Park Gate and attached wall to the north west and south east

Park Gate and attached wall to the north west and south east

Large detached house set within an attached walled garden. The eastern range is dated 1807 on a brick in the kitchen, but possibly incorporates some earlier fabric from the 17th century. The south western range is of early to mid 19th-century date, in existence by 1875. The south western full-height square bays were added by 1910. The property was refurbished after 1985.

The house is built of mathematical tiles, painted, on the eastern range, and painted brick in Flemish bond on the south west range. It has a hipped slate roof with two tall yellow brick chimneys and wide overhanging eaves with paired wooden brackets to the eastern range. The plan is roughly L-shaped, with the earlier eastern part of three parallel ranges, stepped to the north west, and the south western L-wing at right angles to these. The building is two storeys with irregularly-spaced sash windows.

On the south west elevation of the eastern part, the first floor has three tripartite 20-pane sash windows and one 12-pane sash, while the ground floor has one 20-pane tripartite sash and two 12-pane sashes. The penultimate window to the right was formerly an entrance but in the later 20th century this was converted into a window and the entrance moved to the position of the left hand window. This entrance has a 20th-century columned porch with a six-panelled door, the top two panels glazed, and a semi-circular fanlight. The north east elevation shows the three stepped parallel ranges. The north west elevation is also likely hung with mathematical tiles, with a straight joint to the right of the easternmost ground floor window suggesting that this post-dates the western part. The first floor has three irregularly-spaced windows: two 12-pane sash windows without horns and a 12-pane round-headed staircase window. The ground floor has two 12-pane sash windows, the two eastern ones late 20th-century replacements, and a doorcase with a six-panelled door, the four upper panels glazed, and a flat hood. The south eastern elevation is probably of painted brick and has four windows with multi-pane sashes; the northern and penultimate window to the south were replaced by 1910 with full-height square bays with four narrow lights. A 20th-century single storey brick porch with half-glazed central door flanked by sidelights is linked to the square bays, behind which is a six-panelled door, the top four panels glazed, with a semi-circular fanlight. Only the windows to the south bay are without horns. The south east return of this front has a single 12-pane sash to the first floor only.

The walled garden attached to the south east and north west of the house is early 19th-century, built of flint with brick lacing courses, coping and buttresses.

Internally, the south west entrance leads to a narrow corridor with 20th-century dado panelling and some six-panelled doors. The drawing room to the south west has a narrow moulded cornice, a brought-in marble fireplace (possibly French) and two round-headed alcoves, the northern with serpentine shelves possibly older and the southern one of late 20th-century date. The music room to the north west has an Adam style wooden fireplace which replaced an Edwardian fireplace. The corridor links to a large staircase hall accessed directly from the entrance in the south eastern elevation. The dogleg staircase has a mahogany handrail and stick balusters. On the ground floor it is flanked by two original Tuscan half-columns to which two replicas were added in the late 20th century. On the first floor landing are two original Ionic half-columns. The hall has a late 20th-century bolection-moulded fireplace. To the north east is a large dining room with cross beams, possibly concealing an earlier spine beam, and a late 20th-century alcove with serpentine shelves. The north eastern study has a wide central spine beam, a brought-in wooden Adam style fireplace and 20th-century shelving. The rooms to the north west of the ground floor are service rooms, and the kitchen has the dated brick of 1807. In the north western corner is a smaller early 19th-century dogleg winder staircase with mahogany handrail and column newels. The first floor has a number of early 19th-century fireplaces which include a reeded wooden fireplace with floral paterae, black marble interior and cast iron firegrate, and two reeded wooden fireplaces with marble interior and cast iron firegrates. There is also a mid 19th-century marble fireplace with paterae and round-headed cast iron firegrate, and a later 19th-century cast iron firegrate. A number of rooms have a narrow moulded cornice and six-panelled doors.

The house is thought to have acquired its name as a corruption of Park Gutt, the name of a stream. Cartographic evidence also makes it clear that the house stood at the gate of a deer park, probably medieval, which lay to its south east, with Park House perpetuating the site of its lodge. It is believed there was a building on the site in the 17th century, part of which may be incorporated in the present building. The land was sold in 1785 and acquired by William Green, whose initials appear on the dated brick of 1807 in the kitchen. William Green died in 1820. A document of 1887 refers to the property as "a freehold messuage called Park Gate with the cottage, stables, coach house, buildings, garden and land containing sixteen acres more or less situate at Ringmer and South Malling in the county of Sussex" which was one of the properties of Araunah Green of Brighton. Araunah Verall married William Green's illegitimate daughter and changed his name to Green.

The building is shown on the 1840 Ringmer Tithe map. On the 1875 Ordnance Survey map it is shown as a rectangular shape with paths leading to doors in the south west and north east sides, a walled garden to the north west, stable block to the south east and carriage drive to the south west. The footprint had not changed by the 1899 Ordnance Survey map. By the 1910 Ordnance Survey map a square projection had been added at the western end of the south western side and a similar square projection added on the south western side. A detached service building had also been added to the north east. In 1955 the property was sold with one acre and the stables sold off separately.