Grangewood House was built in 1837, on the site of a 17th-century vicarage. "It was used as a rectory until 1923 and in the last 90 years it has been used as a vegetarian hotel, as a family home and by RAF officers, who made it the radar station at the top of the hill during [World War II]," says Christopher Edgar, the owner, who has refurbished and extended the seven-bedroom house and landscaped its 8 acres of gardens and grounds.
The house is about half a mile from the sea and has views stretching up to 40 miles. "It hadn't had any money spent on it for the last 40 years," Mr. Edgar says. "We rebuilt it as closely as we could to what it was before. And we also refurbished the interesting features of the house that had been covered up. It was nice to unearth them."
"The kitchen is now the real heart of the home when we are using it as a family or for parties," Mr. Edgar says. "It's a nice central hub."
On the ground floor, the library and conservatory run off the kitchen. "There's a really nice flow to the house," Mr. Edgar says.
Off the kitchen in the other direction are the sitting room, dining room and drawing room. The basement houses a cinema room, gym and wine cellar.
On the first floor of the 10,161-square-foot house are the master bedroom and four guest bedrooms, all with en suite bathrooms. There is a self-contained one-bedroom flat above a newly built triple garage block.
Grangewood House is in Fairlight, near Hastings on the English South Coast. It is 67 miles—about 1 hour and 45 minutes by train—from central London. It is listed with Knight Frank at €3 million ($4.6 million).
