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Charlestone Farmhouse is the country hideaway of the Bloomsbury group. The artist Vanessa Bell moved to Charleston in 1916 with her partner Duncan Grant, so that the conscientious objector had access to compulsory farm work during WW1. There were many visitors, long and short term such as Clive Bell, Roger Fry, John Maynard Keynes, E.M. Forster, and Virginia Woolf (Vanessa’s sister who lived locally).
We loved looking round the rooms of the house, with hand decorated furniture, doors, fireplaces and textiles, some of which were designed for their short-lived Omega workshops period. The guide was very informative and the tour of the house took us about an hour. The garden was lovely English cottage style, with many quirky features and statues. We had 2 lovely visits to the coffee shop’s patio garden for lunch and tea.
Charleston is on the A27 between Brighton and Eastbourne, between the villages of Firle and Selmeston.
It is just down the road from Middle farm, a great destination for organic and farm fresh produce and cider.
Still on the Bloomsbury trail, we also visited Berwick church, which the Bloomsbury group decorated during WW2.
Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant are buried in Firle churchyard.
Virginia Woolf lived in the Monk’s House at Rodmell.
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