Location

Applecross is situated on the southern side of the market town of East Grinstead, on the outskirts of the village of Ashurstwood, only a mile and a half from the centre of the town with its excellent range of shopping facilities, amenities and mainline railway station. There are further shopping facilities at Tunbridge Wells (14 miles) and Crawley (10 miles).   

Sussex offers many excellent sporting opportunities with golf at Royal Ashdown, Haywards Heath and Piltdown, and many other courses across the county. There is racing at Lingfield and Plumpton, and sailing at Ardingly Reservoir and the coast. Spa and country house hotels include Alexander House, Ashdown Park Hotel, Gravetye Manor and Ockenden Manor. Royal Tunbridge Wells, Lewes and the City of Brighton & Hove offer a range of theatres, cinemas, shops and restaurants   

Transport: East Grinstead railway station (two miles) offers services to London Bridge/Victoria from 57 minutes. Gatwick airport: 11 miles.   

Schools: There are many highly regarded schools in the area, both state and private, including neighbouring Brambletye, Cumnor House, Worth, Sackville, Imberhorne, Lingfield College, Michael Hall School (Rudolph Steiner) and Ardingly College.   

All times and distances are approximate.

Description

Understood to date from the mid-1950s, Applecross is a handsome detached house in the Arts & Crafts style, characterised by brick elevations with part tile hanging and decorative inset tile work. The house is set in beautiful part-walled gardens which create a delightful pastoral setting despite the property's convenient proximity to East Grinstead and its many amenities.

The house is very well presented, with a partially open plan layout on the ground floor and many of the rooms enjoying a dual aspect, taking in the views over the gardens and filling the house with natural light. The front door opens to a welcoming entrance hall, off which lies a cloakroom with WC; a turned oak staircase under a three-quarter height window rises to the first floor. Beyond the hall is a versatile, open-plan reception room with original restored woodblock flooring, bi-fold doors opening to the south-east facing rear garden and a fireplace set with a Stovax multi-fuel burner.

The reception room is open to the kitchen, together forming an excellent space for day-to-day family life and entertaining alike; the kitchen is fitted with a good range of oak cabinets with composite worktops and integrated appliances including an under-counter fridge, dishwasher, microwave and a NewWorld range oven.

There are two further reception rooms: a comfortable triple-aspect sitting room with elegant marble fireplace and French doors to the west-facing patio, and a formal dining room lying off the kitchen. A utility room, with space and plumbing for laundry appliances, and a rear hall complete the ground floor; the utility room has provision for conversion to a shower room and together with the rear hall and dining room has the potential to form a separate ground floor bedroom suite or annexe (subject to the necessary consents).

There are four good-sized and well-presented bedrooms on the first floor, all with fitted or built in storage, and bedrooms one and two with wash basins. The bedrooms are served by a spacious family bathroom with a modern white suite, and a separate WC; there has been a recent feasibility plan drawn up for the principal bedroom en suite - please ask agent for details.

A hatch from the landing allows access to a large, boarded attic which has a velux window, power and lighting, good head height and potential for conversion (again, subject to the necessary consents).

Outside
The gardens and grounds of Applecross are of particular note: well-enclosed, mature and beautifully tended, extending to just under one acre in all. The house is well set back from the road, accessed down a private lane which leads to a parking area from which electronically operated timber gates open to a gravel driveway sweeping up to the house and garaging. There are two single garages, one used as a workshop.

The front garden is largely laid to level lawn, dotted with mature fruit trees and bounded to the west by a high Victorian wall topped with intricate finials and pleached fruit trees. Mature beds line the boundaries of the garden, well-stocked with a variety of plants and shrubs including established magnolia and acer; the deep bed alongside the wall is edged by box and divided into a series of outdoor 'rooms', including a vegetable garden.

To the west of the house is a brick terrace in the shade of a mature walnut tree, and to the rear (south) a substantial decked terrace (added 2024) which offers a wonderful outdoor dining and entertaining area, flowing from the house. The decking leads out to an expanse of lawn enclosed by mature hedging, with a handsome mature mulberry tree. Beyond here is a further area of garden, with copper beech to the southern boundary, where there is a large insulated summerhouse with power for lighting and appliances, a wood-effect electric burner and a generous decked terrace.

Set away from the house, the summerhouse and its surrounding terrace are ideal for summer entertaining or home working away from the house. In the south-eastern corner of the grounds is a screened area housing a greenhouse and timber garden shed (both with power connected), which would make an ideal kitchen garden.