Create a Sussex idyll.
If you’re looking for peace and quiet and don’t mind a bit of a project, then Glatting Farmhouse, near the remote West Sussex village of Sutton in the South Downs National Park, some six miles south of Petworth, could be just the ticket, says Daniel Clay of Savills (01798 343111), who is handling its sale on behalf of the Egremont and Somerset Almshouse Charity. He quotes a guide price of £2.35m for the Grade II- listed farmhouse with its former farm buildings, including a huge timber-framed Sussex barn, which, he says ‘provides a perfect opportunity to embark on a programme of refurbishment and reconfiguration in an idyllic downland setting, with no road noise or blight of any kind’.
According to its English Heritage listing, the south wing of the farmhouse dates from the 17th century, with a west wing added in the early 1800s, although some local historians think that the original building may, in fact, date from the mid 15th century.
Occupied until recently by two separate long-term tenants, the house has 4,600sq ft of accommodation on three floors, currently laid out as four reception rooms, two kitchens, six bedrooms, three bathrooms and cellars. It also retains its traditional inglenook fireplace, a bread oven and much of the original brick flooring and heavy ceiling timbers on the ground floor.
The farmhouse sits centrally within its 2.9 acres of gardens and grounds, with a large orchard and a grass tennis court to the east. Immediately to the south is an old brick-built farm store and three former pig pens, which could be converted to an annexe or office, subject to planning. Or a future owner could go the whole hog and convert a range of traditional stone, flint and brick former farm buildings—including the listed Sussex barn—into garaging, stabling, an indoor pool complex or a suite of home offices.
