Chiddingly, Lewes, East Sussex

Keepers Cottage is a delightful detached red brick country cottage dating from the 1870s, later sympathetically enlarged, set on the rural outskirts of the village of Chiddingly and surrounded by its own gardens, paddocks and ancient woodland. Keeper’s Cottage offers the quintessential English country lifestyle: a classic period home of great warmth and character, complemented by a collection of versatile outbuildings and equestrian facilities, all set within about 13.4 acres of beautiful East Sussex countryside.

The house presents a particularly charming south facing elevation, with its original front door beneath a vaulted porch and mellow brickwork softened by mature climbing wisteria and roses. Timber framed double-glazed sash windows enhance the traditional appearance. Owned by our clients for some 40 years, the cottage has clearly been a much loved and comfortably lived in home, now offering an incoming owner a wonderful opportunity to gently refresh and personalise.

Timber double gates open to a private driveway, passing the house and leading on to a parking area beyond, adjacent to the stable yard. A half glazed front door opens to the porch with terracotta tiled floor and adjoining cloakroom, which in turn leads to an inner hall. The dual aspect sitting room enjoys views over the gardens and French doors opening directly to the south facing terrace, with a cast iron fireplace set with tiled slips and wooden mantel forming a natural focal point.

The kitchen is fitted with a range of hand built painted cabinetry beneath granite worktops and upstands, a double butler sink and an electric Aga with companion, offering five ovens, a four ring electric hob and traditional hot plates, together with hand painted tiled splashbacks. The dining room has a door opening to the garden, built in crockery cupboards and a brick fireplace housing a woodburner.

Stairs rise from the dining room to the first floor landing with fitted bookshelves. The principal bedroom has built in wardrobes, a dressing area and en suite shower room, while two further bedrooms share the main bathroom. All bedrooms enjoy wooden floors and lovely outlooks over the gardens and surrounding countryside.

Pretty cottage gardens wrap around three sides of the house, with brick and stone terraces close to the house, two raised ponds, a covered well and areas of level lawn enclosed by hedging and well stocked flower and shrub beds, together with magnolia and fruiting apple, mulberry and damson trees. To the west lies a productive and enclosed kitchen garden with raised beds, fruit cages, two sheds (one with power), two greenhouses with power, cold frames and a mature fig tree, with a shepherd’s hut positioned within and currently used as an office.

To the north of the cottage, across the driveway, is a brick outbuilding believed to have originally been a bakery, now used as a pantry and stores, with a further area of lawn sloping gently down to a tree lined duck pond overlooked by a timber garden office.

Equestrian facilities include a gated stable yard with two timber stable blocks providing five loose boxes, a feed store, hay store and open wood store, all with power connected. Beyond lies a shrubbery and duck enclosure, and post and rail fenced paddocks with water laid on, one with a double field shelter. A glorious band of ancient woodland runs along the eastern boundary, with interlinking ponds, majestic oaks and a rich carpet of seasonal wildflowers including bluebells, orchids and wood anemones. There is a gated secondary entrance to the woodland and land from Stalkers Lane.

In all, about 13.4 acres, including around 10 acres of paddock and 2.6 acres of ancient woodland.