More than 125 years ago, architect and designer Alfred Powell built an unassuming cottage in the hills of Surrey. It has since become one of Britain’s most important surviving examples of the Arts and Crafts Movement.
Known as Long Copse, the Grade II-listed residence in Ewhurst was originally commissioned in 1899 as a four-room summer retreat for artist Olivia Mudie-Cooke. It was gradually expanded into a substantial country home, with each addition designed to look as though it had evolved organically over centuries. Today, the six-bedroom estate is available for only the third time in its history, listing with Blue Book Agency for 3.5 million pounds (about $4.8 million).
Powell is best known for his work reviving hand-painted ceramics at Wedgwood, meaning examples of his architecture are much harder to come by. Long Copse, however, shows his skill in the realm of bricks and mortar. The house also has ties to architect and furniture maker Ernest Gimson, who designed much of the original oak joinery, fireplaces, doors, and built-in furnishings that remain to this day.
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The kitchen pairs rustic wood cabinetry with original architectural details.
Freddie Ardley; Blue Book Agency
The roughly 3,300-square-foot home is full of handcrafted touches, from stone walls and leaded-glass windows to oak staircases and centuries-old fireplaces. Decorative artwork by Italian artist Cavaliere Formilli adds extra charm. A wisteria-covered porch opens to a series of cozy living spaces, including a drawing room with a stone hearth, a dining room connected to a garden room, and a study with an old-fashioned bread oven.
Elsewhere on the estate are a detached timber-framed barn that now serves as a library and music room and a picturesque thatched-roof guest cottage. Set high on the slopes of Pitch Hill within the Surrey Hills National Landscape, the property also enjoys sweeping views across the Sussex Weald and grounds planted with flowering shrubs, woodland paths, and some 70 oak trees.
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The formal dining room is filled with period details and abundant natural light.
Freddie Ardley; Blue Book Agency
“Long Copse is one of those exceptionally rare houses where architectural importance and everyday beauty exist in perfect harmony,” says Blue Book Agency co-founder Lindsay Cuthill. “It isn’t simply an important historic house; it’s a wonderfully comfortable family home.”
The home has long attracted architects and historians from around the world and was featured in Lawrence Weaver’s book Small Country Houses of Today, cementing its place as one of the defining residences of the Arts and Crafts movement.
Click here to see more photos of this English county home.
Freddie Ardley; Blue Book Agency
Authors
Abby Montanez
