Actor James Wilby’s home is clearly one people don’t like to leave. James, best known for his aristocratic roles in Maurice, Gosford Park and A Handful Of Dust, has lived here for 18 years.
And they are not the only long-term residents in the Grade II listed house’s history. They bought it from Camilla Parker Bowles’s father Major Bruce Shand, then a widower, whose home it was for 45 years.
amilla has described her childhood here as ‘perfect in every way’. It’s easy to imagine a perfect childhood here.
The Laines, on the edge of Plumpton village near Lewes, has a paddock, wide lawns for playing games, a secret garden, a swimming pool and tennis court.
It is a rambling, quirky home built on a slope and spread over three floors. Partly 18th Century and partly 19th, it manages to look different from all four sides.
The main rooms have high ceilings and large Georgian windows with wonderful views of the garden and Downs.
Now that all but the youngest of their children – three boys and a girl aged between 25 and 13 – are flying the nest, James, 56, and Shana, 55, have decided it’s time to downsize.
The seven-bedroom house, which also has a three/four-bedroom cottage, is on the market for £3.25 million.
The only alterations the Wilbys made since the Major’s day were to the kitchen and the room above, the oldest part of the house.
Although the kitchen is on the lower ground floor, it’s still light, with a row of windows on one side. It’s a lovely, long, farmhouse-style family kitchen with an Aga, a table in the middle and a cosy sitting area.
On the ground floor it’s a bit like Cluedo, with a drawing room, billiard room, Gothic-style conservatory, dining room, sitting room, James’s study and a playroom.
Every room has its own character. ‘They’re all full of light, with gorgeous views. Even the downstairs loo has a view,’ says Shana.
It was a case of one extreme to another when James and Shana moved here from London with three small children, looking for more space.
Neither had particular connections with Sussex but Shana knew someone in the area who gave them the brochure for The Laines. They fell for it straight away.
‘We went from a flat in Notting Hill to this,’ says James. ‘We didn’t know much about gardening when we arrived.’
The gardens are fabulous, a series of ‘rooms’ divided by yew hedges with clipped doorways leading from one to the other.
‘As an actor you get time between jobs so I’ve been able to do quite a lot in the garden,’ says James.
He also built a little wooden house at the bottom of the garden.
‘I made it for the kids but they didn’t use it much when they were younger,’ he says. ‘Once they became teenagers they disappeared down there to drink beer.’
Laines Cottage, once lived in by staff, has been let by James and Shana as a useful source of income.
There’s no doubt they will miss both house and garden, but there’s no shortage of happy memories. ‘We’ve had some great parties here,’ says James.
Source: Daily Mail
