we follow the rule of thumb that dictates you should spend no more than a third of your gross yearly income on rent, you would have to earn at least £280,000 per annum to even start thinking about taking it on.
This puts prospective renters in a rather rarefied atmosphere.
However, an article published in the Chronicle in August reported that the average rental price for a property in Winchester is more than 50 per cent of the average resident’s wage.
SEE ALSO: Headteacher of top Hampshire private school Pilgrims’ leaves after only two years
One of the rooms (Image: Carter Jonas)Campaign group Generation Rent said the next government must tackle the cost of rent by building more homes and stopping landlords from raising rent above wage growth or inflation.
Office for National Statistics figures show the average rent in Winchester was £1,338 a month in May.
Separate data from the ONS show the median wage for the same month was £2,549 in the area – meaning rent accounted for 52 per cent of the monthly income for an average individual.