House, East Street, Rusper, Horsham, West Sussex

Property
Located in the rural landscape outside Horsham in West Sussex, Chowles Barn is a Grade II listed property that has undergone a careful and comprehensive restoration, transforming it into a highly efficient contemporary family home while preserving its historic integrity. At the heart of the property is a converted five-bay, double-height great barn dating back to the 15th century. This principal structure has been extended to connect with an adjacent two-storey cottage, forming an ‘L’-shaped arrangement of living and sleeping spaces.

The main reception room is the stunning, 57ft great hall, which features flagstone flooring, a grand brick-built fireplace with a logburner and a magnificent double-height, vaulted ceiling with exposed timber eaves and under floor heating. The room provides a spectacular focal point to the home and offers space for both a seating area and a family dining table and is ideal for entertaining. There is also a large entrance hall with further seating and dining space, plus a comfortable snug, a useful study and a sunny family room with a glass roof and sliding glass doors opening to the gardens. Additionally, the open-plan kitchen offers further social living space, with its bespoke Devol units in burgundy, central island and range cooker.

Six bedrooms are arranged across two separate first-floor areas. Above the main kitchen there is a principal bedroom with built-in storage and en suite bath and shower rooms. The two further bedrooms are served by a family bathroom, while the secondary first-floor area also has three well-presented bedrooms, a shared bathroom as well as a fully-fitted secondary kitchen, providing true multi-generational living.

The detached annexe offers valuable additional accommodation for guests or extended family. It features an open-plan sitting room and bedroom, a well-equipped kitchen and a bathroom with a separate shower.

Architecturally, the extension draws on the typology of agricultural buildings, employing simple, robust forms including gabled ends and a mono-ridge pitched roof that echo the adjacent cottage. The use of timber cladding and a standing seam Corten steel roof establishes a restrained material palette that complements the tones and textures of the historic fabric while clearly expressing the new element as contemporary.

Outside
There is a large gravel parking area providing parking for several vehicles, while the gardens at the rear have gravel and paved terracing for al fresco dining, with a generous area of well-maintained lawn beyond. There is also an orchard, a vegetable garden, a greenhouse and beyond the gardens, a large open paddock, which is ideal for livestock grazing.

In all the plot extends to just under 7 acres.