The Croft, Old Town, Hastings, East Sussex TN34 3HH

ROOMS Ground floor: Hall, Sitting room, Kitchen and Dining room.
Lower ground floor: Hall, Professional quality music/media studio room, Family room, Utility room, Wet room & sauna.
First floor: Landing, Two double bedrooms, Family bathroom and Cloakroom
Second floor: Landing, Three further bedrooms and Study/bedroom

EPC rating E. Gas central heating. Partial double glazing.
Large garden. Garden cellar. On road parking
 

LOCATION The property occupies an elevated position with widespread views to the English Channel and is approached over a narrow private road of attractive Regency houses in the Conservation Area of historic Old Town, Hastings with its bohemian atmosphere, local amenities, independent shops and boutiques, restaurants, the Hastings Contemporary art gallery, seafront and fishing harbour. Adjoining the East Hill is The Country Park with over 267 hectares of ancient woodland, heath land and grassland close to dramatic cliffs and coastline. Most of the area has been designated a Special Area of Conservation and a site of Special Scientific Interest. Within half a mile is Hastings town centre with promenade, the White Rock Theatre, museums, cinema, mainline railway station, Heritage Centre, Castle and Priory Meadow Shopping Centre. There is an extensive choice of schools in both the state and private sector including Claremont School, Battle Abbey School, Eastbourne College, Vinehall at Robertsbridge and Marlborough House, Hawkhurst. Direct mainline rail services run from Hastings to London Bridge/Cannon Street/Charing Cross and along the coast from Brighton to Ashford International, via Eastbourne and Rye, with high-speed connections to London St. Pancras and from there to the Continent.  

DESCRIPTION The Hermitage is an impressive, detached period property, built in 1890 for the poet Coventry Patmore, with an intriguing history as a convalescent home, a Catholic boarding house and a convent. The stylish, well-appointed accommodation is thoughtfully designed being arranged over four levels, as shown on the floor plan, with a lower ground floor studio plus bedrooms and living spaces on the upper floors providing versatile living areas with all the principal rooms facing south and a traditional facade with tall sash windows allowing light to stream into the organic space, which has a pared down feel inspired by the old workshop houses of northern European cities such as Antwerp and the converted warehouses and factory lofts of the East End of London.

Coventry Patmore (1823-1896) was a Roman Catholic poet and associate of the Pre-Raphaelites who lived in Hastings from 1875 to 1891 and is best known for his narrative poem, composed of four volumes, The Angel in the House, which presented a portrait of married life that became a Victorian ideal of married bliss. In 1883 he commissioned the building of St Mary Star of the Sea Church as a memorial to his second wife, Marianne.
 

GROUND FLOOR The property is approached from the road via a tall gate set into a high brick wall with steps leading from the garden across a raised walkway with geometric tiling to the panelled front door with a fanlight above opening into an entrance hall with a central staircase leading off to all floors.

The sitting room has a tall sash window to the front providing widespread views to the sea, together with herringbone flooring, moulded cornicing and a fireplace with a fitted real flame gas stove. The kitchen, which has engineered oak flooring and tall windows that frame the views of the English Channel, has clean lines with units that are made up of stainless-steel professional kitchen equipment including wall mounted cupboards, a double sink, open display shelving, splashbacks and a large range cooker, as well as plumbing for a dishwasher and a central island with a wood work top with cupboards beneath.

Adjoining is the dining room, which has engineered oak flooring and two tall windows providing views across the Old Town to the East Hill and the Country Park.
 

LOWER GROUND FLOOR On the lower ground floor, there is a hall with a door to outside and the adjacent garden cellar. The professional quality music/media studio room, which is a perfect working space, home cinema or music listening room, has large windows to the front, engineered oak boards and air conditioning.

The family room also overlooks the garden. A door leads to a large utility room with tall fitted storage cupboards, with an integrated fridge/freezer and space and plumbing for a washing machine and tumble drier, together with a Belfast sink and wood block work surface. Beyond is a fully tiled wet room with a rain shower and close coupled wc and sauna room with a high-end Finnish sauna in Thermo Aspen. The wet room opens onto a secluded woodland spa garden with hardwood decking, LED lighting and lush Japanese planting. 

FIRST FLOOR On the first floor, bedroom 1 is double aspect with far reaching views and has fitted wardrobe cupboards to one wall. Bedroom 2 enjoys widespread views across the Old Town and has fitted book shelving to one wall. The tiled family bathroom has white fitments comprising a freestanding bath, a walk-in shower, a close coupled wc and a console hand basin on a wash stand. In addition, there is a separate cloakroom with a low-level WC and wash basin. 

SECOND FLOOR On the second floor, there are three further bedrooms, two of which enjoy glorious views to the sea as well as a large study/bedroom with fitted shelving and an outlook across the Old Town towards the Channel. In addition, there is a large boarded loft space accessible by a retractable ladder.  

OUTSIDE The inviting, south facing, garden is enclosed by a high brick wall and divided by its varying levels into distinct parts in a Tropical style with dense, lush planting, an area of lawn and various terraces to take advantage of the views at different times of the day. The beds and borders are full of sun loving architectural plants including phormiums, cordylines, yuccas, tree ferns, banana plants, tree echiums, acanthus, acer, Picasso lily, hydrangea serrata, tetrapanax papyrifer and lime green euphorbia. The main garden is wired with Techmar LED garden lighting and has irrigation tubing and sprinklers throughout. 

COUNCIL TAX Council Tax Band F