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Standen, Sussex

Standen near East Grinstead in Sussex is a grand country house which was built right at the beginning of the modern technological age. Standen was the work of architect Philip Webb, who built the house between 1892 and 1894 as a holiday home for James Beale, a successful London solicitor. The starting point for the house was the fifteenth century Hollybush farmhouse which now sits close to the ticket office. This was linked by a covered gateway to the new house.

Standen, built with great care and craftsmanship, contained the most up to date features. The House of Commons had been lit with electric light in 1881, with the first private house, Cragside, lit by electricity in 1884. Standen built only a few years later had one of the earliest electrical systems in Britain. This original system still survives in the house, and continues to power the atmospheric lighting of Standen today. The light bulbs, I was told, are specially produced at great expense by Phillips. The house was decorated by William Morris's comonay

Standen seems to represent the future, but its builders with their strong links withthe Arts and Crafts movement of the nineteenth century were also ambivalent about how society was changing. William Morris believed that modern mass production endangered individual creativity, and threatened to dehumanise the working lives of millions of people. As a remedy he helped create the Arts and Crafts movement which he hoped would revive traditional individual craftsmanship. In reality hand made products wereexpensive,and William Morris egalitarian ideals created items which only the rich could afford. Standen, for all its beauty, is an illustation of this. Standen's owner who commissed the work was very wealthy.

 

Walking through the house gave me the sense of entering the world of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne. The H.G. Wells story The Time Machine was published in 1895, the year after Standen was completed, when the Beale family were settling into their lovely house with its exciting electric lights. These turn of the century writers were ambivalent about science and technology, writing stories about its glorious possibilities, and potential pitfalls. Walking through Standen the overriding feeling was one of a hopeful future. The house is beautifully designed, and is decorated throughout by Webb's life long friend, William Morris. Once again there is a sense of the modern in Morris's decoration which draws so heavily on nature for its inspiration. The modern fear is one of conflict between the human and natural world, but the feeling of this relationship at Standen is one of harmony and hope. Beautiful William Morris wallpaper uses natural designs from plants, and there is a beautiful conservatory, where being inside the house is much like being outside.

 

Opening Times: From 1st - 9th March the house will be open weekends 11am to 4.30pm. From 15th March to 20th July 11am to 4:30pm Wednesday to Sunday, from 21st July to 31st August Wednesday to Monday 11am to 4:30pm, from 3rd September to 2nd November Wednesday to Sunday 11am to 4:30pm, and from 8th November to 21st December 11am to 3pm weekends only. The garden closes at 5.30pm.

Please note some exterior decoration will be taking place during 2008.

Directions: Standen is two miles south of East Grinstead. The house is sign posted from the town centre, and from the B2110. Click here for an interactive road and satellite map centred on Standen.

Access: five wheelchairs are available to hire. Only the ground floor of the house is accessible for those in wheelchairs. A photograph album tour is provided, as well as large print and braille guides. A map of accessible routes within the grounds is available. There is an adapted toilet in the kitchen courtyard. The shop and restaurant have ramped access. There is an induction loop in the shop.

 

Contact:

telephone: 01342 323029

web site: www.nationaltrust.org.uk