4/5 bedroom house for sale
12 Laughton Lodge is a generous family home within a converted 1930s villa, set in the grounds of one of England’s longest-established co-housing communities, six miles from Lewes. The house has the proportions and character of its period — high ceilings, large rooms, attractive French windows — brought up to date and shaped by fifteen years of family life. Outside, the house opens onto expansive gardens and 23 acres of shared land.
Key facts
- 4/5 bedrooms
- 1 bathroom, 1 ground-floor shower room
- Approx. 2,000 sq ft over 3 floors
- Part of a converted 1930s villa
- High ceilings throughout with attractive French windows
- Large open-plan sitting room and kitchen with French doors to the garden
- Converted loft room with skylights and far-reaching countryside views
- Central fireplace with wood burner
- South-west facing patio with pergola
- Off-street parking
- Walking distance to Laughton village (pub, shop and primary school)
- 9,999-year lease
- EPC rating: D
- Council tax band: E
- Offers in the region of £850,000
The house
A beautifully presented home with high ceilings, attractive French windows and a quality of light that runs through every room. This house has been a much loved family home for the past 15 years.
On the ground floor, a spacious entrance hall opens into a large, light-filled sitting and dining area with a central fireplace and wood burner. The kitchen has wooden worktops, a gas hob and French doors opening onto the rear garden. A study or additional bedroom and a ground-floor shower room complete this level.
Upstairs, three generously sized double bedrooms – two with built-in wardrobes – lead off a bright landing, alongside a refitted family bathroom. On the top floor, a converted loft room with two skylights offers exceptional views across the surrounding countryside. It works well as a fifth bedroom, home office or studio, with additional loft storage running the width of the room beyond.
The garden
The south-west facing patio with pergola looks out across gardens and trees to the shared land beyond, with a semi-enclosed grass area, a small pond, flower beds and mature planting. The front door opens onto a paved courtyard with flower beds.
For families with children, the garden connects seamlessly to the wider site – kids can move freely between home, gardens and the 23 acres of shared land throughout the day.
Price and tenure
Offers in the region of £850,000.
The property is held on a lease of 9,999 years from 21 April 1999, granted by The Community Project Limited. Each leaseholder is a member and director of the freeholder company, which owns the land and shared buildings. This is a freehold for all practical purposes.
See the full set of photographs and floorplan on Rightmove listing.
What is Laughton Lodge?
The community – what it means (and what it doesn’t)
Laughton Lodge is a self-managed community of 22 households on a jointly owned site. Each household owns its home on a 9,999-year lease.
The community is structured, experienced, and deliberately light-touch. Participation beyond the essentials is a matter of personal preference. Privacy is assumed rather than negotiated. This does not mean constant meetings or enforced sociability. For some residents, co-housing translates into a shared meal on a Friday night, or office and studio space close to home. For others, it means that children have the freedom to roam safely. The land is genuinely shared rather than subdivided, and daily life unfolds with less friction than in most neighbourhoods.
Around 70 people live here, from babies to those in their eighties. Many are families, and children are at the heart of everyday life. Some residents commute to Lewes, Brighton or London; others work from home using the shared offices and co-working spaces on site.
For those new to co-housing: Laughton Lodge has been running since 1998, its governance is well established, and buying in means joining something that already works.
Location
Laughton Lodge is on the edge of the village of Laughton, in the heart of the Sussex countryside, surrounded by over 400 acres of woodland. The village has a primary school, a pub, and a community-owned village shop and post office, all within walking distance.
There are secondary schools in Ringmer (3 miles, accessible independently by bus), Uckfield and Lewes. The property is also well located for independent schools including Lewes Old Grammar School and Bede’s.
Lewes and Uckfield are both less than 15 minutes away by car, with regular train services to London and Brighton. From Lewes station it’s just over an hour direct to Victoria and London Bridge. The nearest bus stop is less than 10 minutes’ walk, with half-hourly services to Lewes, Brighton and Eastbourne. Brighton and the coast are approximately 30 minutes by car.
The South Downs National Park, Glyndebourne, and the East Sussex coast are essentially on your doorstep. For those working hybrid or remotely, what you gain in landscape and space is considerable, and what you give up in commute time, for most working patterns, is modest.
Get in touch
For more information or to arrange a viewing, contact Pippa at pippaduke@yahoo.co.uk, or Mansell McTaggart on 01273 407929.