Sotts Hole Cottage, Crouch Lane, Borough Green, Sevenoaks

Sotts Hole Cottage originally formed part of the wider holding of Kingshill Farm which historically grew hard and soft fruit and vegetables. This is the first time the cottage has been on the market for over 80 years. Until the early 1960s, the property comprised two farm cottages which were subsequently converted into a single dwelling. The property has been extended over time by the current owners. The exact age of the Cottage is not known but the report by “House Historians” prepared in 2002, dates the property to the mid-1600s. A copy of this document is available on request.

The cottage is arranged over three floors and is of a timber frame, ragstone and solid brick construction under a simple gable, clay-tile hung roof and flat roof to the rear. The upper storey is also tile hung and some of the lower parts of the walls have been made of local quarried Kentish Ragstone. A rear extension was added in the 1960s and in the 1970s a large vaulted-ceiling room was added, offering flexible living or bedroom accommodation. More recently the kitchen became the latest extension to the accommodation.

Outside
A half circular driveway leads from Crouch Lane to a parking area by the single garage, and adjoining store. To the west and south of the house is a magnificent garden laid to lawn with mature trees and shrubs with flower beds, borders, a pond, terraced vegetable garden with fruit trees, shed and greenhouses and a pocket of ancient semi-natural woodland. There is a rose arbour over the path to the garden and a summerhouse with large store over a patio extending under a wisteria covered pergola, photographed below, looking out over the landscaped grounds and pond. The former owners spent a decade enlarging and improving the garden which was part of the National Garden Scheme for many years and admired by countless visitors. To the north of the track, there is a south-facing paddock of around 2.42 acres. Previously farmed, the land is now rewilding with naturally regenerated saplings and grasses and could be used for a variety of purposes.