With its high street that tumbles down the steep hill from its Grade I-listed, 12th-century St Mary’s Church to the village pond, the delightful village of Goudhurst, 10 miles east of Royal Tunbridge Wells and five miles from Cranbrook, boasts a rich, fascinating history.
A centre of the Wealden iron trade from the 15th century, it later boasted a thriving weaving industry and was the centre of a hop-growing region, which has now given way to vineyards producing excellent English wines.
Goudhurst is exactly the sort of place you think of when you think of an English village.
In 1747, the church and churchyard was the scene of a full scale battle between the Goudhurst Militia led by ‘General’ William Sturt, a former soldier, and the infamous Hawkhurst smuggling gang led by Thomas Kingsmill. Sturt ended his days as warden of the local poorhouse; Kingsmill ended his on Tyburn Hill in 1749.
Peter Whatmore of off-market specialists Edenfells Property (07971 226917) is handling the sale at a guide price of £5.5m of the exquisite Grade II-listed Whites, which sits in 6½ acres of gardens and grounds on the edge of Goudhurst, with commanding views across the valley towards Bedgebury Forest.
Originally built in the neo-Georgian style between 1901 and 1905 by local master builders Davis and Leavey for Sir Charles Jessel of Ladham House, Goudhurst, as a home for his unmarried sister, Lucy, Whites has been owned for the past 40 years by members of the same family.
They renovated it from top to toe in 2011/12, installing a sophisticated ground-source system that heats the entire house and also provides hot water, together with smart house-control and alarm systems, ceiling speakers in all major rooms, and 900MBps broadband throughout the house.
They have also created a 350 sq m (3,767sq ft) natural swimming pond by Gartenart, one of the largest domestic swimming ponds the firm has ever installed.
Impeccably decorated throughout, Whites offers elegant accommodation on three floors, including a large entrance hall, two principal reception rooms, a study, large kitchen/dining/sitting room, master bedroom suite, seven further bedrooms and four further bathrooms.
White's is being sold off-market. Contact Peter Whatmore of Edenfells Property for more information 07971 226917.
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