The Strand House, a four red AA diamond-rated guesthouse near the East Sussex coastline, has changed hands.

The Grade II-listed licensed guest house – which is featured in both the Michelin and the Which? tourist guides and holds a four-star silver accreditation with VisitBritain – is set within large gardens slightly back from the main A259 Rye to Hastings road in the historic village of Winchelsea.

The village is one of Britain’s best-preserved Bastide towns, which were set up during the 100 Years War with France. It lies within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is part of the “1066 Country” region.
 
The hotel, which dates back to the 15th century, is located below Strand Gate (the original entrance to the medieval fortified port) and was previously Winchelsea’s Old Work House and Smugglers Haunt

Period details include beamed ceilings, exposed wall timbers, inglenook fireplaces, low doorways, and a concealed priest hole.
 
Facilities include 10 character letting bedrooms (one a four-poster room), a 20-seat dining room, a guest’s honesty bar, a lounge, and a study hall with staircase.

A separate, modern two-storey annexe houses the owners’ accommodation, which takes in an en-suite master bedroom, a dressing room, bathroom, kitchenette, and lounge.

The Maidstone office of Christie + Co sold the freehold off a guide price of £895,000 to Hugh Davie and Mary Sullivan on behalf of Peter and Jan Clarke.

By Angela Frewin