
Well House is an exceptional and meticulously restored mid-17th-century Grade II-listed cottage, positioned in the heart of the beautiful and historic market town of Lewes, East Sussex. The 1,100 sq ft cottage unfolds across four levels and has recently undergone an extensive restoration to painstakingly preserve and enhance the countless original details. The cottage has a private tiered garden to the rear and is located on a hidden cobbled hillside street, a peaceful street with no-through traffic once known as Keere Hill; it is also known locally as ‘Scare Hill’ due to its steep incline.
Setting the Scene
Well House is believed to have originally been built around 1640, on what was then known as ‘copyhold land’, just outside the town walls. The house is a palimpsest of architectural construction techniques; a timber frame sits upon dressed stone foundations, with stones taken from the ruins of Lewes Monastery after King Henry VIII’s 1530s dissolution of the monasteries. A red brick plinth forms a secondary course, and the remaining frame is tile hung with pretty clay peg tiles.
The cottage has undergone a highly sensitive overhaul throughout, with the entire roof and façade tiles re-laid upon modern insulation and weatherproofing. It has been replumbed with copper piping, rewired for a contemporary lighting design and all of the box sash windows have been replaced. The chimney stack has been rebuilt and rendered, while internal wooden frames and beams have been dry ice blasted (a sensitive restoration technique that causes minimal damage to the ancient wood); similarly, the wooden floors were hand-scrubbed with wire brushes rather than machine-sanded. All of the rooms have been beautifully replastered and feature handsome restored cast-iron radiators.
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