Venerable oak beams lend a dignified texture to the rooms of this Grade II-listed house in Charing, Kent, a village that stands on the medieval Pilgrims’ Way to Canterbury. The house unfolds over three storeys, with a set of comfortable living areas, peaceful bedrooms and atmospheric top-floor attic rooms. Outside, is an exquisitely planted cottage garden filled with colour, texture and scent, which also contains a versatile home office or studio. The house is well-placed for daily amenities and is a short walk from the railway station, which runs services to St Pancras and London Victoria.

Hope Haven is situated on the village high street with its pretty mixture of timber-framed dwellings and traditional cottages. Around the corner is the market place, overlooked by a 13th-century church and the remains of the medieval Archbishop’s Palace, and which leads onto the beautiful Clewards Meadow, Charing’s village green, where summer fairs are held.

Part of the house dates to the late 15th century, with a 16th-century addition. It was originally constructed as a Wealden hall, a remarkable vernacular form synonymous with Kent and Sussex. Its façade is of weatherboard washed with Farrow and Ball’s ‘Pavilion Grey’, accentuated by front door and windows in darker grey ‘Plummett’. At the rear, a red hung tile exterior represents another of Kent’s traditional architectural materials.