The_Laines

The Laines

The Laines

Childhood home of Camilla Parker-Bowles


The Laines is an 18th-century country house in Plumpton, East Sussex, near Lewes in England. It was the childhood home of Queen Camilla.

The centre part was built in the 18th century, with 19th-century additions to the north and south, and was originally a rectory.[1] It was listed Grade II on the National Heritage List for England in 1979.[1] The house sits in over five acres (2.0 ha) of grounds, with an orchard and a walled kitchen garden.[2] There is a swimming pool, tennis court, paddock, and a separate four-bedroom cottage.[3]

The Laines was the childhood home of Camilla Shand, the future consort of Charles III.[2] Camilla has stated that her childhood there was "perfect in every way".[4] The house had been purchased by her parents, British Army officer and businessman Major Bruce Shand and his wife, Rosalind Shand (née Cubitt), who also had a house in South Kensington, London.[2] The Shands moved there after the Second World War so that they could be near Sonia Cubitt, Camilla's grandmother.[3] The Laines is believed to be where Bruce Shand asked the young Prince Charles about his intentions with regard to Camilla.[3]

The gardens were redesigned by Lanning Roper for the Shands in the late 1960s, Roper worked on the gardens and offered advice to the Shands until 1982.[5][6] Roper's work at The Laines was featured in the September 1982 issue of Country Life.[7]

The Shands lived at The Laines until Rosalind died in 1994, when the estate was sold to the English actor James Wilby.[3] In 2014, The Laines was listed for sale at £3.25 million, the second time in 63 years that it was available to purchase.[3] It was put up for sale by Wilby.[8]


References

  1. Historic England. "The Laines (Grade II) (1238285)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  2. Thompson, Flora (16 March 2015). "Asking price for Duchess of Cornwall's former home slashed by £100,000". The Argus. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  3. Brandreth, Gyles (2006). Charles & Camilla : portrait of a love affair. London: Arrow Books. p. 104. ISBN 9781446474211. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  4. Floud, Roderick (2019). An Aconomic History of the English Garden. p. 251. ISBN 978-0-241-23557-7. OCLC 1128799050.
  5. Brown, Jane (1987). Lanning Roper and his Gardens. Rizzoli. p. 216. ISBN 0-8478-0787-8. OCLC 14214639.
  6. Sicca, Cinzia Maria (1983). "Current bibliography of Garden History". The Journal of Garden History. 3 (4). Informa UK Limited: 347–381. doi:10.1080/01445170.1983.10412454. ISSN 0144-5170.
  7. Hewitson, Jessie (13 March 2015). "A house with royal approval". The Times. No. 71455. p. 107. Retrieved 14 October 2022.

50.9025°N 0.0607°W / 50.9025; -0.0607


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