By Lyn Funnell
Standen House was started in 1891 and finished in 1894.
It was designed by Philip Webb for the Beale family and their seven children and their guests as a country home.
The house is a lovely example of the Arts and Crafts movement, with William Morris designs throughout. The wallpaper is all his, and so are chairs, cushions, carpets, and much more.
I had wanted to visit the house for a long time as I’m a great fan of William Morris.
We finally went to see it at the weekend.
It was very modern for its time, with electricity, and central heating on the huge ground floor, from the boiler. And it was built using traditional construction methods and local materials as Philip Webb stated only the best materials and workmanship would do – a practice in line with the ideals of the Arts and Crafts Movement.
We parked the car and walked up the hill to the house and the loos.
The house is an amazing design. You go along a corridor expecting a dead end and find that it leads to another huge part of the house. Great fun!
Upstairs the corridor goes in a straight line with the 12 bedrooms on each side, some with dressing rooms, and the bathroom at the end.
One bathroom for the whole house?
Some people had a bath in their dressing-rooms.
The kitchen is light and airy, unusually designed to make life easier for the servants.
There are two kitchen stoves, the larger one for cooking, and the smaller one for hot water and heating.
The house is mainly original, but it was in a bad state when Helen Beale, the youngest daughter, donated it to the National Trust in 1972.
What you see as you walk through the house is a time warp, as though you’re one of the family’s guests. It has a warm, friendly atmosphere.
I got the feeling that it was a house full of fun. I wish I’d been a guest there!
When you’ve visited the house, it’s time to walk through the 12-acre gardens. You walk through vegetable gardens, past bee hives, passing through landscaped gardens, and up steps to woodland.
We saw two summer houses where you can sit and gaze out at the lovely Sussex views across to the Bewl Reservoir.
I have one complaint; The toilets have signs saying the pipes are old, so don’t throw things down the loos. But on the other hand, they have the most rubbish toilet paper that I’ve ever known. So it defeats the object. You need to use much more of it as it falls to bits!
If they bought a better quality paper, people wouldn’t need to use so much!
And another toilet block is desperately needed, in the car park. It would be easy to do.
Reception’s down there, and they probably have water connected. And there’s a building on the other side of the car park.
As there are picnic tables in the field there, we sat and ate our picnic. But it’s a steep hill to climb to go back to the loos!
These little things can make or break a visit.
Standen House and Gardens.
West Hoathly Road, East Grinstead, West Sussex, RH19 4NE
