A 16th Century farmhouse with indoor and outdoor arenas, stables, 95 acres, swimming pool, tennis court and much more
(Image credit: Savills)
Sussex House Farm lies in rolling countryside within the High Weald area of outstanding natural beauty, on the Sussex, Kent and Surrey borders. It is one mile south east of Cowden, a quaint rural village which is home to a pub and train station.
Nearby towns include East Grinstead (7.2 miles) and Royal Tunbridge Wells (8.6 miles). Cowden train station is serviced by Southern Rail and is on the London Bridge to Uckfield line. There is a regular service to London every hour, and the journey time is approximately 53 minutes. The M25 provides motorway access to London (38 miles) and Heathrow, the A264 to Gatwick (16 miles) and the A22 or A21 provide access to the south coast.
Local equestrian centres include Duckhurst Farm (25 miles), Cobham Manor (33 miles), Pyecombe (29 miles), Felbridge (14 miles), Coombelands (38 miles), Hascombe (30 miles) and Hickstead (24 miles).
Vets are on hand at Lingfield Equine Vets 10 miles away, and if you like your hunting, head out with either the Old Surrey, Barstow & West Kent or the Southdown & Eridge.
Away from the property and its own 95 acres, you can also head to the nearby Ashdown Forest for plenty of hacking. Local racecourses include Lingfield, Plumpton and Brighton, while polo can be played or spectated at Ascot Park, Cowdray Park, Epsom, Hurtwood Park and Knepp Castle.
The property includes extensive modern and traditional equestrian facilities including 12 stables, tack rooms, a hay barn, feed rooms, a horsewalker and both indoor and outdoor arenas. The grass paddocks provide ample grazing for horses.
The land, extending to about 95.34 acres is attractive, rolling in nature, with good field sizes and a convenient arrangement of internal tracks and access routes throughout the farm. The farmland comprises about 84.15 acres of pasture and three acres of woodland and shaws. The land is classified as Grade Three and consists of slightly acid loamy and clayey soils, which suits its current use well.
The landscaped gardens of extensive lawns with stone terraces are bordered by established flower and herbaceous beds including roses, lavender and privet hedging. Stone steps lead down to the newly refurbished heated swimming pool and surrounding terrace with adjacent pool house, providing changing rooms and housing the filtration system. Steps lead further down to the pasture land and pond.
To the west of the main house is the kitchen garden with a potting shed, greenhouses and raised beds, growing an array of flowers, fruit and vegetables.
To the east of the house is a well-maintained, floodlit, hard court tennis court with a timber pavilion.
Sussex House Farm House is a Grade II*-listed 16th Century country house overlooking its own land. Approached by a long, tree lined drive, it sits in an elevated position in the centre of the farm.
The accommodation is over three storeys and extends to 6,665 sq. ft. including the cellar.
The principal porch entrance opens into a reception hall. The hall includes original features including flagged stone floors, timber beams, carved timber panelling and an oak staircase to the first floor.
Leading off the hall are the drawing room, study, playroom and dining room. Both the well-proportioned dining room and drawing room have open inglenook fireplaces and each has a door out to the gardens. The double aspect drawing room also has carved inset bookshelves.
The dining room leads through to an informal sitting room with a large open inglenook fireplace. From the sitting room a series of hallways, including a second entrance hall, leads through to the family living room, which was previously used as the kitchen.
From the family room, a wide corridor leads down steps to the oak-framed glazed extension housing the modern kitchen and breakfast room. The kitchen provides ample space for cooking and storage with a large island, electric AGA, wall cabinets, fitted units and an electric cooker. The double French doors open onto the terrace and overlook the swimming pool and pasture land.
The cellar is utilised as a laundry room and is accessed from the corridor off the second entrance hall.
On the first floor there are four bedrooms, four bathrooms and a dressing room, which could be used as another bedroom. The second floor consists of the master bedroom with en-suite bathroom.
To the rear of the house is a log store housing the biomass boiler. Other outbuildings including the gym and office.
To the east of the farmhouse is a converted timber clad barn with a tile roof. The Barn offers additional guest accommodation and comprises two/three bedrooms, two shower rooms, a kitchen and a large open plan living room.
To the rear of the barn is a raised terrace with an enclosed yard area beneath, which leads into a building housing a gym and sitting room area, before leading through to the stables tack/dayroom.
To the west of the main house, overlooking the kitchen garden, Garden Cottage is a bungalow built of brick under a tile roof with accommodation comprising of a kitchen, sitting room, two bedrooms and a bathroom.
Planning permission was granted in February 2022 for change of use of two of the agricultural buildings into two substantial residential dwellings.
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