Some people fall in love with a place and want to stay there for the rest of their lives. That's what happened to Gerald and Mary Askew at Bentley. But Bentley is also very much their personal creation. He farmed, bred horses, gardened and collected wildfowl, and with Mary, also a keen gardener, built and created a remarkable home.

Their marvellous work was only brought to an end by the death of Gerald Askew in 1970. In 1978, Mary, gave the nucleus of the estate to the people of East Sussex who have enjoyed it ever since.

THE RESTORATION OF BENTLEY

Determined to take up farming, Gerald Askew searched for a suitable property and discovered Bentley in 1937.

With great plans in mind, the Askews set about adding to the original farm until the landholding was considerable and, with the War finally over, they began the task of improving Bentley.

The house had lost much of its original character and although old, had been rather unattractively 'improved'. Engaging the services of Raymond Erith, the house was extended and completely recast.

The commission was unlike most of Erith's many other alterations and additions to old houses. Here, his first thought was to bring forward a wing at each end of the old farmhouse, forming a courtyard but he decided Bentley would be much improved if the additions were made at either end.

The additions consisted of two large Palladian rooms, each with a Palladian window. Inside there is enfilade along the length of the front.

Erith's master plan may have been evolved early on in the work but it was a decade before he saw it carried through to completion. The first campaign consisted of building only one of the Palladian rooms - the Chinese Drawing Room at the east end of the house. In 1965, work on the second room, the Bird Room, got underway. Sadly, Mr Askew died soon after the room was completed. It is now dedicated to his memory, featuring his collection of wildfowl paintings from Philip Rickman and a large portrait of Mr Askew feeding his birds.

THE INTERIOR

Appropriately furnishing Bentley became equally important. Some mid-18th century wallpaper bought by London antique dealer, Jack Wilson, determined the theme for the Chinese Drawing Room. There was not quite enough for the room, so Mr Wilson had smoked mirrors made for between the windows and Jean Hornak cleverly continued the wallpaper in paint.

The luxuriant colour called for gilt furniture - French Louis XVI chairs, English Rococo wallsconces and swags, an Italian sidetable and an early 18th-century gilt sidetable. However, the first pieces bought for the room were the pair of handsome garden urns that now stand in the corners. The ceiling plasterwork with its fruit swags and medallions accords with the original idea of the room being essentially Kent.

The Bird Room is its mirror image, but is cooler and more restrained. The mood is set by the chimneypiece, which was derived from one at Palladio's Villa Maser.

Between the two Palladian rooms runs an enfilade along the whole length of the house. The little oval ante-room beside the Chinese Drawing Room was created to mark the junction of old and new and is mirrored at the other end. Through the door is a pretty sitting room with a corner fireplace and a wave-topped bookcase designed by Erith.

Next along the enfilade comes the hall. When the Askews first approached Erith for the remodelling they had in mind an enlarged entrance hall but then decided to keep it small and cottagey.

The dining room exemplifies the eye for colour and decorative, painted furniture that is seen throughout the house. It is one of the old rooms as the low beams show. The table is a 17th century oak farmhouse piece, whilst the chairs are 18th century Venetian. The subtle greyish green of the chairs is picked up in the pair of commodes and the handsome bird screen.