High Street, Ardingly

DESCRIPTION This is a fascinating cottage, full of charm and character, dating back to the 17th century and providing a surprising amount of internal space. Formally a tea room, a cobblers and a village shop, it is a now a family home with great flexibility, providing just under 3,000 square feet of accommodation with at least three reception rooms and five bedrooms which are split over the first and second floor.

As soon as you walk through the entrance porch into the double aspect sitting room, your eyes are drawn to the exposed beams and the inglenook fireplace with its woodburner. Windows to both the east and south allow plenty of light into this room and there is ample space for sofas. A door leads you into the kitchen – another double aspect room with plenty light flooding in. For cooking, there is an AGA as well as a four ring gas hob and an electric oven. You’ll find plenty of storage and work prep area and space by the bay window for a breakfast table. A door then takes you into the dining room, an excellent room that is perfect for entertaining in and measures an impressive 21 x 14. Off the dining room, there is a shower/toilet and to the left, a room which may work very well as a playroom.

From the sitting room there are two staircases, one to the first floor and another that takes you below to the basement. The basement provides brilliant flexibility to the home. There is a side door which is at ground floor level in the garden, meaning that you can easily store large items in the basement such as bikes and other outdoor equipment. There is a room which is currently used as an office which could be ideal for many buyers in the coming months and years.

On the first floor there are four bedrooms and the family bathroom. All of the bedrooms are a good size, with bedrooms two, three and four facing east and the master bedroom, with its en-suite, facing west. The master bedroom and bedroom two both have built in storage and bedrooms three and four are comfortably double rooms. The bathroom is also an excellent room, with a free-standing enamelled bath and WC both sitting on a raised platform and providing a view along Street Lane. Stairs then rise to the second floor where the fifth bedroom and dressing room are located. We love the sloping ceiling and exposed beams in the fifth bedroom and the dressing room gives this floor a self-contained feel. Outside, there is a patio to two sides where there is space for table and chairs.

LOCATION A real selling point of this cottage is the excellent central position within the village. The High Street is the hub of Ardingly and across the road from the cottage you’ll find a coffee shop, the Ardingly Inn and Fellows the bakers. One of our favourite bakers in Mid Sussex, the apple and cinnamon croissants are out of this world. Approximately 1/4 mile up on the High Street is The Gardeners Arms – the food is excellent (we highly recommend their H&W Burger!) For those that enjoy the outdoors, there are plenty of public footpaths on your doorstep to explore and make the most of. Also in the village is Wakehurst Place which is part of the National Trust. There is St. Peter’s C of E primary school and a recently opened establishment Kiddie Capers Childcare and also Ardingly College, one of the very best independent schools in the South East. A short drive takes you into the beautiful village of Lindfield which provides a more comprehensive range of village facilities. Haywards Heath station with its commuter service to London Victoria and London Bridge in under an hour is just over three miles to the south.