Wealden Country Houses

Enjoy exclusive owner-led tours of two magnificent country houses in the heart of the Sussex Weald.

Learn about the fascinating histories of two tucked-away houses. Grade I Great Ote Hall has been in the Godman family since 1530 being passed from father to son until 1718 when the male line became extinct and the estate was bequeathed to William Shirley, the son of John Godman’s daughter Elizabeth and, at that time, Governor of Massachusetts, New England and the Bahaman Islands. The house has a fascinating history dating from the Tudor period with many half-timbered walls and five brick chimney stacks covered with Horsham slates. Other notable features include re-used Jacobean panels and daisy carvings. 

Great Ote Hall

Construction of the original Buckhurst Place, which was built on the site of an earlier manor, commenced in 1603. Considerable additions were made to the house in the mid-18th century by Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset, with the present house dating from that period. The house has since been further remodelled, notably in the early 19th century by an Elizabethan-style renovation for Arabella, Duchess of Dorset and her second husband, Lord Whitworth. Our tour will include a wander with the Head Gardener through the magnificent formal gardens which were laid out by Edwin Lutyens and planted by Gertrude Jekyll within the Grade II* Humphrey Repton landscaped park.

Tickets £70 including tea or coffee and biscuits served on arrival at Great Ote Hall, a summer buffet lunch with tea or coffee in the marquee at Great Ote Hall and tea or coffee at Buckhurst Park