Surrey Homes | SH14 | December 2015 | Interiors supplement inside

Above: a fireplace which was once home to a kitchen range now acts as the focal point of the front room. A large bay window bathes the room in natural light
Approaching the gardener’s cottage at Sissinghurst,
I’m imagining how hard it must be to live in a house
that’s only yours while you remain in your job.
Perhaps it’s a mind-set. It was once a fairly normal thing to
live in a home that went with the job, and tied cottages were
common, built for workers in towns, on farmland and in the
grounds of country houses. It makes sense, but times have
changed and it’s not a common thing any more. I can also
see that living in the grounds of one of the most celebrated
gardens in the world, and treading in the footsteps of such
illustrious forebears is a unique, exceptional experience.
A privilege. A little unnerving perhaps, and here my
imagination is running away with me. Is it rather haunting?
From the outside, this modest, Thirties-style cottage
seems simple, uncluttered and quiet. As Claire Abery
appears to greet me, unperturbed by the drizzle — the
sign of a proper gardener — and we go into the house,
I feel as if I’m entering hallowed space, as atmospheric
as anything in the castle itself. I can feel the weight of
history pressing in already. The interior wears this lightly
and living on site does have obvious advantages — no
travelling costs for a start — and certainly not a lengthy
commute, for a working day that starts at 7.30; they have
to fit in a lot before the gates open to the public at 11:00.
The National Trust look after the outside maintenance
on the house and have recently installed secondary double
glazing downstairs, which is a boon: “It always used to
seem cold in this house,” says Claire. What happens
inside, within reason — and without changing anything
structural – is entirely up to the tenant. When she first
moved in eleven years ago, the house had been empty
for some time and it had been painted ‘rainbow style’.
“The kitchen was bright yellow, the front room was red,
the bathroom turquoise and my bedroom was peach.
So it was out with the magnolia paint!” Claire laughs.
Looking round it’s clear to see that the colours on
the walls are more sophisticated than that ubiquitous
shade of cream. She has carefully used a combination
of muted neutrals that create a very natural light
within the house, like the light outside on a cloudy
As we go into the house, I feel as if I’m entering hallowed space, as atmospheric as
anything in the castle itself. I can feel the weight of history pressing in already.
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