Wealden Times | WT175 | September 2016 | Education supplement inside

Previous spread: The giant digital print from an old master painting is on a sliding door into the sitting room. The antelope horn
and ostrich egg lights are South African and the Lotus chandelier is made from abalone shells Above left: The new main entrance is
via a wooden ‘drawbridge’ over the steps down to the original front door. Sebastien designed the black and gold door. A metal stag’s
head by Hastings-based sculptor Leigh Dyer greets arrivals Right: The hallway has two flights of steps down and one up. The three
plates are part of a limited edition set of nine by Poole Pottery, commemorating the alignment of the planets in the year 2000
If there is one property cliché that has stood the
test of time, it’s the assertion that in choosing a
new home the three most important factors are
‘Location, Location and Location’. However, like most
hardy clichés, its longevity is due to the simple fact
that it so neatly encapsulates an undeniable truth.
Over the years, I have met people living in shoeboxes
in Manhattan, holes in ancient walls in Greece, motheaten
houseboats on Indian lakes, caves in Granada and
upturned fishing boats on obscure Pacific islands. The
space in which they lived was far from ideal and comes
with a dozen compromises per square foot but look
out of the window or step outside their front door and
there was no arguing whatever with their decision.
So when Alexa and Sebastien sold their lovely fivestorey
Victorian house in Hastings and bought a rundown,
stunningly ill-designed little bungalow outside
the town, it was perfectly understandable – because the
stunningly ill-designed little bungalow was in a position
stunningly designed by God. Set on a hillside on the
edge of the Bourne Valley, the view stretches down over
the valley, across Hastings Old Town, the New Town,
Eastbourne and along the glitter coast to Beachy Head.
“Quite honestly we didn’t give a damn about the house –
but just look at that,” says Sebastien, waving an arm across
a land- and sea-scape to die for. Strangely, though, the
previous owner couldn’t really ‘look at that’ at all. The way
the house was built meant there were no views of anything.
The hillside site meant that the house had to be cut into
the bare earth so on two sides its windows faced retaining
walls, while on the valley/sea side there was a small area of
decking surrounded by box hedges beyond which was a
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