Lavant £600,000

Situated on the bank of a small freshwater stream, this wonderful home was originally an old mill constructed approximately 300 years ago and has subsequently been extended. The charming interiors include three bedrooms, and a fabulous open plan kitchen/dining room, while outside there is a well stocked garden, car port and plenty of parking.
The Story
Everyone enjoys the themed cooking parties at Mill Cottage, in Lavant, according to owner Liz Stanleigh-Turner.
We’ve had Caribbean, Spanish and Indian, and we do them in the fantastic Aga, she explained.
Liz regularly entertains in her stylishly extended kitchen dining room, which was originally the chicken coop in her 300-year-old home set in the beautiful South Downs.
She and her daughter Sanchia bought the part-flint, Welsh-slate roofed property together after Sanchia persuaded her to come and look at it.
She made me come but as soon as we walked in the front door it grabbed us. It was quiet and away from the road and I had an inner feeling about it. We both just wanted to buy it, she said.
Set in golden seclusion in a cottage garden, with the sparkling River Lavant on the boundary, which makes its way into the charming nearby town of Chichester, it has been a dream house for mother and daughter for eight years now.
It’s a comfortable cosy, bright and airy home. We’ve got space to wander around and plenty of private space, too, she said. I just love this house. My husband was in the Navy so we moved a lot and this is the first house that I’ve owned that I felt has soul and spirit. It’s wonderful.
AGA SAGA
The extended kitchen dining room at Mill Cottage is the heartbeat of Liz and Sanchia’s home. They have a new, bespoke Harvey Jones kitchen, which includes a brand new, rich pewter-coloured Aga.
The Aga is smashing. Everyone that comes in sits on the high stool next to it and leans on it. The kitchen is just a lovely space, she said.
All the surfaces are grade five, blue butterfly granite. Everybody loves coming in here. It’s part and parcel of the ambience of the house, which has always been a happy home with friends’ children running round, she added.
FEMININE CHARM
Liz and Sanchia have completely redecorated their home in delicate Farrow & Ball pastels, which create a calm atmosphere.
We have a soft, moss green style in the drawing room with a Jotul wood-burner in the brick fireplace, she said.
The drawing room is bright and cool in the summer because it faces north and west. There is a picture window that looks straight out onto the Trundle (an Iron Age hill fort near Chichester) and the River Lavant. It’s gorgeous – nothing but rolling green fields and cows, she said.
French windows open out from the dining room on to a bricked terrace with the river burbling past close by.
It is a magical entertainment area: In the evening, everyone sits out drinking Moet. We put the lights on round the big umbrella and it’s quite private and very, very quiet, she said. In the mornings the pheasants come for their breakfast. This area is absolutely full of sunshine, a total sun trap.
STUDIED CALM
Farrow & Ball creams and beiges lend a quiet atmosphere to the study, where she likes to sit reading in the summer because it is so comfortably cool.
There is a double fronted wood-burner fitted into the wall, too, so it is warm in the winter. The high skirting boards and sash windows also make it a lovely place in which to sit, she added.
Mill Cottage, in its country setting, is a haven for charming wildlife.
We have the odd deer and ducks. This morning on the river I saw moorhens and a mallard hen with nine ducklings swimming past. And we also have two barn owls, which fly majestically past the window from time to time, she added.
Friends and family love the house and garden. It is a wonderfully pleasant and relaxing place. We had a deep sense that we had to have this house but realistically we now have to move on, she said.
Accommodation
GROUND FLOOR
Tucked away down an unmade track, Mill Cottage is a wonderful home which has been much loved by the current occupants. Approaching the cottage you are automatically drawn to the lovely views across the neighbouring water meadow and St Roche’s Hill in the distance. On entering the cottage there are two reception rooms either side of the central hallway, one situated to the front has a cosy feel with an open fireplace in the chimney breast housing a wood burning stove, excellent for relaxed family gatherings. The second reception room to the rear of the home is dominated by striking exposed beams and a side elevation picture window which takes advantage of the stunning views. Moving on, the kitchen has been extended by the current owners to create an open plan dining area and utility space, with large velux windows allowing an abundance of natural light to flood through. You are immediately drawn into the country lifestyle, with the gas fired Aga radiating warmth.
FIRST FLOOR ACCOMMODATION
On the first floor there are three bedrooms and a Ripples Bathrooms designed shower room. The third bedroom has partial views over the water meadow, while bedroom one enjoys glorious views over to Goodwood.
Setting the Scene
The current owners have loved living at Mill Cottage and have enjoyed watching the abundant birdlife that visits their garden from the neighbouring river and water meadow.
The closely-tended garden of Mill Cottage is glorious and yet another element of the enhanced lifestyle enjoyed by Liz and Sanchia.
It is a highly scented garden. There are two flowerbeds and with an abundance of tulips, daffodils, lavender and roses, she said.
They inherited the garden but has gone to great lengths to consolidate it to the delight it is today.
It’s a very old fashioned cottage garden which is always in colour throughout the summer. There is also a viburnum hedge, snowdrops and lily-of the valley, she added.
Within Easy Reach
The cathedral city of Chichester offers comprehensive shopping facilities and many fashionable cafes, bars and restaurants, creating a welcome area to socialise with friends and family. Chichester is home to the renowned Festival Theatre and has a mainline station to London Victoria. Goodwood is a short distance to the north of Chichester and boasts a racecourse home to the famous ‘Glorious Goodwood’ meeting and also the Festival of Speed and Goodwood Revival for motor racing enthusiasts.
The A27 provides access across the south coast to destinations such as Brighton and Southampton, which has a growing airport for the international traveller. Approximately 12 miles north, along the B2141 is the market town of Petersfield which offers access to the A3 and links to London, while there is also a mainline station on the Portsmouth Harbour to London Waterloo line.
DIRECTIONS:
From Petersfield take the Sussex Road to South Harting. Turn right at the t junction in the village and proceed out towards Chichester/Havant. After leaving the village take the left hand fork signposted Chichester (B2141) over Harting Hill and through Chilgrove, until you meet the A286. Turn right, which will bring you into the village of Lavant. The driveway for Mill Cottage can be found on the left hand side after St Nicholas’ Church and opposite the old village stores (now closed). From Chichester take the A286 into Lavant and the property will be found on the right hand side.
For those with satellite navigation the postcode for the property is PO18 0BJ.
Fine is the seller’s agent for this property. Your conveyancer is legally responsible for ensuring any purchase agreement fully protects your position. We make detailed enquiries of the seller to ensure the information provided is as accurate as possible. Please inform us if you become aware of any information being inaccurate