The family live in the west side of the house, with its beautiful original ceilings from 1601, while the east side is divided into flats, which are let.
Little has truly changed in 500 years – except, quite recently, the kitchen. “Having lived in Hackney for 20 years, we were used to open-plan living, so we changed the circulation so that we could have an open-plan kitchen-dining-playroom for the children. That really made it feel like our home.”
Though Borde Hill is far from a blank canvas, having been open for almost 60 years, Goddard has plenty to work on – and with.
Over the last two years, she has rebranded the estate with a new visual identity, and in June she hosted the inaugural Borde Hill Garden Festival, targeting a slightly younger audience, people “who really care about nature, love flowers and plants, and are hungry to learn”.
But the project she is most excited about is Reinventing Borde Hill, for which in July she was awarded £2.25m from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
It has been long in the making: Goddard has been “thinking strategically about the future of Borde Hill” for the last five years. One of the key pillars of this focuses on community, wellbeing, and outdoor learning.
“We’re on the edge of Haywards Heath and we border Cuckfield. [We have] the opportunity to engage with our local community, slightly reposition what an estate is, and become more inclusive. It’s about how we can unlock more of the estate and invite new audiences to enjoy the beauty of Borde Hill,” says Goddard.
