Brightling Park (previously known as Rose Hill) is a country estate which lies in the parishes of Brightling and Dallington in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. It is now the home of Grissell Racing, who have operated a racehorse training facility there for more than 30 years.[1]
The 18th-century house is brick-built in two storeys with a nine window north front and stands in some 200ha (490 acres) of parkland. Additional wings added in 1810 were demolished in 1955. 18th-century grade II listed stables and a coach-house to the south-east of the house comprise a single long building. The house is approached by an avenue bounded by ha-has, to the side of which stands a grade II listed alcove or summerhouse. The parkland is Grade II listed [2] whereas Brightling Park House itself is a Grade II* listed building.[3]
Associated with the estate are a number of follies and an observatory, all designed by architect Sir Robert Smirke for John "Mad Jack" Fuller in the early 1800s.
- The Alcove or Summerhouse stands to the west of the house within the park and is a semicircular alcove built of red brick with a four-centred archway entrance flanked by pairs of interlocking columns. Built in 1803, it is a Grade II listed building.[4]
- The Temple, standing within the park 400m to the south-west of the house, is a small circular building consisting of a colonnade surmounted by a dome. It is a Grade II* listed building.[5]
- The Obelisk, also known as Brightling Needle, stands some 500m outside the park's perimeter wall on top of Brightling Down and is a Grade II* listed building.[6]
- The Observatory was built in 1818 on a high spot outside the park some 150m to the west. It is a T-shaped one storey building built of ashlar with slits for the telescopes. Now a private house, it is also a Grade II* listed building.[7]
- ^ "Follies of Mad Jack Fuller". Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
- ^ Historic England. "Brightling Park (1001261)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
- ^ Historic England. "Brightling Park (1352916)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
- ^ Historic England. "THE SUMMERHOUSE OR ALCOVE AT BRIGHTLING PARK TO THE WEST OF THE HOUSE (1044062)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
- ^ Historic England. "THE TEMPLE AT BRIGHTLING PARK TO THE SOUTH WEST OF THE HOUSE (1352934)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
- ^ Historic England. "BRIGHTLING NEEDLE (1044089)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
- ^ Historic England. "THE OBSERVATORY (1277117)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 November 2014.