Wealden Times | WT163 | September 2015 | Education supplement inside

Above: Suzanne has lined one of two staircases with baskets of succulents, cacti and geraniums
back the layers, you discover a many sided
past and this house may hold a secret, darker
history. There is a cellar under the floor of the
sitting room that could have been used to store
smugglers’ ‘booty’. “A cellar in a neighbouring
property leads to the church,” says Suzanne.
“Smuggling was known to have gone on there.”
The ceilings in this house are beamed and
typically rather low, but thanks to the addition of
a Velux window above one of the staircases and
judicious use of white paint, the house doesn’t
feel especially dark and gloomy. This is helped
by the addition of a pale Italian marble floor that
replaces more traditional floorboards in much of
the ground floor. It’s an unusual touch, but one
that Suzanne definitely approves of. “The floor
was put in by the previous owners. It must have
cost a fortune, but is very much appreciated by us,
as it’s lovely, and easy to maintain too,” she says.
Plain white walls and the pale floor could
have made the house a little stark, but warm,
dark wood, bright coloured sofas in the
91 www.wealdentimes.co.uk