Seacox Heath
Seacox Heath is a house in the village of Ticehurst in East Sussex, England. It is owned by the Russian government and is used a weekend retreat by the staff of their embassy in London.
The house has been listed Grade II on the National Heritage List for England (NHLE) since May 1987.[1]
It was built in 1871 to designs by the architects Richard Carpenter and William Slater. The NHLE listing described it as a "Tall mansion in the style of a French chateau", set over three storeys.[1] The lodge building to the house was separately listed in October 1996.[2] For several decades the house was owned by the politician George Goschen, 1st Viscount Goschen.[3] In January 1921 Rudyard Kipling met Emir Faisal of the Hejaz at the house.[4] Kipling asked Faisal so many questions about the breeds of camels in Arabia that Faisal thought that Kipling had mistaken him for a camel trader.[4]
In October 1946 the house and 83 acres of the estate were bought by the Russian government as a retreat for its diplomatic staff of their British diplomatic staff.[5] Shortly before the sale, 630 acres of the estate had been sold by Lord Goschen.[5] By 1999 the house and estate had tennis courts and a football pitch.[3] In November 1999 dogs from the house were suspected of killing more than 50 sheep that had roamed in fields near the house in Lamberhurst.[6] In 2022 it was reported that the British Government was considering gifting the house at Seacox Heath to the Ukrainian Government as compensation for the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[7]
References
- ^ a b Historic England. "Seacox Heath (1274662)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ Historic England. "Seacox Heath (1268266)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ a b Lawson, Athena (30 November 1999). "A little dacha in the Sussex woods". The Times. No. 66685. p. 5. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ a b Lycett, Andrew (2015-11-12). Rudyard Kipling. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p. 514. ISBN 978-1-4746-0299-0.
- ^ a b "Mansions for Russians". The Times. No. 50582. 15 October 1946. p. 4. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ Harvey, Michael (30 November 1999). "Sheep farmers want Russian dogs destroyed". The Times. No. 66685. p. 5. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ Hollingsworth, Mark; Midolo, Emanuele (9 July 2022). "Seacox Heath castle retreat 'used by Russian spies' may be seized". The Times. London. ISSN 0140-0460.
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