For Sale6 Bedroom Detached House in Twitts Ghyll, Five Ashes, Mayfield, TN20 6NJ£2,000,000

Astonishing natural beauty, tranquility and a sense of deep, historic peace are the wonderful feelings engendered when you first encounter this superb country residence. It has everything you could ever hope for. This is a stunning Grade II Listed period home of refined proportions and extraordinary light nestling in about 2.55 acres of fabulous grounds on the outskirts of a picturesque medieval village, surrounded by stunning countryside in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Once the country home of Sir Austen Chamberlain in the 1920s it was frequently visited by Winston Churchill who found it a relaxing and restful retreat where the important issues of the day could be discussed. With its origins dating back to the early 1500s this timber framed property is replete with magnificent period features, giving this special family home a unique character. Although it remains true to its Tudor architectural origins, the property has been beautifully and sensitively updated with no expense spared to create a property suitable for the most discerning of modern day owners.  There are a plethora of exposed sand blasted beams, oak doors, sandstone fireplaces, witches marks, oak framed leaded light windows and lathe plasterwork. Externally the impressive chimneystacks, Kent peg tiled roof, mellow 16th century Dutch brickwork, gable dormers and white weatherboard elevations give it an instant appeal. Hand forged iron gates open onto a gravelled driveway leading to the charming detached pitched roof, cedar clad double garage and through a herb garden and established box parterre to the beautiful old oak front door. This opens into the warm and welcoming hall with original 16th century York stone floors, a generous oak staircase, access to a guest cloakroom and oak archways to the drawing room and dining room. Unlike many properties from the Tudor period, the spacious and awe-inspiring drawing room is very light and bright with windows on three sides and a large door to the rear terrace. It is a wonderful space for entertaining with its beautiful, reclaimed oak parquet flooring, impressive beamed ceiling, fitted shelving and the charming Elizabethan style stone fireplace with a log burner that makes a great focal point. Guests will be delighted to sit down to a meal in the equally characterful dual aspect dining room with its wall and ceiling beams, enormous inglenook fireplace and original terracotta floor tiles. The additional dual aspect sitting room with its external access, brick fireplace, reclaimed burgundy limestone floors and log burner is just the place for the family to relax and enjoy spending time together. It leads to the very large kitchen/breakfast room that includes an oil fired Aga and a multitude of attractive custom made solid oak units with impressive quartz worktops housing various appliances and three Butler sinks below an historic, hand painted fresco border depicting fruit, birds and flowers by a well know local artist. There is a central island with additional storage and enough room for a large kitchen table and chairs as well as a door to the herb garden, breakfast terrace, the larder and the boiler room. The spacious first floor landing provides access to storage facilities and the attractive family bathroom as well as four good sized and characterful beamed bedrooms with wonderful views over the grounds and surrounding countryside. These include the principal suite with its period elm flooring – a rarity these days even in period properties - a fireplace and a row of fitted oak cupboards, an ensuite bathroom and large dressing room that could always be another bedroom or nursery or decadently house a roll top bath. The second venetian plastered bathroom has underfloor heating beneath Belgian clay pavers, an antique solid Belgian blue sink housing in marble reclaimed from the London Stock Exchange. Opposite is ample storage for laundry, sheets and towels. Family members will be queuing up to reserve the gorgeous top floor accommodation. There is a spacious sitting room with a large dormer window flooding the area with natural light. It has a vaulted and beamed ceiling and is partially divided by a brick chimney breast and is a wonderful space for teenagers to get together with their friends or could make an excellent office space for anyone working from home. This floor also includes a crown post room; a superb partially vaulted and beamed ensuite double bedroom with vertical and cross beams that make a great ‘frame’ for a double bed. Guests will feel pampered by the finishes in the ensuite bathroom. The space is lined with solid oak storage for toiletries, tiled with handmade Moroccan Zellige tiles and houses a fabulous gold Lefroy Brooks shower unit. Another delightful surprise in the property is the detached single oast annex in the grounds. It has a charming circular living room with a sculptural bespoke Brazilian walnut staircase to the first floor, limestone flooring and access to the shower room. There is a door to the Devol kitchen designed by the acclaimed fine furniture maker Sebastian Cox, with its beamed ceiling, double oven electric Aga and flat fronted beech and ash units housing additional appliances. Upstairs you will find a double bedroom and a door to a fabulous sun terrace with an oak balustrade providing superb countryside views as far as the eye can see. This makes a special place for guests or adult family members to enjoy their own private space. To add to the appeal of this wonderful property are the beautifully designed biodynamic gardens. The grounds are lyrical, romantic and naturalistic, with mown paths to more formal areas such as the gated swimming pool with its electric cover and surrounding terrace, the rose garden, the antique greenhouse transported from Withyham Manor and the large level lawn that is ideal for kids to kick a ball around or perhaps enjoy a game of croquet. The extensive grounds encourage wildlife and biodiversity, including a 100 year old rockery, mature trees, a plum orchard, apple and pear orchard, meadows, an enclosed vegetable garden, shrubs, hedges, beehives, wildflowers and the large wildlife pond offering a home to endangered great crested newts. Kingfishers and herons nest in the garden, while the ancient 500 year old yew tree provides a yearly nesting site for breeding peregrine falcons. Historical Note:  Notable former residents include Sir Austen Chamberlain, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Foreign Secretary and briefly Conservative party leader in the 1920s. In 1926, whilst resident at Twitts Ghyll, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for brokering the 1925 ‘Locarno Peace Pact’ that brought peace to Europe following the end of the First World War. Twitts Ghyll features heavily in his diaries and autobiography. A keen plant hunter and alpine enthusiast, the house and notably the rockery Sir Austen installed from imported Italian volcanic rock, and transported to rural Sussex by donkey was extensively profiled by Country Life in 1928. Austen was the older half-brother to Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and served as an MP for 45 years.