Writers Virginia and Leonard Woolf – both stalwarts of the influential Bloomsbury set – had long adored East Sussex. Their home-from-home, perfect for weekends and holidays, was Asheham House, an elegant, if mysterious, property under the lea of Asheham Down, its tufty lawn and fields sloping to the river Ouse.
Virginia – already a published author – felt an affinity with these ancient chalk ridges, replete with the beauty and space she needed for her thoughts to soar; a landscape of solitude and sanctuary. Not only that, but her sister, the artist Vanessa Bell, lived close by at Charleston Farmhouse.
Then, in 1919, came unwelcome news: the landlord wanted the property back for his farm-bailiff. The Woolfs would have to start house-hunting.
The search began badly: Virginia rashly purchased a converted windmill in Lewes. Charming, perhaps; but when she took Leonard to see it, he was not impressed. Too pokey, he declared.
Their luck, however, was about to turn. As they took their leave, they
