Knepp Castle is a medieval building between Shipley and West Grinstead, very close to the A24 south of Horsham.  The castle stands on a mound, known in Old English as a “cnaep”, which is thought to be the origin of the name “Knepp”

Built in the 12th century by William de Braose as a motte and baily fortress, the castle was rebuilt in stone in 1214 by King John, when a 2-storey keep was incorporated.  The building has hosted a lot of royalty, including Henry III, Edward II and Richard II.  In later years the castle was allowed to deteriorate and by the early 18th century it had almost completely fallen into disrepair.  A hundred years later Sir Charles Burrell started to look after the remains, fencing them and reinforcing to prevent further damage.

At around the same time, Sir Charles Burrell built a castellated gothic mansion close to the site of the castle and this building is now known as Knepp Castle.

The remains of the castle itself still stand on the “cnaep”, which was a natural mound and is surrounded by a ditch fed from a pond and ramparts.  This created a moat which 300 years ago was still full of water.  Now all that remains is one wall, around 8 feet thick, containing a doorway with an opening above and can been seen briefly as you pass through on the A24.  These remains are thought to have been part of the original keep.

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Naturally there are many things to consider when you decide to build your own home, but here are a few of the more important ones.

Did you know:

• Although we now know a "skyscaper" as a very tall building, originally the term referred to anything tall, like a triangular sky-sail that soared into the air.  It was even used for tall horses or humans!
• The first elevator installed in a high building in 1857 travelled at 0.45mph.  Today's modern lifts travel much faster and the ones installed in the Shanghai Tower reach speeds over 45mph - which is 100x as fast!
• For 3,800 years the Great Pyramid of Giza was the tallest  structure in the world at 455 feet.  Today the pyramid would cost nearly £1billion to build.
• A Chinese construction company was able to beat all records and complete a 57-storey building in 19 days 
• The Hoover Dam in the US was built with the incredible volume of 3,250,000 square yards of concrete.
  

In the UK there are some very big house builders we've all heard of, including Taylor Wimpey, Barrett, Berkeley, Persimmon and quite a few more.  Many of these companies build new homes across the  country, or sometimes they operate on a regional basis.

They build thousands of properties every year to fulfil the needs of the market.  They don't generally build individual homes of a bespoke nature and their head offices are unlikely to be located in your area.

When choosing a builder for a special home, you might want to look more locally for builders who know the area and what will suit the environment as well as the client.  It's astonishing how many times we see individual houses or small estates that look as though they belong in an urban environment, or properties in a rural setting that look like something out of "Footballers' Wives". 

We believe we should be building modern houses that incorporate energy-saving designs, yet blend with the area. Homes that please the eye, whilst acknowledging there are many different tastes and no style suits everyone.  By working with professional architects we can produce designs that work on many levels, are practical, money-saving and beautiful.  That's what we aim for our Horsham Builders to produce.

There are a number of different ways you can add a new room to your property, provided you have a little extra space - or even a lot of extra space!

Here are some ideas that might inspire you to increase your living area without having the expense and upheaval of moving from a home you may love.

1. Convert the loft into another room. All too often the attic is just wasted space, so why not turn it into an extra bedroom or a home office.  With modern materials windows can easily be inserted into the roof, making the room light and airy.
2. Remodel your home, changing the layout. Often those who remodel change to an open-plan design, but there's no reason why you can't move around walls and change the design to incorporate an extra room.  Make your house reflect your personality and suit your requirements.
3. Add an extension to house the extra room, or re-arrange the layout to incorporate your new room within the existing curtilage and use the new extension for something like a stunning kitchen.
4. Add a garden room that will enhance your property and provide additional accommodation.  Many garden rooms don't require planning permission, so it can be an easy solution.
5. Extend below the house, adding a basement, which can house whatever you want.  Not a cheap solution but one that's becoming popular in cities like London where space is at a premium
6. Convert outbuildings into additional accomodation.  Barn conversions make awesome extra space for living or entertainment centres and even indoor pools.
7. Under the new planning laws, you can add two storeys to your home with little permission needed.  So why not take advantage and add another floor to your house - which will probably provide far more than one spare room!  Could be an economical way to add a lot of space to your property.

New planning laws were announced yesterday (21st July 2020) in Parliament enabling unused buildings to be demolished and rebuilt without the need for full planning permission.

The same announcement included news that two storeys may be added to existing houses using a fast-track approval process. 

These new laws are expected to relieve pressure on greenfield sites and reduce red tape, whilst allowing the building of more new homes that fit in with local areas.

Further plans are being set out by the government to reform England's planning system and details will be released this month. The objective is to encourage well-designed high-quality new homes set in green and beautiful comunities, whilst cutting out much bureacracy.