The former home of ‘the fastest brush alive’ comes to the market
Royal portraitist Bernard Hailstone once enjoyed this handsome house.


The former home of Royal portraitist Bernard Hailstone — whom The Prince of Wales has dubbed ‘the fastest brush alive’ and who painted the last officially commissioned portrait of Sir Winston Churchill — enjoys a pleasingly semi-rural position, just half a mile from Hadlow village, about four miles from Tonbridge.
Grade II-listed Georgian Bourne Mill Cottage, on the market through Humberts (01732 741212) at a guide price of £925,000, has been beautifully renovated and finished to a high standard by the current owners.
The breakfast room boasts solid wood flooring and the bespoke kitchen features excellent joinery, limestone flooring and granite work surfaces.
The principal reception room is flooded with natural light thanks to its double height ceiling and large feature window.
This room also benefits from solid wood flooring and a working fireplace with solid fuel burning stove.
Upstairs, the first floor landing leads to three good-sized bedrooms with pretty views across the garden and the family bathroom.
The pretty garden is part walled and well stocked with a wide array of colourful flowers, shrubs and heathers. There is a magnificent magnolia tree and to the rear of the property there is a raised area of decking which has charming views of the stream.
Sign up for the Country Life Newsletter
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
£925,000, Humberts (01732 741212; countrylife.onthemarket.com)
Agnes has worked for Country Life in various guises — across print, digital and specialist editorial projects — before finally finding her spiritual home on the Features Desk. A graduate of Central St. Martins College of Art & Design she has worked on luxury titles including GQ and Wallpaper* and has written for Condé Nast Contract Publishing, Horse & Hound, Esquire and The Independent on Sunday. She is currently writing a book about dogs, due to be published by Rizzoli New York in September 2025.
-
The century-old enamelling technique used to create Van Cleef's lucky ladybird brooch — which has something in common with Country Life
The technique used in the jeweller's Geneva workshop has been put to good use in its latest creation.
By Hetty Lintell Published
-
‘The best sleep in the sky’: What it’s like to fly in United’s Polaris cabin, approved by American icon Martha Stewart
United’s Business Class cabin goes by the name Polaris and Martha Stewart is a fan. So, how does it fare?
By Rosie Paterson Published