River, Petworth, West Sussex, GU28

Nestled in the picturesque hamlet of River, just outside Petworth, West Sussex, River House is a pretigious country residence that epitomizes the quintessence of rural elegance.

River House has an impressive mellow stone façade with rooms of generous proportions arranged over three floors. The first building on the site of River House was a priory built in the 11th Century. In 1616 the Duke of Somerset acquired the site of the priory and built the main structure of what is now River House.

The name River is derived from the Saxon word Treve /Triver which meant hill brow. At that time River House possessed 24 acres comprising apple orchards. By 1953, much of the land had been sold off. It was then acquired by Colonel Reid who lived in River House until the current owners bought it in 1985.

Outside, River House has stunning formal gardens, leading to a covered swimming pool and pool house.
The pool house is ideal for entertaining and includes kitchenette and shower room. Beyond the formal garden boundary is a prolific vegetable patch, orchard and wild flower meadow. The gardens and grounds extend to around 2.89 acres

River House is located in a quiet and secluded position, with lovely views over the surrounding countryside, whilst being very close to the historic market town of Petworth. Cowdray Farm shop is award winning (2 miles away) and is reputed to be the best in England. The nearby popular towns of Midhurst, Petersfield and Haslemere offer a wider range of shopping facilities.

There are many lovely walks that can be taken straight from River House. Many of these reach a pub within half an hour or longer. A favourite is the walk to The Noah's Ark pub in Lurgashall, a quintessential English village.

Communications to the house are very good, trains from Haslemere (about 9.3 miles) taking 52 minutes into London Waterloo and Pulborough station (about 8.5 miles) providing a high-speed service to London Victoria taking approximately 74 minutes. The A272 lies around a mile away, allowing access across the southeast and southwest. The A3 is around 15 miles away giving easy access to London, Gatwick (35 miles) and Heathrow (about 45 miles), as well as the broader
motorway network.

There is a good selection of state and private schools in the area. For primary education (state) there is an excellent nursery school in Graffham and primary school in Duncton. Private primary schools are Brookham and Highfield (Liphook), St Ives (Haslemere), Amesbury (Hindhead) Seaford (Duncton), Churcher's junior school (Liphook) and Westbourne House (Chichester.) For secondary schools there
are Midhurst Rother College or Woolmer Hill (Hindhead) or Bohunt (Liphook) all state schools. Private schools nearby are Seaford (Duncton), Charterhouse (Godalming) Churcher's College and Bedales (Petersfield) and Cranleigh (Cranleigh). Many operate bus services from nearby.

Horseracing and Polo can be enjoyed at Goodwood, Cowdray Park and Fontwell with Sailing from Chichester Harbour. Goodwood hosts the famous Festival of Speed each July. West Wittering beach is a popular destination for families in the summer, just south of Chichester, with sandy beaches and water sports.

The South Downs countryside provides wonderful opportunities for walking, riding and country pursuits.

Petworth, 3 miles, Midhurst, 4 miles, Pulborough 8.3 miles (London Victoria from 74 minutes), Haslemere 9.3 miles (London Waterloo from 52 minutes), London, 53 miles.

(Distances and times approximate).