Lake Street, Mark Cross

A captivating unlisted character farmhouse set in a picturesque semi-rural location, with expansive far-reaching views and light-filled accommodation with good ceiling heights, together with a 3 bedroom cottage and an extensive range of outbuildings, tennis court, swimming pool and beautiful mature gardens and grounds – in all 11.37 acres.

Description
Harlings has been a much loved family home for approaching the last 50 years. It presents an opportunity to acquire an unlisted country property with an attached cottage and numerous outbuildings in a highly sought-after convenient location.
Situated within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty yet just 6.7 miles south of Tunbridge Wells, with Mayfield 2.2 miles away and Wadhurst station 5 miles distant.
Thought to have been two 18th-century cottages and reconstructed in the 1930s, today it stands as a highly attractive, comfortable, and light-filled family home with period features.

The main features of the property include:
• An oak front door opens into an inviting reception hall, featuring a fireplace with a wood-burning stove, wide staircase to the first floor, and an open vista through to the rear lobby and door.
• The sitting room is a welcoming space with exposed ceiling timbers, a large inglenook fireplace and attractive dual-aspect views to the front and rear. Opposite lies the dining room, with a front-facing window and bi-fold doors opening to the side garden, where a brick-paved patio enclosed by flower beds creates a secluded spot for alfresco dining.
• The kitchen/breakfast room is accessible from both the hall and the dining room and is fitted with a bespoke range of hand-crafted base and wall units with Corian worktops. It includes an integrated sink and drainer, Aga, electric cooker, and additional space for appliances within the walk-in larder/utility room.
• Also on the ground floor is a shower room and a family room with views overlooking the garden and pond.
• Upstairs is a spacious oak-panelled landing with attractive views across the surrounding countryside.
• The main bedroom is to one side and enjoys dual-aspect views to the front and side. The adjoining bedroom has a fitted wardrobe, sink unit, and a window to the side. The modern shower room includes a large walk-in shower, basin, WC, panelled walls, fitted cupboard, and a rear-facing window.
• At the front of the house are two further double bedrooms with fitted wardrobes, while a fifth bedroom at the rear benefits from countryside views and sits adjacent to a bathroom fitted with bath, basin, WC, and a rear-facing window. There is also a smaller bedroom/dressing room to the front.
• A modern oak staircase leads to the top floor landing, an excellent office/bedroom with side and rear windows, and access to a large attic space

Harlings Cottage
Attached to the rear corner of the house is Harlings Cottage. The cottage was home to the current owner’s parents for twenty-five years until 2003. It is now tenanted on short-term assured tenancies and is separately registered on the Land Registry.
The accommodation comprises an entrance lobby and hall, a dining room to one side with windows to side and rear and double doors to the kitchen, with a further window to the side and an array of cupboards and drawers, integrated sink and cooker. A good sized sitting room, again, with a dual aspect and a fireplace.
Via a rear lobby is a utility room, cloakroom and the staircase to the first floor with three bedrooms, and the bathroom. All of the bedrooms enjoy a dual aspect, and two with built in wardrobes.
Harlings Cottage has its own gated driveway, with ample parking, turning space and access to the detached garage. There is a cottage style garden.

Outside
The main house is accessed through electric gates, opening onto a tarmac driveway that leads to a garage with up-and-over door and a separate workshop. There is ample off-road parking, and the drive continues to a second garage with an adjoining storeroom. Beyond the driveway lies a picturesque pond, surrounded by flower beds, a mature oak tree, and a waterfall feature.
The swimming pool is heated via a Calorex heat pump and enjoys a broad paved surround, with ample spaces for tables and chairs, having a bespoke glazed balustrade and uninterrupted rear views. The Pool House enjoys a vaulted ceiling, with glass doors facing the pool, and windows to side and front. There is also a cloakroom and changing room area.
Beyond the games barn is a stable block, now adapted to form garden and machinery stores, plus the pool plant room. Beyond is the area housing the tennis court which is hedge enclosed with lawns immediately around the court.
The front garden enjoys a path from a pedestrian gate to the front door with flower bed borders and climbing plants across the façade of the house. This path leads around to the brick terrace by the dining room, with the mature flower beds, shrubs and trees forming a wonderful natural boundary.
The rear garden is mainly set to lawn, with mature trees, shrubs and formal landscaping in the form of stone steps leading to the paddock, and a marquee lawn, which has housed marquees for family weddings and parties through the years. This is where one gets the best of the views across the paddocks and countryside beyond.
The land has various access gates, with one leading to the outbuildings near the games barn. The grounds, extending to over 11 acres, include formal gardens, paddock, and a historic ‘hammer pond’— a legacy of the area’s ironworking past, now a haven for wildlife surrounded by mature oaks.