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Top Cultural Catsit in East Sussex
Pet lover and founder of Housesit Match Lamia Walker committed to a catsit in East Sussex without realising the cultural delights that were within a short drive of the pet owners home. Visits to Charleston, Monk’s House, popping into Lewes to see the medieval castle and much much more. Read on to learn more.
What I did on my Cultural Catsit in East Sussex
A last-minute catsitting request tumbled in last month to catsit in East Sussex for the daughter of a former client—an opportunity I simply couldn’t resist. I know, I know, you’ve seen me snatch a jewel of a housesit off the listings once too often, and you probably wonder: doesn’t she ever stay at her desk to manage the business of HouseSit Match?
Well, this was a special request. One of our favourite and longest-standing homeowners, Liddy, had recently passed away, and her daughter EJ needed to travel to Scotland for the funeral. But who would care for Stanley and Oliver, her 20-year-old cats?
I had made a promise to both Liddy and EJ that I would always help if I could. So, less than 10 days later, I was installed in a lovely cottage not far from Brighton with two adorable felines for company. As my long weekend catsit in East Sussex began, EJ and David briefed me on the prescribed care for their senior cats – feeding, medication and treats!
They also mentioned a few places a short drive away that I might want to visit. I made a few mental notes and, as always, asked where I could set up my office and laptop.
Photo courtesy of Lamia Walker
Working at the Catsit
They kindly offered me David’s office, a beautifully equipped space with walls lined with books spanning several millennia of classical history and literature. It was hard to stay focused while seated at that desk. Do you ever have that problem? Other people’s books are always so much more interesting than the contents of your own library!
Actually, I did manage to get through my planned Zoom meetings—at least two each day. But honestly, it was a challenge. It felt like squaring the circle, because the whole house was lined with fascinating and extremely tempting bookshelves: novels, short stories, cookery books, gardening books, and pictorial guides to world-class museums on every surface. I didn’t turn the TV on once all weekend, which is saying something, because I am usually a bit of a square-eyed monster after work when I am housesitting!
What A Turn-Up For The Books!
After waking up alone with the cats on Saturday morning, I began to research some of the nearby places my hosts had suggested. They recommended making time for the Charleston Farmhouse, the Bloomsbury Group artists’ country retreat, which was only a 15-minute drive away.
A Catsit in East Sussex: Gateway to Charleston
I already knew of the Bloomsbury Group. After university, I had actually lived in Bloomsbury in London, renting a room the size of a small cupboard close to my first job in publishing.
Did You Know?
A Circle of Friends and Lovers
Have you heard the phrase, “They lived in squares, painted in circles, and loved in triangles”?
Some attribute this to the American wit and writer Dorothy Parker, but did you know it is actually a misattribution of a quote from a novel by Margaret Irwin? In her novel Fire Down Below, she refers to the Bloomsbury Group as the ‘Gloomsbury Group.’ When a child asks what they are, it is explained:
“It is a circle, my fair child, composed of a few squares where all the couples are triangles.”
Over time, the modern version of the quote was attributed to Dorothy Parker simply because it sounded like something she might have said.
I booked a ticket and drove to Charleston, leaving the felines at my catsit in East Sussex well-fed, watered, and with all their medicines dutifully administered, food and water dishes replenished.
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Of course, I loved it. What a temple to art and beauty they created. Doubtless, their lives must have been hard at times, living so deep in the country during the wars, rationing the few supplies available. Yet, what inspiration they took from each other, from nature, and from life itself to create this fabulous place and the art embraced within its walls.
What is most astounding about Charleston is the unvarnished authenticity of the art that adorns every surface of each room and most of the furniture. The society that curates and cares for this wonderful treasure trove has done an excellent job representing the period when the group lived there and preserving the remaining pieces. It is definitely worth a visit.
Returning to My Cultural Cats in East Sussex
Reinstalled with the characterful Stanley and Oliver, I went through a few leaflets in the visitor’s bedroom and learned of Leonard and Virginia Woolf’s home, ‘Monk’s House,’ which was also a short drive away. With the historic town of Lewes on the way home, my plan for Sunday was taking shape.
Embarrassing though it is to admit, I have only come to appreciate the works of Virginia Woolf in recent years. Reading her as a younger woman, I was clueless to her astute sensibility and sharp observation. But when I revisited her in my late thirties first by reading her letters, I found greater resonance in her work and grew to love her insights.
“A true letter should be as a film of wax pressed close to the graving in the mind.”
From a letter by Virginia Woolf, to her brother in law Clive Bell in 1907.
If you haven’t read them yet, seek out the short essays she wrote about London in the 1930s, republished in a single volume in 1975, and again in 2004 as The London Scene. While some places in London have changed beyond recognition, others described in essays like “The Oxford Street Tide,” “Great Men’s Houses,” and “Abbeys and Cathedrals” make you feel like she walked there with you yesterday, tugging your elbow to share a few home truths.
Monk’s House
There is something extremely grounded and truthful about the home and writer’s retreat that Leonard and Virginia shaped for themselves and their various guests. Furnishings and art spill over from Charleston—the home of Virginia’s sister, Vanessa Bell, just a few minutes away by car—while the expansive gardens pour down toward the River Ouse.
A Room of One’s Own
Virginia’s bedroom has views overlooking the garden. It was originally built as an extension to the main house using the proceeds of her novel Orlando, with the intention of becoming her writing room. The room still houses a small desk and shelves holding her original copies of Shakespeare’s plays, wrapped in decorative paper by Virginia herself to protect the covers—just as you or I might have done at the beginning of a new school year. Ultimately, though, she chose to use the space as a bedroom.
Instead, she had a dedicated writing room—an airy wooden cabin constructed as her very own sanctuary, boasting views reaching out over the Ouse River Valley.
“A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.”
— A Room of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf.
The garden nearest the house is a series of cultivated spaces with oblong, square, and circular flower beds. Further from the building, the grounds become more free and open, with scattered fruit trees meandering around the pasture leading to Virginia’s writing room, eventually opening out onto a flatter green overlooking the spectacular valley view.
“No need to hurry. No need to sparkle. No need to be anybody but oneself.”
— A Room of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf.
Monk’s House is a National Trust property, carefully curated and maintained to provide an authentic experience reflecting the lives of these cultural icons.
A Quick Visit to Berwick Church
Smiling like a Cheshire cat, I returned to my catsit in East Sussex and received a very vocal welcome; my companions were waiting for their supper, and I was admittedly a little late.
Fed and watered once again, we settled in for the night, and I began to plan my last day in this wonderfully secluded cultural hideaway. What else could I do before heading home?
While at Charleston, I had read that Duncan Grant—also of the Bloomsbury Group—had been commissioned to paint the interiors of the Church at Berwick in East Sussex, dedicated to St Michael and All Angels.
When I arrived at the church, I was stunned. This humble little parish church features incredibly painted walls, ceilings, a chancel, and a baptistry. In 1941, Bishop George Bell commissioned both Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell to decorate the interior.
Final Thoughts on my Catsit in East Sussex
What an unexpectedly charming weekend away, with serene cats for company and a host of fabulous cultural landmarks to discover, all just a short drive apart. I honestly didn’t imagine I would find such wonderful places to visit on a brief housesit. Never say never!
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BIO
Lamia Walker created HouseSitMatch.com from a personal passion for pets and travel, a global housesitting community she has grown over more than a decade. She believes in safe, vetted matches and the power of trust between homeowners and sitters. Through practical guidance and personal experience, Lamia helps people travel with confidence while their homes and pets are cared for.
Further Reading
At Housesit Match we like to share useful blogs and practical advice about housesitters, housesitting and pet sitting. We hope you find this small selection of our blogs on house sitters useful, such as this one on a catsit in East Sussex.
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