West Wing Middle House East Wing Turret House And Archway Cottage At Old Place

Old Place comprises a significantly altered and extended historic manor house on the east side of Lindfield High Street, originally known as Challoners. The property is now subdivided into five separate dwellings: the West Wing, Middle House, East Wing, Turret House, and Archway Cottage.

The oldest part of the complex is the West Wing, a timber-framed building with red brick infill and Horsham stone slab roof, originally constructed in the late 15th century. The eastern section of this wing retains its 15th-century roof, while the western section was restored around 1590. The building is rectangular in plan with a projecting central porch, rises to two storeys with attics, and is five bays wide. The end elevations are of sandstone. The roof is covered in Horsham stone slabs with multiple brick chimney stacks and one further stack set back behind the ridge line. The principal elevation features a projecting full-height gabled central bay with a mullioned window in the gable, flanked by two centred bays with two-light mullions to the attics and five-light mullioned and transomed canted bays below. A planked wooden door occupies the porch, with a further four-light mullioned window to the left-hand side. The east elevation of the West Wing was substantially restored in the late 19th century. The ground floor is of brick, while the first floor has curved tiles. A mullioned oriel window and canted bay extending through both storeys are notable features, along with two casement windows and a simple doorcase.

From 1884 onwards, the property underwent significant expansion under the ownership of Charles Eamer Kempe, the renowned stained glass artist, who lived here for several years. Kempe added four substantial extensions in matching architectural style: the Middle House (1884), the East Wing (1891), the Turret House (1894), and Archway Cottage (1908). These extensions are attached to the north of the original West Wing.

The Middle House is two storeys with attics, four windows, and four gables. The ground floor is partly of sandstone, while the first floor is plastered with pargetting decoration featuring circles and gables with elaborate Jacobean-style pendants. Mullioned windows run throughout. A clustered chimney stack and a high chimney with filleted flues are prominent external features.

The East Wing continues with further ornamental detailing, featuring two gables with timber framing and first-floor plastering decorated with pargetting of interlocking circles. A coved eaves cornice enhances the roofline. Two windows are present, including an 11-light mullioned window. An arched doorcase provides access.

The Turret House and Archway Cottage form an L-shaped wing. The Turret House features a carriage entrance on the ground floor, with the west side faced in sandstone and the east side timber-framed with brick infill. An attached two-storey semi-circular stair turret with finial and a one-storey and attic west wing are distinctive features. Archway Cottage is two storeys with elaborate carved timber banding between the floors.

Kempe's extensions employ matching architectural language to the original structure, with red brick and timber-framing, gables with fine fretted bargeboards, elaborate brick chimneystacks, and elaborate cast iron weathervanes.

Interior fittings of exceptional quality and historical interest are found throughout. The West Wing retains fine 15th-century, circa 1600, and late 19th-century fittings commissioned by Kempe. The lobby contains 17th-century panelling and a planked studded door. The hall features a particularly fine circa 1590 mantelpiece with mutule frieze, fluted pilasters, carved brackets, three round-headed arches, and strapwork moulding. Marquetry inlay and four coat-of-arms shields bearing crosskeys are present. A stone fireplace has a four-centred arch with a metal crane. Both the spine beam and joists display lamb's tongue stops. A corner wooden pump inserted by Kempe is fitted with antique Dutch or Italian tiles. Two walls retain late 19th-century William Morris tapestry; the remaining panelling was likely inserted by Kempe. The kitchen, originally the dining room, contains a late 16th-century fireplace with mutule frieze and the crest of the Challoner family, together with a 19th-century Tudor Rose tiled surround and 19th-century panelling. The dining room features a 19th-century fireplace by Kempe with a Delft tiled surround. The study contains a circa 1590 stone fireplace with mutule frieze and spandrel with quatrefoil, now tiled with Delft tiles. The first-floor east wing contains a 15th-century crown post roof with massive tie beam and jowled post. A late 19th-century stained glass window depicting Adam and Eve by Kempe is present, alongside an attic window bearing Kempe's heraldic device. A late 16th-century staircase and a priest hole are notable features. Various smaller pieces of stained glass bear Kempe's crest of the wheatsheaf, his signature mark, together with Latin inscriptions.

The Middle House contains a great hall with a large late 19th-century stone fireplace featuring mutule frieze and Tudor Rose tiles. An elaborate panelled screen with nine round-headed arches, plank and muntin panelling, two alcoves (one with built-in seat), and a plastered ceiling with pendants, Prince of Wales feathers and Tudor roses are outstanding features. Six downstairs windows represent "The Round of Life" from Tennyson's poem "The Circumstance". Upstairs, four roundels bear German inscriptions reading "Today", "Once Upon a Time", "Soon", and "Tomorrow".

The East Wing drawing room features a 19th-century stone four-centred arched fireplace with honeysuckle-patterned tiles and an overmantel with three round-headed niches and engaged columns. High-quality high relief panelling imitates circa 1520 North German work, featuring terms, fabulous beasts, and portrait busts in 16th-century costume. Two window seats and a fine plastered ceiling with pendants, Tudor Roses, and panels of flowers enhance the space. The east window contains stained glass with seven roundels, several garlands, and verses from Sir Walter Scott's "The Lay of the Last Minstrel". The west window displays the Personification of Cupid and four scenes representing Aspects of Love expressed through Greek terminology: "Friendship" (Filia) represented by David and Jonathan, "Passion" (Eros) by Hero and Leander, "Affection" (Storghi) by Sir Galahad and his mother, and "Love" (Agape) by the Holy Family. Small windows with wheatsheafs are also present. The hall contains a bust of Virgil alongside built-in cupboards, drawers, and bookcases. The oak well staircase features turned balusters. The library contains a 19th-century stone fireplace with four-centred arch and floral tiles, a high-quality marquetry inlay panelled overmantel, a coffered plastered ceiling, and an elaborate door with engaged columns and a frieze bearing a portrait bust.

The property was originally constructed as a manor house known as Challoners. It had become a poor house by the time Charles Eamer Kempe purchased the property in 1884, thereafter transforming it into a substantial and artistically exceptional residence.