An eye for DETAIL

Sue Denham-Wade and her husband, screenwriter Robert Wade, moved to Sussex as a year-long experiment. More than ten years later they’re still here...

- Nione Meakin

“We decided, as an adventure, to have a year in Sussex while the children were small,” says Sue DenhamWade. “That was more than a decade ago.” She and husband Robert Wade, a renowned screenwriter best known for his work on the James Bond films, knew almost immediately that they did not want to return to London. But it was finding their current home in the tiny village of Madehurst, West Sussex, that sealed the deal.

The four-acre property, which backs onto the Dale Park estate, began life as a pair of 17th century cottages: “We believe they housed the laundry for the big house.” They were knocked through into a single house in the early 20th century and each inhabitant since appears to have added to the building, resulting in a sprawling, characterful warren of rooms and staircases. It’s the sort of place where people can easily be together – or very far apart – so is ideally suited to a family of six. “I liked the idea of a place we could also put our mark on,” says Sue, as the family dogs Woody and Alfie follow us excitedly through the house. “And Madehurst is a fantastic place to live – ten minutes to Chichester, 40 minutes to Brighton and yet you feel you’re in the middle of nowhere.”