Mayfield, East Sussex by Fine & Country

Ashes | Mayfield | East Sussex | TN20 6NJ

Twitts Ghyll

Five

Seller Insight

The saying goes ‘home is where the heart is’. We lost our hearts in minutes to this deeply special place. By the time we saw the unobstructed valley view from the first floor we were sold and offered to buy the property on the spot. The name ‘Twitts Ghyll’ comes from two ancient English words that together mean ‘the place of hill and steeply wooded river valley.’ It is a house that is very much of its place; created as it was from the surrounding oak forests and sandstone under their roots. So many special memories have been created here for our family. Christmas around the fireplace is particularly special, but happy too have been the many BBQs, birthday parties and time together in the hammock under the crab apple tree. We leave with a rich inheritance from the house; a deep love and respect for nature and the old ways instilled in our children.

We hope that whoever is lucky enough to be the next custodian will appreciate and enjoy it as much as we have. During our time here we have used only master craftsmen to restore and reinvigorate the fabric of the building and celebrate the extraordinary location with thoughtful, compassionate interventions in the grounds and gardens. From snow on the newly created lawn terrace, to tens of thousands of additional spring bulbs, summer meadow flowers jostling against the refurbished and relined swimming pool and new hedgerows bursting with fruit, we have extended the fecundity and usability of the space across the year. Restoring the oast house by installing a kitchen, balcony and terrace now means it is tempting to be a guest at your own house. It was a very happy self-contained home for our nanny while the children were little. Despite its peaceful seclusion, we feel very safe and connected to the community. Neighbours really look out for each other here. It really has been the ultimate family home.

The picturesque, large and vibrant village of Mayfield is less than five minutes away with its beautiful high street buttressed by the grandeur of the Archbishops Palace, first built in 1250 on permission from Pope Alexander. Between the two outstanding pubs, churches, convenience store, dentist, GP surgery, tennis club, famous girls’ school on the high street, superb delicatessen, butcher, florist, cafe, bakery, hairdressers, beauty salon, post office, garage, playgrounds, basketball courts and busy calendar of weekly events there’s always a reason for locals to gather to meet friends old and new. There’s an Art Trail in the Spring, a Festival of Music and Arts, the Mayfair with Maypole dancing, a spectacular Bonfire Parade of dozens of Sussex bonfire societies, a biennial Fringe Fair and of course the fireworks set to music in November, a focal social event for many of the surrounding villages in Sussex. The village is also surrounded by vineyards with many producing world-class English sparkling wine, many of which are available in the outstanding local wine shop. Indeed, you can get most essentials and many non-essential items in the village but there is also nearby Heathfield and Crowborough with their supermarkets less than ten minutes’ drive away and Tunbridge Wells is fifteen minutes away for more in depth retail therapy and entertainment.

There are train stations at Wadhurst and Tunbridge Wells where trains can whisk you to London in under an hour and a variety of excellent local education facilities are available. These include the Mayfield primary school and the renowned independent Mayfield girls school as well as Skippers Hill Prep school and the Beacon Academy in Crowborough, rated Outstanding by Ofsted, while Tunbridge Wells offers nationally acclaimed grammar schools such as Skinners and Rose Hill, Holmewood House and The Mead preps just fifteen minutes away.

Historical Note:

Notable former residents include Sir Austen Chamberlain, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Foreign Secretary and briefly Conservative party leader in the 1920s. In 1926, whilst resident at Twitts Ghyll, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for brokering the 1925 ‘Locarno Peace Pact’ that brought peace to Europe following the end of the First World War. Twitts Ghyll features heavily in his diaries and autobiography. A keen plant hunter and alpine enthusiast, the house and notably the rockery Sir Austen installed from imported Italian volcanic rock, and transported to rural Sussex by donkey was extensively profiled by Country Life in 1928. Austen was the older half-brother to Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and served as an MP for 45 years.”*

* These comments are the personal views of the current owner and are included as an insight into life at the property. They have not been independently verified, should not be relied on without verification and do not necessarily reflect the views of the agent.

Step inside Twitts

Ghyll

Astonishing natural beauty, tranquility and a sense of deep, historic peace are the wonderful feelings engendered when you first encounter this superb country residence. It has everything you could ever hope for. This is a stunning Grade II Listed period home of refined proportions and extraordinary light nestling in about 2.55 acres of fabulous grounds on the outskirts of a picturesque medieval village, surrounded by stunning countryside in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Once the country home of Sir Austen Chamberlain in the 1920s it was frequently visited by Winston Churchill who found it a relaxing and restful retreat where the important issues of the day could be discussed.

With its origins dating back to the early 1500s this timber framed property is replete with magnificent period features, giving this special family home a unique character. Although it remains true to its Tudor architectural origins, the property has been beautifully and sensitively updated with no expense spared to create a property suitable for the most discerning of modern day owners. There are a plethora of exposed sand blasted beams, oak doors, sandstone fireplaces, witches marks, oak framed leaded light windows and lathe plasterwork. Externally the impressive chimneystacks, Kent peg tiled roof, mellow 16th century Dutch brickwork, gable dormers and white weatherboard elevations give it an instant appeal.

Hand forged iron gates open onto a gravelled driveway leading to the charming detached pitched roof, cedar clad double garage and through a herb garden and established box parterre to the beautiful old oak front door. This opens into the warm and welcoming hall with original 16th century York stone floors, a generous oak staircase, access to a guest cloakroom and oak archways to the drawing room and dining room.

Unlike many properties from the Tudor period, the spacious and awe-inspiring drawing room is very light and bright with windows on three sides and a large door to the rear terrace. It is a wonderful space for entertaining with its beautiful reclaimed oak parquet flooring, impressive beamed ceiling, fitted shelving and the charming Elizabethan style stone fireplace with a log burner that makes a great focal point.

Guests will be delighted to sit down to a meal in the equally characterful dual aspect dining room with its wall and ceiling beams, enormous inglenook fireplace and original terracotta floor tiles. The additional dual aspect sitting room with its external access, brick fireplace, reclaimed burgundy limestone floors and log burner is just the place for the family to relax and enjoy spending time together. It leads to the very large kitchen/breakfast room that includes an oil fired Aga and a multitude of attractive custom made solid oak units with impressive quartz worktops housing various appliances and three Butler sinks below an historic, hand painted fresco border depicting fruit, birds and flowers by a well know local artist. There is a central island with additional storage and enough room for a large kitchen table and chairs as well as a door to the herb garden, breakfast terrace, the larder and the boiler room.

The spacious first floor landing provides access to storage facilities and the attractive family bathroom as well as four good sized and characterful beamed bedrooms with wonderful views over the grounds and surrounding countryside. These include the principal suite with its period elm flooring – a rarity these days even in period properties - a fireplace and a row of fitted oak cupboards, an ensuite bathroom and large dressing room that could always be another bedroom or nursery or decadently house a roll top bath. The second venetian plastered bathroom has underfloor heating beneath Belgian clay pavers, an antique solid Belgian blue sink housing in marble reclaimed from the London Stock Exchange. Opposite is ample storage for laundry, sheets and towels.

Step inside

Twitts Ghyll

Family members will be queuing up to reserve the gorgeous top floor accommodation. There is a spacious sitting room with a large dormer window flooding the area with natural light. It has a vaulted and beamed ceiling and is partially divided by a brick chimney breast and is a wonderful space for teenagers to get together with their friends or could make an excellent office space for anyone working from home. This floor also includes a crown post room; a superb partially vaulted and beamed ensuite double bedroom with vertical and cross beams that make a great ‘frame’ for a double bed. Guests will feel pampered by the finishes in the ensuite bathroom. The space is lined with solid oak storage for toiletries, tiled with handmade Moroccan Zellige tiles and houses a fabulous gold Lefroy Brooks shower unit.

Another delightful surprise in the property is the detached single oast annex in the grounds. It has a charming circular living room with a sculptural bespoke Brazilian walnut staircase to the first floor, limestone flooring and access to the shower room. There is a door to the Devol kitchen designed by the acclaimed fine furniture maker Sebastian Cox, with its beamed ceiling, double oven electric Aga and flat fronted beech and ash units housing additional appliances. Upstairs you will find a double bedroom and a door to a fabulous sun terrace with an oak balustrade providing superb countryside views as far as the eye can see. This makes a special place for guests or adult family members to enjoy their own private space.

To add to the appeal of this wonderful property are the beautifully designed biodynamic gardens. The grounds are lyrical, romantic and naturalistic, with mown paths to more formal areas such as the gated swimming pool with its electric cover and surrounding terrace, the rose garden, the antique greenhouse transported from Withyham Manor and the large level lawn that is ideal for kids to kick a ball around or perhaps enjoy a game of croquet. The extensive grounds encourage wildlife and biodiversity, including a 100 year old rockery, mature trees, a plum orchard, apple and pear orchard, meadows, an enclosed vegetable garden, shrubs, hedges, beehives, wild flowers and the large wildlife pond offering a home to endangered great crested newts. Kingfishers and herons nest in the garden, while the ancient 500 year old yew tree provides a yearly nesting site for breeding peregrine falcons.