21 Iconic Buildings to Explore in East Sussex

This 14th-century timber-framed house was famously the very first historic property purchased by the National Trust, in 1896. It is what we call a Wealden type of building, that is, with a projecting hall, flush with the first floor wings. The house is a 14th-century Wealden hall house. Although the name reflects the fact that the parish priest and his housekeeper used it, the house was originally built as a farmer's house.

This beautiful medieval house is part of the story of King Henry VIII and his divorce settlement with his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves. Owned and operated as a museum by the Sussex Archaeological Society under the operating name "Sussex Past", it is home to wide-ranging collections of furniture and artefacts of Sussex interest.

The Bateman's estate consists of 300 acres of beautiful High Weald Countryside. Set within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The house was built in 1634. Kipling's widow Caroline bequeathed the house to the National Trust on her death in 1939. The house is a Grade I listed building.

Battle Abbey is a partially ruined Benedictine abbey in Battle, East Sussex, England. The abbey was built on the site of the Battle of Hastings and dedicated to St Martin of Tours. It is a Scheduled Monument. Much of the battlefield became part of the abbey’s great park, which formed the core of a country estate after the abbey’s suppression in 1538.

Bodiam Castle is a 14th-century moated castle near Robertsbridge in East Sussex, England. It was built in 1385 by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge. It hosts one of the largest bat roosts in south-east England, and is home to five species of bats. The castle survives physically as a moated ruin within the Rother valley, but its spirit resides in its power to capture your imagination and allow you to ‘look into another world’.

Camber castle should have been one of Henry VIII’s most celebrated and innovative defensive structures, but, due to the whims of nature, it lies derelict and almost unheard of. It was originally located overlooking the shallow sea on a shingle spit which protected the approach to these towns. Camber Castle once stood on the shoreline of an important estuary guarding access to the major Cinque Port of Rye and the primary anchorage for shipping in the eastern English Channel.

Charleston, in East Sussex, is a property associated with the Bloomsbury group, that is open to the public. It was the country home of Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant and is an example of their decorative style within a domestic context, representing the fruition of more than sixty years of artistic creativity.

Farleys House near Chiddingly, East Sussex, has been converted into a museum and archive featuring the lives and work of its former residents, the photographer Lee Miller and the Surrealist artist Roland Penrose. It also houses a collection of contemporary art by their friends Pablo Picasso, Man Ray, Max Ernst and Joan Miró.

Firle Place is an outstanding privately owned country house in Sussex that dates from the time of Henry VIII but was substantially remodelled in the 18th Century. It has been the home of the Gage family for over 500 years, and is a house with a rich history and extraordinary collection of old master paintings, porcelain and furniture.

Glyndebourne is an opera house in East Sussex, just one hour from London, which has been the venue for the annual Glyndebourne Festival since 1934. It was one of the iconic attraction in this area and is visited by so many tourists.

Great Dixter is a historic house, a garden, a center of education, and a place of pilgrimage for horticulturists from across the world. The garden, widely known for its continuous tradition of sophisticated plantsmanship, is Grade I listed in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

Hastings Castle was originally a wooden tower built on top of a man made mound or motte, which was surrounded by an outer courtyard or bailey. The ruins you can see today are only half of the original structure; the castle’s south wall and keep were lost to the sea whilst remains of the east gate and east wall – which served as the foundation for the two towers, can still be seen.

This 15th Century moated castle is set in 550 acres of glorious woodland and gardens. Visit the tearoom, visitor centre and children’s woodland play area and take a leisurely walk along the nature trail. Don’t forget the beautiful gardens. The castle was renowned for being one of the first buildings to use that material in England, and was built using bricks taken from the local clay, by builders from Flanders.

Lamb House is a delightful National Trust Georgian house in Rye, East Sussex, once home to writer Henry James. It was here that much of the English literary establishment came to visit James, including H.G. Wells, Rudyard Kipling, Ford Maddox Ford and Max Beerbohm.

Lewes Castle is one of the oldest Norman fortresses in England, with incredible panoramic views of Sussex from the top of the keep. Its Museum houses a fine archaeological collection, including delicate prehistoric flints, fine Roman pottery, Saxon weapons, and medieval gold rings. New features include interactive displays, a new medieval gallery, and an audio-visual show.

Monk’s House is an unassuming, weather-boarded house at the end of the village of Rodmell, the history of which can be traced to the early 16th century. The writer Virginia Woolf and her husband, the political activist, journalist and editor Leonard Woolf, bought the house by auction at the White Hart Hotel, Lewes, on 1 July 1919 for 700 pounds, and received there many visitors connected to the Bloomsbury Group, including T. S. Eliot, E. M. Forster, Roger Fry and Lytton Strachey. The purchase i

A Majestic manor house with a beautiful garden and it was designed by Lancelot Brown in the Serpentine Style but have developed into a major twentieth-century woodland garden and arboretum, planted in the Gardenesque style. The Sheffield Park Garden is famous for its display of spring flowers and is at its best in the autumn. It was originally laid out in the 18th century by Capability Brown and further developed in the early 20th century by its then-owner, Arthur Gilstrap Soames. It is now ow

Pashley Manor is a house with Tudor front with 11 acres of award-winning gardens. A few hours in these immaculately maintained gardens is an ideal way to relax and reconnect with nature. There are also glimpses of beautiful sculptures which enhances this garden.

Pevensey Castle’s impressive ruins stand on what was once a peninsula projecting from the Sussex coast. This naturally defensible site, first fortified by the Romans, was most famously the place where the Norman Conquest of England began. It is a great family day out in East Sussex, encompassing rich history and fun things to do and see for adults and children.

The Ypres Tower is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. It has uneven floors, low doorways, uneven steps and no lift. The castle may have been used as a prison and in 1430 became the property of John de Iprys; which lead to the name Ypres Tower.