Splendid isolation

THE launch onto the market of three idyllic Sussex houses that have survived storms, fire, war and pestilence during their long and often eventful histories reminds one that England’s green and pleasant land will still be there when the present emergency is over.

Champions Farm near Thakeham, West Sussex, which is for sale though Knight Frank (020–7861 1093) and Savills (020–7016 3713) at a guide price of £3.695 million, was first mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1296, when it was held by a Richard Champneys and, later, by a Gilbert Champion or Campion, who was probably a kinsman. The estate, known as Champneys, was