Wealden Times | WT171 | May 2016 | Restoration & New Build supplement inside

Above: Christel loves to cook, but also lets professional chefs use her kitchen when hosting weddings. The impressive mantelpiece was made especially to sit over
the Lacanche range cooker – which came from one of David Beckham’s houses – and the stone corbels on which it rests, came from an antiques fair
is impossible not to feel lifted by the vibrant yellow walls
decorated with birds and blossom. Sun floods in through
the vast sash windows, illuminating family portraits and
carved furniture brought back from Bangalore by Lord Colin
Cowdrey. His portrait takes pride of place, opposite an oil
of Christel’s mother, Eva Margareta Holst-Sande. The house
is said to date from 1733 and was the home of the vicars of
Offham and Hamsey until the late 1930s. It stands in about
12 acres of meadows – which a local farmer uses for hay –
and has, as you might expect, stables and a coach house.
“I feel very lucky to live here,” says Christel who, in
typical Swedish style, has a very egalitarian attitude to
living in such a lovely house. “I just like the idea of being
able to share it.” During our visit, the house was fully
occupied with visiting family and friends, and it is clear
that it has been the site of much entertaining over the
years. “It’s a wonderful party house,” says Christel.
This welcoming ‘open house’ feel, Christel’s ability as the
consummate hostess as well as her entrepreneurial spirit
has led to the development of Noblesse Weddings and the
reinvention of the house as a plush but also homely wedding
venue. “I wanted to recreate the wonderful experience we
had, when we got married.” Christel and Chris Cowdrey were
married in a wonderful London townhouse owned by the
Searcy family, and were made to feel as if it was their own.
“The first wedding we had here at the Old Rectory
was really special and different! I cooked and Fabian
and Julius were front of house. It was a really intimate
affair, with 15 guests for the ceremony, then a further
25 guests later on. Toasts were made in the garden,
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