The search for a ‘forever’ house

These ancient Kent houses were built to last

THE debate over which house is the oldest in England is one that has exercised the minds of successive generations of COUNTRY L IFE readers. In 1931, Knight Frank’s Arthur J. Burrows described Luddesdown Court near Gravesend, Kent— a 12th-century house reputedly lived in by William the Conqueror’s half-brother, Odo, who was Earl of Kent—as ‘the oldest court lodge in Kent’ and ‘presumably one of the most ancient continuously inhabited domestic buildings in the kingdom’. It was a claim repeated when Luddesdown Court was last sold by Knight Frank a couple of years ago.

Nowadays, buyers searching for their ‘forever house’ probably don’t need a 1,000year-old building, although Kent is still a good place to look for a historic family house of character and charm. One that springs to mind is handsome Galleys Wood in Honeypot

Lane, Edenbridge, an imposing Victorian/ Edwardian house set in 12 acres of gardens, grounds and woodland on the Kent-Surrey border, two miles from Edenbridge town centre and a 10-minute drive from Waitrose.

Currently for sale through the Oxted office of Jackson-Stops (01883 712375) at a guide price of £3.25 million, Galleys Wood was once home to the Prestwich family of JAP motorcycle engine fame. The current owners, who were married at the house 25 years ago, recall the previous owner saying that she used to skate around the cellar, which they have converted into a cinema and bar, a large games room and a home-office area with an adjoining kitchen, wine cellar, store room and boiler room.

Built to last for the next millennium, the house offers more than 8,600sq ft of accommodation on five floors, including a spectacular reception hall with an impressive oak staircase that immediately sets the scene. The drawing room and dining room are elegant entertaining areas with bay windows overlooking the gardens. The family room adjoins the contemporary kitchen/breakfast room with its matching wood island, work surfaces and cupboards. A playroom with extensive storage completes the ground floor.

The principal bedroom suite, comprising a large bedroom with a bay window and a stylish bath and shower room en suite, takes up one side of the first floor. Four further bedrooms, served by a family bathroom, overlook the gardens. The second floor— arranged as a sitting room/kitchen, three bedrooms and a bathroom—could be used as a separate flat. A spiral staircase rises to the third-floor recreation room, with access to the attics. Additional accommodation is available in the converted three-bedroom coach house.

The gardens and grounds offer a high level of privacy and seclusion, with areas of woodland lining the perimeter of the grounds. Long-established planting in the garden includes specimen trees, beech hedging, rhododendrons and oak, beech and a variety of conifers. A pretty tree house on the southern boundary is a magnet for children, who also enjoy their own play area—as well as the freedom of a 3½-acre paddock with room for a pony or two.

Over in east Kent, Ed Church of Strutt & Parker (01227 473700) is handling the sale of Grade II-listed Penstock Hall, described as ‘a charming small Kentish manor house’ set in 1¾ acres of gardens in the unspoilt village of East Brabourne, on the edge of the North Downs AONB, eight miles from Ashford International station and 12 from Canterbury.

He quotes a guide price of £2.2m for the impeccably restored farmstead with its fivebedroom house—thought to date from about 1450—and charming courtyard of ancient timber-frame barns. The East Barn serves as a fully functional party barn, whereas the West Barn is currently used as offices. Further outbuildings are available by separate negotiation. A 3½-acre paddock opposite the house is included in the sale.

The present owners have remodelled and extended the house, adding a custom-built kitchen/breakfast room to the rear. A fullheight entrance hall leads to two impressive timber-frame rooms at the front of the house, now used as the dining and drawing rooms. Also off the hall is a light and airy conservatory. Attached to the house, next to the West Barn, is a two-room annexe. The gardens, which allow distant views of the Downs, include a sheltered terrace at the rear, ideal for alfresco dining. Steps lead up to the lawn, the natural swimming pool and the summer house; a hard tennis court is tucked away in one corner, out of sight from the main house. If 1,000 years of history is still the dream, Will Peppitt of Savills Country Department

(020–7409 5945) is handling the sale of the magnificent, Grade II*-listed Homestall Manor with its extensive complex of associated buildings, the whole set in 28 acres of gardens and grounds at Ashurst Wood, just over the county border in West Sussex, and within the High Weald AONB. Acting on instructions from fixed receivers Belleveue Mortlakes, he quotes a guide price of £10m for this grand country house, which boasts a unique provenance.

Originally a simple farmhouse, the oldest part of the property dates from 1350, when it was probably used as a hunting box by John of Gaunt, the son of Edward III, who held the hunting rights to Ashdown Forest. In 1907, Lord Tommy Dewar, a whisky distiller from Perth, bought and restored The Homestall and remodelled the surrounding gardens. On his death in 1930, his nephew, the racehorse owner and breeder John Arthur Dewar, inherited the estate, which he used