Chiddingly, Lewes, East Sussex, BN8

A quintessential three bedroom period country cottage with gardens, equestrian facilities and ancient woodland on the edge of Chiddingly.

Description

Keepers Cottage is a delightful detached red brick country cottage dating from the 1870s, later sympathetically enlarged, set on the rural outskirts of the village of Chiddingly and surrounded by its own gardens, paddocks and ancient woodland. Keeper’s Cottage offers the quintessential English country lifestyle: a classic period home of great warmth and character, complemented by a collection of versatile outbuildings and equestrian facilities, all set within about 13.4 acres of beautiful East Sussex countryside.

The house presents a particularly charming south facing elevation, with its original front door beneath a vaulted porch and mellow brickwork softened by mature climbing wisteria and roses. Timber framed double-glazed sash windows enhance the traditional appearance. Owned by our clients for some 40 years, the cottage has clearly been a much loved and comfortably lived in home, now offering an incoming owner a wonderful opportunity to gently refresh and personalise.

Timber double gates open to a private driveway, passing the house and leading on to a parking area beyond, adjacent to the stable yard. A half glazed front door opens to the porch with terracotta tiled floor and adjoining cloakroom, which in turn leads to an inner hall. The dual aspect sitting room enjoys views over the gardens and French doors opening directly to the south facing terrace, with a cast iron fireplace set with tiled slips and wooden mantel forming a natural focal point.

The kitchen is fitted with a range of hand built painted cabinetry beneath granite worktops and upstands, a double butler sink and an electric Aga with companion, offering five ovens, a four ring electric hob and traditional hot plates, together with hand painted tiled splashbacks. The dining room has a door opening to the garden, built in crockery cupboards and a brick fireplace housing a woodburner.

Stairs rise from the dining room to the first floor landing with fitted bookshelves. The principal bedroom has built in wardrobes, a dressing area and en suite shower room, while two further bedrooms share the main bathroom. All bedrooms enjoy wooden floors and lovely outlooks over the gardens and surrounding countryside.

Pretty cottage gardens wrap around three sides of the house, with brick and stone terraces close to the house, two raised ponds, a covered well and areas of level lawn enclosed by hedging and well stocked flower and shrub beds, together with magnolia and fruiting apple, mulberry and damson trees. To the west lies a productive and enclosed kitchen garden with raised beds, fruit cages, two sheds (one with power), two greenhouses with power, cold frames and a mature fig tree, with a shepherd’s hut positioned within and currently used as an office.

To the north of the cottage, across the driveway, is a brick outbuilding believed to have originally been a bakery, now used as a pantry and stores, with a further area of lawn sloping gently down to a tree lined duck pond overlooked by a timber garden office.

Equestrian facilities include a gated stable yard with two timber stable blocks providing five loose boxes, a feed store, hay store and open wood store, all with power connected. Beyond lies a shrubbery and duck enclosure, and post and rail fenced paddocks with water laid on, one with a double field shelter. A glorious band of ancient woodland runs along the eastern boundary, with interlinking ponds, majestic oaks and a rich carpet of seasonal wildflowers including bluebells, orchids and wood anemones. There is a gated secondary entrance to the woodland and land from Stalkers Lane.

In all, about 13.4 acres, including around 10 acres of paddock and 2.6 acres of ancient woodland.

Location

Keepers Cottage is situated with the rural East Sussex parish of Chiddingly, close to the South Downs National Park. The village has a thriving community with a pub, a primary school, a village hall and a community village shop and cafe. In neighbouring Muddles Green there is Farley House and Gallery which was the home to the photographer Lee Miller.

Uckfield (6.5 miles, about 14 minutes by car), Lewes (11 miles) and Eastbourne (14 miles) provide more comprehensive shopping and leisure facilities, including independent cinemas, leisure centres, swimming pools, supermarkets, shops, bars and restaurants.

There are many leisure activities available locally, including the tennis club in East Hoathly together with local clubs for rugby, cricket and theatre; across Sussex activities include show jumping at Hickstead, sailing at Eastbourne and Brighton and golf at one of the many courses across the county, including East Sussex National which also provides a hotel, spa and gym. Nearby Glyndebourne hosts the world class opera house, and there are many historic houses across the region. The surrounding countryside and the South Downs National Park offer miles of footpaths and bridleways.

Communications: The surrounding areas are linked by the A22, which in turn links to the coast and the M25 orbital motorway, Gatwick and Heathrow airport.

Mainline Rail Service: Uckfield (London Bridge from 70 minutes), Lewes (London Victoria from 70 minutes), Polegate (nine miles, London Victoria from 90 minutes).

Schools: There are a number of schools in the area, both state and private, including Bede’s, Chiddingly Primary School, Eastbourne College, Lewes Old Grammar School and Uckfield College. A number of private schools offer bus services for students which stop near or in the village.

All distances and times are approximate.

Square Footage: 1,476 sq ft


Acreage: 13.4 Acres

Additional Info

Agent Notes: a footpath, part of the Vanguard Way, crosses the western most paddock.

Services: Oil fired central heating. Mains electricity and water.
The property has private drainage (septic tank) and we understand is compliant with the relevant government regulations.

Broadband: fibre to the cabinet is available.

Outgoings: Wealden District Council. Tax band F. There is an improvement indicator against the tax band.

Photographs taken: April 2026.

Site Plan: Produced from Promap © Crown copyright and database rights 2024. OS AC . Not to scale. For identification only.