Victorian farmhouse transformed into an Anglo-Baroque-style masterpiece by Robert Adam complete with a lion from Chuchill’s garden on the roof for sale
Eccentric homes are only going to ever appeal to eccentric people and that is perhaps why “strawberry coloured” Eastwood Farm at Herstmonceux in East Sussex has not sold in six years.
Now anything but like a farmhouse in its appearance, the property on offer is the result of the encasing of a simple Victorian house within a new structure that is variously described as “Anglo-Baroque-style” and “French chateau-like.”
The conception of the late Freddie Stockdale (1947 – 2018), a decidedly eccentric British opera impresario who founded the now defunct Pavilion Opera in 1981, in conjunction with the architect Professor Robert Adam FRIBA of ADAM Architecture, ‘Eastwood’ as it is now more simply referred to was constructed between 1995 and 1996.
“Built on foundations that would support the Empire State Building,” according to a report in The Telegraph and doubled from its original size, Eastwood is in fact still rather petite in the accommodation it offers. In spite of having 4,078 square foot of space internally and 6 reception rooms, 8 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms, most of them seem sadly quite frankly poky.
Of it, selling agent Will Peppitt of Savills, variously told journalists:
“It will definitely make you smile… The architecture is fantastic, the house is both dramatic and handsome; it just looks drop-dead gorgeous.”
“On the outside it looks like a stately home but inside it’s really a comfortable family home. These big stately homes often have massive maintenance costs and are an enormous space to look after, but this is a mini stately home – all of the benefits but with none of the hassle.”
Eastwood Farm stands in 32.4 acres and now has an asking price of £2.45 million – a figure over a million less than when it launched to the market in 2013.
The Numbers – Eastwood Farm, Chilsham Lane, Herstmonceux, Hailsham, East Sussex, BN27 4QH
May 2019 – Reduced in price to £2.45 million ($3.1 million, €2.8 million or درهم11.4 million).
April 2018 – For sale for £2.75 million ($3.5 million, €3.1 million or درهم12.8 million).
April 2013 – For sale for £3.5 million ($4.4 million, €4 million or درهم16.3 million).
1995 – Freddie Stockdale paid £300,000 ($381,000, €342,000 or درهم1.4 million) for the rundown Victorian farmhouse on the site.
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I think I’ll stick to fantasizing about owning the Deanery of Wells Cathedral, thanks. This one is doing nothing for me.
The Wells Deanery is fascinating. It’s a shame that the Diocese cannot find some innovative, blended use so that their offices can be maintained there and other commercial ops introduced.