'The perfect timber-framed Sussex house', former home of J. M. Barrie and a 1970s rock god, up for sale at £3.75 million
The 500-year-old Stonehill House is on the market — and its walls have endless tales to tell.
In May 1923, a house was featured in the architecture pages of Country Life: Stonehill, in the East Sussex village of Chiddingly. The author, R. Randal Phillips, was much taken with the place, calling it a 'fine old house' that was 'fashioned in the days when houses, like men, were oaken.'
Philips went on to call it 'a very delightful example of half-timber work, full of individual interest and possessing the weathered charm of age.'
How remarkable that over a century later, you could use the very same words to sum up the appeal of Stonehill, which is on the market through Savills at £3.75 million.
Philips wasn't alone in appreciating the charms of this 15th century, Grade II*-listed house. At the time he visited it was owned by a Captain H. P. Dick, who apparently bred dogs there; it was sold a year later, however, and for the next decade became the home of J. M. Barrie, creator of Peter Pan (his tenure is often dated as 1921–34, though it's hard to see how unless Capt Dick took him in as a lodger).
Barrie wasn't to be the last famous owner: in the 1960s and 1970s, Stonehill was home to the musician Keith Emerson, a man regarded as the greatest keyboard artist of the prog rock era, and a 'maverick musical genius... [who] fused the power of rock music with the beauty of classical', according to our colleagues over at Prog magazine.
Emerson, like Barrie, had superb taste in homes, for the dreamy Stonehill — by now renamed Stonehill House — was described by as ‘the perfect timber-framed Sussex house’ by the great Sir Nikolaus Pevsner. And Savills agent Edward Wain-Heapy has also heaped praise on it, saying, 'rarely do you find such a beautifully presented and family-friendly historic house.'
The house as it's being sold today would be instantly recognisable by either Barrie or Emerson, but they'd probably be very pleasantly surprised to see how beautifully it's been kept of late. The present owners spent four years refurbishing and restoring the place, and it's now a perfect 21st century home, as well as a breathtaking piece of history.
The house, set in five acres of wonderful gardens and grounds on the crest of one of Chiddingly’s seven hills, offers 4,362 sq ft of stylish family accommodation on three floors, including two main reception rooms, a playroom, study, kitchen/breakfast room on the ground floor.
Four of the five bedrooms are on the first floor — they share two bathrooms between them — while the fifth on the second floor has an en-suite, and plenty of storage space.
As well as the main house there is also a spectacular, Grade II-listed entertainment barn, and a staff/guest cottage.
For those looking to make a few changes of their own, planning consent is in place to replace the existing kitchen and playroom with a new open-plan kitchen/diner.
Stonehill House is on the market through Savills at £3.75 million — see more details.
