Words: Zoe Dickens
Admit it. Being confined to your two-bed flat in Hackney for the last four months has had you yearning for just one thing: a large slice of the British countryside to call your own. And who could blame you? Fresh air, boundless open space, enough room to host all your friends (socially distanced, of course).
Well, luckily for you, the ultimate country home has just come on the market. Listed with Knight Frank, Chesworth House is nestled in 23.5 acres of rolling English countryside near Horsham, West Sussex – and has quite the regal history. Records of the house date back to the early 1200s, although its first known owner was William de Braose, who was gifted the manor by William the Conqueror in 1329. It passed down the family line, along the way being owned or lived in by historical figures including John Howard (the Duke of Norfolk), Catherine Howard (wife of King Henry VIII) and Thomas Howard – a key figure in the court of Queen Elizabeth I – who was executed for high treason in 1572, allowing the Crown to take possession of Chesworth House.
The last known royal residents of the home were Queen Henrietta Maria and Queen Catherine of Braganza, who both lived in the house during the 17th Century, before it passed back into private ownership. Even then it continued to attract high profile guests, with Sir Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud and Ingrid Bergman all having enjoyed the house’s considerable charms.
Now offered for sale for £5.5 million, the modern house is largely 15th Century with some 17th Century additions and boasts Grade II-listed status. Accordingly, period feature abound with thick oak beams apparent in almost every room, a gorgeous gabled Horsham stone roof and handmade Flemish brickwork – most obvious in the stunning banqueting hall.
Set on the river Arun, the estate is divided across a main house, cottage and several outbuildings. The large main house offers five bedrooms, including a master suite with separate sitting room, an open plan kitchen/breakfast room with custom Edward Loxley fittings and various spacious living areas, including a sitting room, drawing room, games room, dining room, the aforementioned banqueting hall and a loft. There are also several amenities no good country home should be without – including a boot room, dog shower room and, of course, a wine store.
The attached cottage offers a further four bedrooms and two bathrooms as well as an open plan sitting/dining room and kitchen while numerous outbuildings also provide a double garage, workshop, store room and studio. It’s safe to say, then, no matter the event you plan to hold, there’s room for everyone at Chesworth House.
This elegant house is not let down but the lush gardens surrounding it either. Entered by a long tree-lined driveway, the huge estate includes areas of private river frontage, landscaped gardens, lakes, ponds, woodland, a rose garden, formal lawns and meadows. If you’re serious about being lord of your own manor, they really don’t come much better than this.
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