Location

Beals Oak Farm is found on a delightful rural lane within the High Weald National Landscape in a small hamlet in the southern fringes of the pretty and popular village of Wadhurst. The village (approximately 1.9 miles) is known for its active local community and individual shops for everyday needs, including a butcher, delicatessen, hairdressers and florist, as well as two supermarkets, including a Jempsons with a post office, a church, bookshop, doctors’ surgery, village hall, sports centre, garage, cafes, restaurants, and several local pubs. The village was named 'The best place to live in the UK’ by the Sunday Times in 2023.

Tunbridge Wells is the nearest large town, approximately 9.1 miles away, with extensive high street shopping, cultural and entertainment amenities including two theatres, cafes, restaurants, health clubs, an out-of-town retail park and the historic Pantiles area. Recreational activities in the area include golf courses at Lamberhurst, Flimwell and Tunbridge Wells.

Bewl Water, the largest stretch of open water in the south east is approximately 7.5 miles, with options including horse riding, walking and cycling trails, rowing, sailing, canoeing and fishing.

There is a tennis club and football club at Sparrows Green, as well as a wide network of public footpaths accessed from Wenbans Lane for extensive country walks in countryside and into Wadhurst.

The historic village of Mayfield is also a good option for local shopping being approximately 4.6 miles and is known for the Middle House, a popular traditional pub offering locally sourced food.

Mainline rail: Wadhurst station is approximately 3.4 miles, with regular services to Charing Cross (via London Bridge and Waterloo East) and Cannon Street from 60 minutes.

Private and state schools: Wadhurst has a good primary school and Uplands Academy at secondary level. Preparatory schools include Sacred Heart (Wadhurst), Holmewood House (Langton Green), The Mead and Rose Hill (Tunbridge Wells), Skippers Hill (Five Ashes) and St Ronans and Malborough House (Hawkhurst). Public schools include Beechwood (Tunbridge Wells), Tonbridge for boys, Mayfield for girls and co-ed options at Eastbourne and Brighton Colleges, Bedes (Upper Dicker), Kent College ( Pembury) and Sevenoaks School.

Description

Our selling clients acquired this wonderful site in 2003 and built this striking, bespoke family home very soon afterwards, using the architect Peter Cook of Cook Associates. The property is well away from neighbours and borders the land owned by the Wadhurst Park Estate in all directions, with more information available on their website: https://wadhurstpark.co.uk/.

The open and light interior is very modern and minimalist in style, while the impressive external elevations are designed to reflect the fortified style of period farmhouses seen in the Pyrenees area of south-west France. There is much evidence of high quality materials throughout; the walls are finished in light stone and dark timber and incorporate a tower detail in one section with a variety of large and sometimes smaller bespoke hardwood, double-glazed, windows throughout which allow plenty of light to enter within the house. Indeed, some of the wall sections are actually fully glazed and full height, with the whole structure set under a substantial and intricate take on a more traditional slate tiled roof.

The accommodation within the house is laid out rationally over two floors and provides for well specified family space, with generous, nicely flowing open-plan reception areas downstairs and five bedrooms served by four bathroom/shower rooms upstairs. The one bedroomed self-contained flat adds further accommodation, which is also linked to the main house.

The house has been designed around the wonderful views and also the landscaped pond with its waterfall, which has an overhanging decked terrace on the south west side, accessed directly from the family room and kitchen/dining room.

The well fitted contemporary style kitchen is from Great British Design in Sevenoaks and is centered around a feature island breakfast bar, topped with steel grey leathered granite, with contrasting white quartz worktops to one side. There is a four oven electric Aga with a hotplate and two rings, together with a range of integrated Miele appliances including including a fridge and wine fridge, an integrated dishwasher and a microwave. In addition, a large plumbed-in fridge/freezer sits in a recess within the neighbouring utility room.

The kitchen style complements the quality contemporary bathroom and shower rooms and with everywhere in the house enjoying underfloor hot water central heating, with limestone flooring downstairs and in the bathrooms upstairs with solid oak flooring elsewhere. The house also has CAT 6 cabling.

The Kitchen opens into the dining room and in turn to the family room. Both these rooms enjoy the access out onto the decked terrace overlooking the landscaped pond and the informal family room has a wood burning fire and access to the Spiral Cellar with its 1,500 bottle capacity.

Outside there are formal gardens to the front forecourt, leading around to the extensive park-like grounds, which border onto the Wadhurst Park Estate, both to the rear and the sides and also to the field opposite, which is across from the lane. The farm was originally an equestrian set up and the parkland could easily be fenced into pony paddocks if desired.

The forecourt double garage has electrically operated doors and to the rear of one bay there is a back-up Mitsubishi diesel powered generator capable of supporting the house, with an automatic cut-in if required. Next to this, there is a sauna room with shower. Around to the rear, accessed from a spur drive, there is a further timber garage building away from the house.