East Sussex residents sign petition to protect 'historic' farmhouse from being destroyed

Raymond Russell, currently living in Yorkshire, wants to make the Great Easterfields farmhouse a listed building, after finding out there were plans to knock the Wealden village structure down and turn it into nine new homes.

Raymond said: “Just before Christmas I was visiting relatives and we drove past the house and saw there was a planning notice saying they were wanting to put nine new buildings on the site of Great Easterfields.

“I visit the area several times a year and go past the building because it's where I grew up. It then dawned on us that this house had never been listed, it was just one of those oversights. There are properties all round the country that aren't listed and it should be.”

Great Easterfields is an historic Wealden farmhouse on Chiddingly Road in Horam – which Raymond says dates back to at least the 1600s.

Despite being extended and altered in the 1970s, it retains a number of important historical architectural features, such as the original chimney and inglenook fireplace - with bread oven - which is a feature of the living room.

Raymond said: “Between the age of 8 and eighteen it was my family home. I remember it fondly. I also remember it being really historic, there were all sorts of features which made it a fascinating house to live in.”

On November 18, 2022, Tymaric Properties Limited submitted an application to Wealden District Council for the redevelopment of the site to provide nine residential dwellings together with associated access, car parking and landscaping works.

Raymond has applied to Historic England for Great Easterfields to be assessed for listing, in order to protect it from these plans and any other future projects.

By having the building listed for its ‘special architectural and historic interest’, it would have to be carefully considered by councillors in any development plans, with a priority placed on preserving the site for future generations.

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Raymond said: “Personally, I would love to see the building remain. So we contacted Wealden District Council and put in an objection to the planning. It wasn't particularly clear what was going on when you look through the planning application, it basically says the house will be torn down.

“It struck us that the council probably didn't know it was an historic building. They should have done, but it’s just one of those things. We are really pleased having had some correspondence that they are doing a heritage assessment of the building.”

Currently, the petition has more than 750 signatures. Raymond told Sussexworld that this has lead to Stacey Robins, head of Planning and Environmental Services at Wealden District Council, agreeing to undertake an assessment of the building as a potential ‘historic asset’.

Raymond said: “Horam deserves to have its history kept, I think that’s really important. There are a number of reasons, admittedly very personal, but it is important bit of our history which could be gone very quickly if the developers get there way.”