« Back

9.25 acres, Shipley, Nr. Horsham, West Sussex
For Sale - Guide Price £2,450,000

Click icon above to open expanded view

• Find a mortgage for this property
• View a brochure
• View map
• Contact agent
• Add to my property portfolio
• E-mail a friend
• Printer friendly page

• A superb late 17th/early 18th C. country house with later additions and land. Freehold. Council Tax 'G'.
• Affording extensive accommodation spread over 3 floors (overall approaching 6,000sqft).
• Reception hall, cloaks, 5 reception rooms, kitchen/breakfast room, cellar.
• Principal bedroom suite, guest ensuite bedroom, bedroom 3 & bathroom on 1st floor; 3 further bedrooms & 2 bathrooms to 2nd floor.
• Attached ground floor potential independent 1 bedroom annexe.
• Beautiful gardens & grounds incl. hard tennis court & 4 car oak-framed garage.
• Wild flower meadow &, pasture field with woodland edge.
• Overall circa. 9.25 acres (3.74 Ha).
• Very desirable rural location to the South of Shipley village & close to renowned Knepp Castle Estate.

Oakwood Farm comprises a superb and handsome late 17th/early 18th Century country house occupying a very desirable rural location on the edge of the Knepp Castle Estate and within 3 miles of the small rural village of Shipley and 10.5 miles of the old market town of Horsham. Listed Grade II of special architectural and historical importance, the substantial house includes an interesting and attractive mixture of different elevations of part render, brickwork, part tile hanging and part weatherboarding with timber framed sections to the oldest parts and including exposed timbers and beams to parts. The house offers beautifully proportioned accommodation with above average ceiling heights and with many of the rooms being double aspect and with large sash windows providing plenty of light and wonderful viewpoints over the gardens and grounds and pasture land beyond. Owned by the current owner for in excess of 35 years, the property which had historically been known as Pondtail Farm, has been substantially renovated and improved and encompasses more recent additions to the rear, including the brick and tile former cart lodge byre which creates a very appealing principal reception room and with adjacent integrated, or independently accessed, ground floor annexe.

Historical Note Dr. A.F. Hughes has undertaken research on the house which was historically known as ‘Bentons Pondtail’, when part of the Bentons estate. The earliest part of the building is the timber framed Northern range comprising 4 bays and with initial diagnosis to suggest a fully floored post medieval building from the first half of the 1600s. However, she has also considered evidence that it may have been an open hall house (c.1490), or that this section of building was a wing built against an earlier build, that was subsequently dismantled. The second phase of substantial re-modelling (including the attic floor addition across the whole building) in the 17th C. is likely to have been in the ownership of and probable occupancy of Thomas White to create many of the handsome proportions we see today. The Property A particular appeal of the property is the lovely rural setting. A front entrance drive leads to front of the house with extensive parking and turning areas adjacent to the oak framed and tiled 4 car garage. A pathway leads to the front entrance porch and into the accommodation which is as shown on the appended floorplans with a deep entrance hall opening up to a reception area with oak floor and oak double glazed windows, door out to the rear entrance drive, and cloakroom off. Doors then lead through to a library area with oak floor and fitted cupboards and shelves to the drawing room with vaulted ceiling with exposed ceiling timbers and enjoying a pretty outlook to the gardens to the East and West sides as well French doors out, brick fireplace with woodburning stove. From the library area, a door leads to the inter-connected or separately accessed ground floor annexe with living/dining room with woodburning stove, French doors to the garden and through to kitchen with a range of fitted units and part glazed door to the rear entrance drive, bathroom with bath, w.c., wash hand basin and shower/wet room, separate bedroom/studio with French door to garden and woodburning stove. To the front of the house, there is a pretty double aspect sitting room and study with deep sash windows and good ceiling heights plus fireplaces with woodburning stoves and fitted cupboards or bookshelves. The dining room previously had consent (now lapsed) for additional windows to be inserted and a covered verandah to be built off and currently includes French doors to the South facing part walled garden overlooking the paddock beyond. The dining room also includes part decorative glazed doors to the reception hall with doors in turn leading to the kitchen/breakfast room with high ceiling and part exposed timbers, hand built wooden units, oil-fired Aga and being a double aspect room also looking onto a paved semi-courtyard area with herbs and fine bay and magnolia trees. There is also access from the kitchen down to the wine cellar, plus separate door to rear lobby with side external doors and door to utility room with Belfast sink, plumbing for appliances and cloakroom. Attached to the rear of this single storey former outhouse is a dustbin store; oil tank store and potting shed/freezer room. A fine main staircase rises from the entrance hall to the double aspect first floor landing with extensive rural views. The first floor rooms include the double aspect principal bedroom 1 with its fine rural outlook, wardrobes, ensuite bathroom with white suite of bath, separate shower cubicle, w.c., wash hand basin and fitted units and link door to dressing room/nursery, also South facing and with extensive fitted wardrobes and secondary door to landing. Guest bedroom 2 is also double aspect with deep sash windows and pretty outlook and includes an ensuite bathroom with w.c., bath and wash hand basin. Family bathroom with bath, w.c., wash hand basin and heated towel rail, bedroom 3 with exposed wall timbers and adjacent storage/box room with part skeiling ceiling and eaves cupboards and adjacent to rear staircase to kitchen. Two staircases rise to the second floor attic conversion providing good secondary or children’s accommodation of character and forming three twin bedrooms with vaulted ceilings and exposed timbers and two separate bathrooms each with bath, shower cubicle, wash hand basin and w.c. and with initial larger landing reading area with cupboards. Outside, the front drive sweeps through a wild flower meadow with various specimen trees to a gravel drive in front of the house and 4-car garage with four pairs of oak solid doors and vaulted ceiling space with potential for further mezzanine storage over. The gardens are a real delight and have been landscaped and divided into different compartments with the front parterre garden with clipped box hedging and topiary with lavender and rose beds with mature hedging in between with an area of semi courtyard paved garden adjoining the kitchen and thence North to an orchard garden area with mixed fruit trees and adjacent to the hard tennis court. The very pretty South facing garden area enjoys a lovely outlook across park railings to the adjoining pasture field and with colourful mixed herbaceous and shrub borders, specimen trees and plants at the sides and fine wisteria to the side of the house and its part weather board clad elevations. A path leads round past a small garden store to a further area of garden lying on the West side with french doors off the drawing room and the annexe and with steps leading down to a small pond and weeping willow on the West side and gate round to a further parking area linking to the rear drive with a brick wall enclosed rear gravel drive area providing extensive further parking and turning space. The mainly level pasture field lies to the South of the house and enhances its fine setting. This field may be reached by interlinking gateways to the garden or wildflower meadow, or a separate gateway from the lane, and includes a mixed broadleaf area of woodland shaw to the South side and thence bordering the vendor's retained woodland edge and stream to the West. Overall, the property extends to approximately 9.25 acres (3.74 Ha).

Oakwood Farm enjoys a very desirable and peaceful rural location close to the renowned Knepp Castle and within 3 miles of the small rural village of Shipley with its parish church, Church of England primary school and Countryman Inn. Ashington to the South is within 2.5 miles and includes a range of local facilities including extended hours convenience store and also with access to the A24 dual carriageway with convenient links to the South to the coastal town of Worthing (approx. 12 miles) and, to the North, to the old market town of Horsham (approx. 10.5 miles) which offers a comprehensive range of shops, trades, facilities and entertainment as well as a mainline railway station with services to London Victoria. Christs Hospital also has mainline station and is c. 8 miles and, Billingshurst, with a good range of facilities and mainline station is c. 6 miles. Gatwick Airport is approx. 25.5 miles and Chichester and Guildford are respectively c. 23.5 and c. 24.5 miles, whilst the coastal city of Brighton is c. 20 miles. There is a good range of state and independent schools in the area. In addition, there are many miles of varied countryside walks immediately accessible from the property leading to the Knepp Castle Estate and also linking to local bridleways.

Particulars prepared Sept 2024, photos May 2020 (Ref RBA). Council Tax Band 'G'. Mains water and electricity are connected; drainage to a private system and oil fired central heating. Certain division of water supplies will be required and cross easements where these relate to the Vendor's retained property: please refer to Agent. The property forms part of title number WSX366127. The main access to the property is directly along the front drive leading from Hooklands Lane to the East and there is also a rear entrance drive, the majority of which is within the ownership of the property, but with a short section of the link to the rear drive being by means of a right of way over the Vendor's retained property.

From Horsham, travel South along the A24 and at the Buck Barn crossroads with the A272, travel West towards Coolham and Billingshurst. Thereafter, take the second turning on the left leading to Shipley village and the Countryman Inn and continue along the lane until reaching the T-junction opposite the Countryman and then turn right along Countryman Lane. Continue to the next junction and bend at Broomers Corner, taking the left hand turning leading South into Hooklands Lane. Continue South for approx. 2.5 miles and the property will be found on the right hand side as shown on the appended plan and enter down the front drive.