Latest Homes Sussex magazine

Walk-in showers, wet rooms and saunas add value and luxury to your home

According to a recent GE Money Homeowner Survey, adding a new bathroom to your home can increase the property’s value by more than £5,000. Constraints on space mean that second or en-suite bathrooms are often shower rooms. But showers are fast becoming a lifestyle or even a style choice. Why? Latest Interiors takes the plunge and finds out…

Walk-in wonders

Gone are the tacky plastic trays and mouldy shower curtains, modern walk-in showers are clean, functional and stylish. Easy for everyone – young or old – to use, they also have less impact on household water consumption than baths. Current trends for walk-in showers include fixed glass panels, and a large ‘rigid riser’ fixed shower head for a clean, functional look. The riser can be combined with a more traditional ‘telephone’ handset on a sliding rail, for reaching those awkward bits.

Wet rooms

For a top-to-toe look, wet rooms – a watertight bath or shower room where water drains through the floor – are both space-saving and stylish. The room needs to be lined first with a watertight render, and covered with a layer of tiles. Floors need to be slightly sloped with a fitted drain, and the room should be well ventilated to ensure that it dries quickly.

A ceiling-mounted shower head is perfect for a room like this. No cubicle or curtain is required. Cleaning is easy, as there are no difficult corners – everything washes away through the floor drain. A wet room is an excellent choice for small spaces, as no panelling or cubicle is needed… just remember that everything in a wet room will probably get wet, so be careful where you put your towel.

Get steamy

Spa treatments are coming to a shower room near you. If a hot tub, whirlpool bath and wet room aren’t enough, maybe you should consider the ultimate indulgence – a steam shower. Although it looks like a traditional cubicle and includes a shower, the enclosed unit also contains a steam generator and (depending on the size of the room) a folding or fixed seat. Relax in the steam, then wake yourself up with a cold shower. Who knows, there might even be room for two…

Showers shown available from www.laufen.co.uk

Ian Trevett admires the feisty Lewes attitude

When the streets of Lewes are aflame with burning stakes held aloft by charred-faced bonfire boys, it is a peculiar and disturbing sight. Much has been written about the provocative ‘No Popery’ banners displayed by the Cliffe Bonfire Society (although the Bonfire Societies are quick to point out that the popery in question is only that demonstrated by Pope Paul V, head of the Catholic Church at the time of the Gunpowder Plot). However, the banner that really sums up the Lewes philosophy is the simple ‘For Independence’ motto proudly flown by the Commercial Square Bonfire Society.

Only eight miles from Brighton, it would be easy for the tiny county town to be overwhelmed by the burgeoning influence of its imposing neighbour, but this would underestimate its stubborn local identity. Lewes’ bloody-mindedness was evident in a rather bolshy excise officer called Thomas Paine, who, in 1772, rallied his fellow workers to protest about their lot, years before trade unionists had even been invented. He printed up 4,000 copies of his rant about pay and conditions entitled ‘The Case Of The Officers Of Excise’, and spent the winter distributing copies to MPs. By spring, his bosses noted that Thomas wasn’t exactly applying himself to the job and fired him.

Soon after he emigrated to America and became the intellectual inspiration behind the War Of Independence. It was Paine who dreamt up the title United States Of America, and helped rouse the natives against the British colonial rulers.

He then turned his attention back to Europe, writing pieces that were highly critical of monarchies and European social institutions, including one of the first proposals for a progressive income tax. The British government put Paine on trial in his absence for seditious libel. The French, on the other hand, grateful for his inspirational role in the French Revolution, elected him to the National Convention, despite the fact he couldn’t speak the language.

In hindsight, after seeing the loss of a major colony and watching the fall of their aristocratic peers across the channel, the British authorities probably wished they had increased Paine’s wages when he was just a rebellious tax collector in Lewes. His best-known work was the revolutionary Rights Of Man, a seminal work embodying the ideas of liberty and human equality.

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Ian Trevett discovers an idyllic, historic home within the grounds of a castle built for a poet

Taking in the views of the quaint Castle Goring Mews from the expansive farmlands to the south, it is easy to immerse yourself in the tranquillity of rural isolation. Peaceful it may be, but it certainly isn’t off the beaten track – remarkably this property is located just off the south coast’s main artery, the A27, just west of Worthing.

The hustle and bustle of modern life is a stone’s throw away at the end of the gravel drive, but this is a blissful bolt-hole, steeped in history.

The mews houses were originally the stable blocks for Castle Goring, a fabulous folly originally built as the family home of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.

You can sometimes get a glimpse of the castle from the main road, with its northfacing side dominated by tall towers topped with battlements, reminiscent of the nearby Arundel Castle.

Building started in 1790, but by 1815, after 25 years, the Castle was still not complete despite significant investment, and it began to fall into disrepair.

However, with the Palladian architecture of the south front – with an elevation of considerable beauty, greatly resembling a villa in the vicinity of Rome – it was a treasure that was destined to be saved. Today it is enjoyed by visitors to these shores, with its new role as a language school.

The mews houses have had a less turbulent history since their conversion from stables in the late 19th Century. They are now sought after residential properties which are reasonably priced considering their historical character.

Four Castle Goring Mews is currently the home for a family with two very young sons. They have always appreciated how lucky they are with the views. They have particularly enjoyed waking up and being able to look out over the farmland, and having the opportunity to make the most of the rural setting, the peace and the tranquillity.

If all this sounds like the perfect English country setting, it is a surprise to discover that the inside of the two bedroom property has a distinctive Gallic flair.

It transpires that the previous owners were dedicated Francophiles, and they imported the impressive wooden beams that dominate the front room from France. They also created a wonderful fireplace using the doorway from a stately châteaux.

The design of the house means virtually all the main windows are south-facing, flooding the property with glorious light. It also has the effect of blocking any distant rumblings from the dual carriageway to the north.

Downstairs the lounge/diner has tremendous character with its charming rustic walls and stone fireplace, set off by the solid oak floor and beams across the ceiling. A few modern touches, such as the subtle spotlights, prevent it from feeling old-fashioned.

"It is a surprise to discover that the inside of the two bedroom property has a distinct Gallic flair"

The kitchen/breakfast room has a warm and welcoming feel, again benefiting from the southern sunlight. The kitchen features ‘limed oak’-style base and drawer units with roll-edge work surfaces. The ceiling is beamed and there is laminate-effect flooring.

One of the most interesting features is the double-arched hallway, between which is an understairs storage area and a WC. The property also benefits from a family bathroom and an en-suite in one of the bedrooms.

Upstairs the two bedrooms have excellent views. The second bedroom has views over farmlands, and the master bed has west-facing windows overlooking the private garden.

Both are good-sized bedrooms, but the reason the Hoopers are moving on is to find a property with more bedrooms. So, although the property has a spacious feel, it may not be ideal for a large family. However, the property would be ideal for a professional couple or a smaller family.

It is secluded, yet sociable, with a communal green – ideal for a neighbourly summer barbeque. But most of all, this is the place to get way from it all, without having to make the effort of driving deep into the countryside.

Castle Goring Mews
Worthing, £334,950 F/H

Lampons
4 St George’s Road,
Kemp Town
01273 600050
www.lampons.com

Although it is generally acknowledged that the views from it are among the best in Sussex…

…many people don’t actually realise that the Balcombe Viaduct itself is stunning.

Most of my time on the morning Brighton to Victoria train is spent reading and I don’t like being disturbed. However, when the train passes Haywards Heath, I know that I need to keep watch. The second that the train passes a pair of stone pavilions on either side, I know that I should be looking up. It’s the point on the journey where everyone on the train is doing the same thing – looking from one side of the train to the other, like spectators at a tennis match, savouring the stunning view before the opportunity ends when the train passes four more stone pavilions. Whenever I fly back from anywhere, be it to Gatwick or Heathrow, I know that I’m nearly home when I see the marvellous countryside within the idyllic Ouse valley.

The Grade II* listed Balcombe Viaduct has 37 semi-circular arches made of 11 million bricks! It is 1,475 ft long and 96 ft high. It was built over the River Ouse between 1839 and 1841 by John Rastrick and David Mocatta as part of the original London to Brighton line, that also included the nearby Balcombe tunnel and tunnels at Merstham, Haywards Heath, Clayton and Patcham. Although there have been relatively small changes made since, such as trains now running mainly to Victoria instead of just to London Bridge, the line remains intact and the viaduct is used more than ever before.

Several months ago, I took a trip out to the Balcombe Viaduct by car with several friends. I was surprised to find that the Ouse is now just a tiny stream and nearly fell in as we walked through some tall plants! Balcombe itself is a small village with a population of around 1,800, not far from Haywards Heath.

In fact, as we didn’t have a decent map, we just followed the railway line north from Haywards Heath to find it. Balcombe does have a station of its own on the London to Brighton line so it’s not at all hard to reach. I thoroughly recommend it.

So, if you do happen to find yourself on the train between Brighton and London, be sure to keep an eye out for the stone pavilions… then sit back and briefly relax!