Welesmere Road, Rottingdean, Brighton, East Sussex, BN2

Just 10 mins drive from Brighton with views over a glorious coastal setting, this sunlit 4 bed detached house with off street parking backs onto open countryside and has idyllic gardens where a summer house has a wood burning stove, a detached timber cabin has power and a greenhouse delivers flowers, herbs and food for the table. Inside big, inviting rooms with a design led finish offer an easy flow only great design can provide and two vast, joined attics inspire ideas, stnc. On an exclusive no through lane in the sought after village of Rottingdean, it’s a 4 min drive from a choice of good primary schools, the vibrant shops, cafés and restaurants of the High Street and the sea – and Brighton, Lewes and Gatwick are all a viable commute.

All about enjoying friends and family, the elegant living room with a wood burning stove offers a warm welcome and opens to the garden whilst sunlight streams through the fabulous kitchen dining room which also has bi-folding doors, ideal for al fresco summers. There is also a spacious bedroom and a shower room on the ground floor for guests – or inter-generational living. Upstairs balances quiet comfort with luxurious touches in 3 more double bedrooms, 1 en-suite, a stylish bathroom and the private home office/nursery. There are also two insulated attic rooms, which form an L and have twin Velux plus a 3rd window installed.

Rottingdean is popular with professionals and families wanting peaceful nights and easy parking. Good schools both state and private include local primaries 4 mins drive, Longhill Secondary 6/7 mins, Roedean 11 mins, Brighton College 13 (the latter 2 also have school buses). For health professionals, the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton General and Nuffield Hospitals are all within a 15-20 mins radius. Once home to Rudyard Kipling and pre-Raphaelite painter Burne Jones, Rottingdean has a village green with a pond and plenty of local shops, cafes and restaurants to explore. Known for its rolling hills and picturesque black windmill, white cliffs, rock pools and quieter beaches than those in Brighton, it is well connected with bus routes and swift access to the A23/A27.


Style: Detached 1955 house in traditional Sussex style, extended and improved
Type: 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms (1 en-suite), living room, kitchen dining room, home office/nursery, attic
Location: Rottingdean
Area: Please see floor plan
Outside: Spacious front garden, large rear garden with summerhouse, timber cabin with power, green house
Parking: Off street parking, free on no through lane
Council Tax Band: F

Why You’ll Like It:
Enjoy the social flow of this inviting, elevated home built in 1955 in traditional Sussex style and designed to embrace the light and open views, making it unusually sunny as well as private. Tucked away on a secluded no through lane with grass verges, where homes do not appear on the market often, inside the spacious interior has been sensitively extended and improved by its artist owners (only the second people to live in this house), and subtle home comforts include energy efficient windows and doors.

With smart off street parking (and plentiful free on street parking) to make life easy, at the front, a country garden is in keeping with the glorious surrounds and there’s a discreet seating area where you can bathe in the Sussex sunshine. Through a porch to the original oak door, the bright hallway has space for coats and solid oak underfoot to give guests, children and pets freedom to roam.

The Kitchen Dining Room:
All about enjoying company, the glamorous kitchen dining room’s far wall of glass frames the dynamic landscaping of the garden and folds away to bring the outside in for seamless entertaining. Inside has plenty of space to spread into - and vaulted skylights in the ceiling. The kitchen is safely tucked away from the social flow between two peninsula islands, and the practical flooring was designed for the house and made in Spain. Custom made units topped by composite stone or wood, deliver sophisticated storage solutions including a larder with power. Party perfect, there’s a tall fridge, a dishwasher and the fabulous, multi fuel Rangemaster could stay, subject to circumstance – and a working home, plumbing for a washing machine is concealed elsewhere.

The Living Room:
Spanning the building from front to back, the elegant living room is a tranquil retreat where you can relax in rare seclusion, as although lined with windows to bring in the light, it looks over its own, leafy gardens. An inviting refuge come rain or shine with a high-spec wood burning stove, the far wall of glass opens to the garden, skylights bring in the stars (there are fields, not houses, behind the house) and the calm colour choice reflects the grounds as well as its exclusive, downland setting.

The Gardens:
At the front, the charming country garden is inspired by its beautiful surrounds – it is very easy to forget that you are just 10 minutes from the city when you relax in the seating area of this serene setting. At the back, the house opens to a curved dining deck with ample space for a big family table, a safe spot for a bbq and inset lighting. Made private from neighbouring gardens by mature planting, it is also child and pet secure with secure side gates to the front of the house. Beautifully landscaped with an easy flow, and designed for all year interest as well as easy care, there are different areas to explore which rise to catch the sun and which have space on each tier for play and/or play equipment or just enjoying together. Shallow steps lead to a wildlife pond on one side of a spacious lawn, whilst above, a seating area scented by apple trees looks over another lawn. Already bigger than many gardens this close to the city and the sea, it is here that the garden spreads its wings with a delightful timber cabin which has power to one side, an almost invisible chicken run is behind the greenhouse and on a deck to catch the last of the sunshine, the octagonal summerhouse has power and a cast iron, wood burning stove so you can enjoy this private paradise at any time of year. With the backdrop of open countryside this garden is very special and it keeps on giving as a secret garden at the far end has raised beds for herbs, vegetables and fruit as well as flowers for the table- which also attract and help our vital pollinators.

The Ground Floor Bedroom and Shower Room:
Quiet and comfortable at the front of the house, the ground floor bedroom of triple aspect has style and character. Bright and cheerful it’s ideal for guests, an au pair or inter-generational living although it’s a versatile space, currently used an art studio. Custom built storage includes a cupboard to conceal a washing machine and next door, a vibrant, contemporary shower room is reached from the kitchen dining room.

The Principal Bedroom, En-Suite:
On the first landing, the principal bedroom is at the heart of the home on the prime, southeast/northwest corner of the property where you can unwind enjoying views of the unique setting which sweep to the sea at the front and roll over open countryside at the back. The restful decoration includes Sion wallpaper, and the en-suite shower room is chic.

The Family Bedrooms, Luxury Bathroom, Home Office/ Nursery and Attic Rooms:
At the top of the stairs a bright, spacious landing has an airing cupboard and the third double bedroom at the back of the house is completely private, looking over the lush garden to the fields with a wall of fitted wardrobes to fill. Next door, the contemporary bathroom is large enough for both a bath and a separate walk in shower- and has a luxury finish as well as open views. Also at the back, the fourth double room is a generous size with plenty of floorspace for furniture and designer paper to mirror the garden views.

At the end of the hallway, the private home office with a fitted workstation, storage and Orla Kiely paper has an inspiring vista which flows to the glittering coastline – although this room could also be an airy nursery, and it has a door to the attic staircase where two huge, insulated attic rooms run in an L shape across the first floor bedrooms and over the principal bedroom. They are open to each other, and the larger of the two has a soaring ceiling, twin Velux in the rear roofline and triangular window at the apex of the roof.

Agent says:
“Live the dream in this stunning house in an exclusive location in one of the few south coast villages directly on the sea! With fields at the back and a footpath to protected downland around the corner, homes in this prime spot close to the Kipling gardens, village pond, the picturesque High Street and beaches are hard to find.”

Owner’s secret:
“As well as the beautiful surroundings and a footpath to the Downs around the corner, we have enjoyed the freedom of space, peace and privacy whilst within a 4 mins drive of Rottingdean’s friendly community and its famous beaches (or a 15-20 mins stroll) and only 10 mins drive from Brighton. There are always local activities on offer – and friends love to come and stay and always say they feel like they’ve been on holiday! The house and gardens are ideal for entertaining friends and family, and everything you would need as a couple or growing family– schools, restaurants, stations, sailing club, stables and cinemas -are all within easy reach.”

What’s around you:
Shops: Rottingdean High Street 4 minute drive, 12 by bus
Station: Falmer 14 mins, Lewes 15-20 Brighton approx. 20 min drive
Seafront or park: Kipling Gardens 3 mins drive, seafront 4 mins drive

Closest Schools:
Primary: St Margaret’s C of E, Our Lady of Lourdes RC
Secondary: Longhill
Sixth Form: BHASVIC, MET, Varndean
Private: Apple Tree Montessori, Roedean, Brighton College, Brighton Waldorf, The Old Grammar School Lewes, Bede’s

The historic coastal village of Rottingdean, once home to Rudyard Kipling and Pre-Raphaelite painter Burne-Jones, is popular with families and professionals as it has good schools and plenty of amenities including local shops, cafes, restaurants and a riding school to explore. For those who love the great outdoors it has quiet beaches and is surrounded by open countryside which leads to the South Downs National Park. You can cycle along the pedestrian undercliff walk to the yacht club, cinemas and waterfront restaurants of Brighton Marina in 20 minutes. 10 mins drive to Brighton Marina and about a 15 minute drive to Brighton and Hove’s international city centre bus routes – with bus lanes- along the coast and to the universities at Falmer are fast and frequent and with speedy access to both the A27 and A23, Lewes, Gatwick and London become a possible commute.