Do the white thing

Mark Winstanley, creative director of The White Company, cherishes his 17th century sanctuary near Lewes

- Nione Meakin

In difficult times our homes can take on extra importance, as Mark Winstanley knows well.

His 17th-century farmhouse on the outskirts of Lewes, aptly named The Rest, is a bolthole from his busy career as creative director of high street favourite The White Company. But lately he has needed the house’s calm and solidity more than usual. After being diagnosed with cancer in November 2018, it has become his sanctuary, somewhere to recharge after treatment alongside his wife Sally, his daughter Mabel, 14, son Felix, 17, the family labradoodle Hector and all their treasured objects. Speaking to Sussex Life before lockdown, Mark recalls the relief he felt when Sally collected him from his surgery at London’s Royal Marsden Hospital and drove him back to Sussex. “As soon as we pulled into the drive I thought, ‘I can get better now. I’m home.’” He usually spends his weeks in London, working and receiving radiotherapy, before heading back to The Rest for weekends. “Those 48 hours – walking on the Downs, filling my lungs with fresh air, seeing my kids, relaxing at home – gives me the energy and positivity to get through another week.”