New Place Manor is actually 700 years old — look inside this magnificent medieval home in Sussex
Never has a descriptor been so inaptly used as the 'new' in New Place Manor, a glorious old home in the countryside on the edge of Pulborough.
Living in Britain, the ancientness of things sometimes creeps up on you. Take golf: up in St Andrews, the New Course celebrated its 130th birthday this year. Or academia: New College, Oxford, was founded in 1379. As for the New Forest? The first trees were planted in 1079, on the orders of William the Conqueror.
In that context, it should be barely any surprise at all to hear that New Place Manor has been standing on the outskirts of the tiny West Sussex Town of Pulborough since the 13th century. It's currently for sale, with an asking price of £2.5 million.
No house, or building of any kind, survives for seven centuries without serious work being done along the way, and New Place Manor is no exception. It's been extended, repaired, upgraded, refurbished and improved many times throughout its life. Not the least of these dates to 1591: a stone archway, which was built when Queen Elizabeth I came to visit. Very unusally, it's Grade II-listed in its own right (the rest of the house is Grade II*-listed).
As well as the 16th century upgrades, the house was also added to significantly in the 18th century, and — as you can see from the pictures on this page — the present owners have done a fantastic job of beautifying the place.
It wears its stupendous age lightly, and you can only doff your hat to the owners for their eclectic design and decoration; this is a house that feels lived-in and welcoming, where the light pours through ancient stone windows on to very 21st century kitchen fittings, where a flat screen TV nestles discreetly beside a huge inglenook fireplace, and when a very 2020s polished copper bath is set in a loft space above the master bedroom, accessed by a Victorian wrought-iron spiral staircase. It's as charming an en-suite as we've seen this year.
Balancing the old and new isn't often done this well, and it's something the agents are proud of, calling it a 'rare and beautifully cohesive country house, combining architectural importance with a wonderfully warm, liveable atmosphere'.
For all that, New Place Manor is also very much a family house on a grand scale: with 6,000-plus square foot of space and seven bedrooms, it's ideal for big families, multi-generational living or simply people who love to have friends down for the weekend. Considering that it's walking distance from Pulborough station, with direct trains to London that take an hour and 20 minutes, you certainly won't be short of friends keen to take you up on the offer.
That proximity to London, of course, also makes it perfectly commutable; this really is a place that ticks all the boxes. No wonder people have been living in the place and keeping it so nicely for 700 years.
New Place Manor is for sale at £2.5 million via Knight Frank — see more details.
