7 bed detached house for sale

Church Lane, Lewes, East Sussex BN7

An elegant and distinguished Grade II listed Georgian home with superbly presented interiors and beautiful gardens

Description
The Old Vicarage is a distinguished Grade II listed home, believed to date from the C18th with handsome C19th additions. The front elevation is classically Georgian in style, with white painted brickwork, a portico and a delicate fanlight crowning the entrance. To the side and rear, exposed brick and cobbled flint reflect the house’s heritage, all sheltered beneath a traditional tiled roof. The interiors benefit from graceful high ceilings, dado rails and an abundance of natural light, with bay windows to the drawing room and principal bedrooms.

The Old Vicarage offers beautifully presented interiors with a wealth of period features, including sash window and a finely-crafted turned staircase rising through the first and second floors. It is exceptionally well-suited to family life, with plenty of versatile reception rooms, and seven bedrooms, all arranged over three floors, plus a cellar.

The drawing room has French doors, framing the views and giving access to the gardens, and working fireplace with an elegant marble mantlepiece; the oak panelled dining room is of exceptional character, with a superb feature fireplace, and there is a further library/study with a woodburning stove.

The vaulted kitchen/breakfast room forms the heart of day to day family life, with its stone flagged floor and a covered well. A gas fired Aga stands alongside space for a conventional stove and a fridge/freezer, with a generous range of wooden wall hung and under counter units. Lying at the rear of the hall is a shower room, and stairs lead up to a generous playroom, creating an ideal space for children or for informal family use, and offering potential for a home office/workspace if required.

On the first floor are four bedrooms, two fitted with basins and cupboards, and a recently updated family bathroom and a separate WC. The second floor provides three further bedrooms, two enjoying far reaching views towards Lewes Castle, together with an additional refitted shower room. A secondary staircase leads to a substantial attic, offering excellent storage or studio space, and completing the accommodation is a spacious cellar, which is currently used as games/party room.

Outside
The house and its attached garaging are approached via a wide brick paved driveway that gives ample off street parking, and the two bay garage is presently laid out as a workshop and store. The house sits in an elevated position at the head of its grounds.

The gardens are a particularly fine feature, extending as a levelled lawn to the east, and stretching away from the house to the south. They have been terraced and landscaped to create various spots to enjoy throughout the day. A spacious brick terrace provides a lovely setting for outdoor dining, with herbaceous borders offering colour and texture throughout the seasons.

Beneath the southern lawn lies a wild meadow garden with fruit trees and a large rainwater fed pond, attractively enclosed by an iron post and rail fence; there is a path leading out of the bottom of the garden on to the former railway cutting. The grounds extend to about 0.8 of an acre.

Location
The Old Vicarage is situated on a no-through road, on the north side of Lewes, in the scenic South Downs National Park. It is conveniently positioned approximately one mile walking distance from the centre of town and station. Historic Lewes is the County Town of East Sussex, and it offers a range of high street and independent shops, supermarkets and leisure facilities including an independent cinema, and the station has direct trains to London, Gatwick airport, Brighton and along the south coast.

Leisure and sports activities are plentiful, with open air swimming at the Pells pool and Lewes leisure centre, local rugby, cricket and football clubs, walking and riding (in particular within the South Downs), golf at Lewes, Piltdown and East Sussex National, and sailing at the coast. There is a thriving cultural scene in Sussex, with world-class opera at Glyndebourne and the annual Brighton Festival presenting a huge programme of theatre, dance, classical music and literary events.

Lewes station offers regular services to London Bridge/Victoria, journey time from 70 minutes; the A22 lies to the west, connecting to the A272, the A26 and the M25. Gatwick airport 25 miles.

There is a wide range of highly regarded schools in the area, both state and private, including South Malling C of E primary school, Lewes Priory, Cumnor House School, Great Walstead, Bede’s, Lewes Old Grammar School, Burgess Hill Girls, Roedean, Brighton Girls, Brighton College and Eastbourne College.

All times and distances are approximate.

Square Footage: 4,450 sq ft

Acreage:
0.8 Acres

Directions
Take the A26 east out of Lewes, keeping forward at the Cuilfail tunnel towards Ringmer. Turn left into Church Lane, and take the fourth right into Church Lane.
Bear left at the fork and The Old Vicarage is on the left.

Additional Info
Services: Gas fired central heating. Mains gas, electricity and water. Private drainage.

Outgoings: Lewes District Council, . Council tax band G.

Viewing: Strictly by appointment with Savills on . If there is any point which is of particular importance to you, we invite you to discuss this with us, especially before you travel to view the property