Batemans, (also known as Lane Bridge), East Sussex, England

The following is from the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest.

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

The present house at Bateman's was built in about 1634, probably by William Langham, born in 1589 the son of John Langham of Northampton, and was occupied from 1687 until 1715 by an iron master, John Britton. The original house of the manor of Burwash is said to have been sited about 800 metres south of the church in Burwash village (Victoria County History) but no traces remain. The name Bateman's is not contemporary with the building of the house, which seems to have been known as Lane Bridge up to 1760. There is no further record until the house is referred to as Bateman's in the parish annals in 1790. The house became a farmhouse, and was also occupied for forty years during the mid to late 19th century by the vicar's bailiff (guidebook). In 1902 Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) bought the house, its surrounding buildings, about 3 hectares of land and Park Mill (about 200 metres to the south-west), and laid out the gardens. He acquired more land around the gardens, building up an estate of about 120 hectares, and lived at Bateman's until his death in 1936. It was bequeathed to the National Trust by his wife, as a memorial to him, on her death in 1939. The garden was further developed by the Trust's tenant, Mr C Woodbine, and subsequently by the Trust itself.