House at Bateman's

Front view of Bateman's

Bateman's is a 17th century house set in the stunning landscape of the Sussex Weald. Bought by Rudyard Kipling and his wife, who fell in love with the house at first sight, it became a family home.

A modest yet charming sandstone house, Bateman's was completed around 1634 for a prosperous ironmaster. It was used a farm house after the demise of the Sussex iron industry, before Rudyard Kipling bought the house in 1902 and lived here with his family until his death in 1936.

Enter through the front door into the hall
A view across the Hall at Bateman's, East Sussex, showing the c17th Dutch oak table, flanked by two English c17th oak benches and two c18th armchairs
Enter through the front door into the hall

The hall

Enter through the front door into the hall, where Mrs Kipling could keep an eye on unexpected guests from her mezzanine office window, into a Jacobean delight of local oak panelling and a black and white floor, arranged beautifully around the large stone fireplace.

Discover the intriguing story behind the brass fish and listen to the chimes of one of the oldest working clocks in the National Trust’s collection.

The Study at Bateman's
The Study at Bateman's, East Sussex.
The Study at Bateman's

Step back in time in Kipling's study

As you enter the study it almost feels as though Kipling has just left to return at any moment. The book-lined walls, his messy desk covered in ink spots and the day bed, with its cigarette burns, are evidence that this was very much his space.

The dining room

The walls of the dining room are decorated with early 18th Century English 'Cordoba' leather hangings depicting birds and foliage. Covered with silver leaf and then varnished they glisten like gold. 

" The leather has been bought and is now in our possession. It is lovelier than our wildest dreams and will need immense care."
- Rudyard Kipling in a letter to his cousin Ambrose Poynter

Mrs Kipling ran a tight ship: dinner was always at eight o’clock sharp, and everyone had to dress in their finery, even if there weren’t any guests. Dinner was usually a very bland affair: due to Rudyard’s duodenal ulcers, the family were restricted to dull meals such as steamed fish and blancmange. However, guests always commented that the wine was very good!

The dining room at Bateman's
The dining room at Bateman's, East Sussex.
The dining room at Bateman's

The exhibition room

Elsie Kipling was instrumental in opening Bateman’s to the public in the second half of the 20th Century, and ensured that visitors saw a true representation of the home in which she grew up.

The exhibition room includes all the keepsakes and memories she kept precious, and she presented these items with her own captions, in a way which celebrates her Father and his literary and social work.

Explore the exhibition room at Bateman's
The Exhibition Room at Bateman's, East Sussex.
Explore the exhibition room at Bateman's

Kipling aloud

After 75 years Rudyard Kipling's voice can be heard in the house once again. A Pathé newsreel played in the kitchen has the only known footage of him speaking. Don't miss the phonograph with his verse set to music and select a station on the 1930s radio to hear one of his famous quotations.

Rudyard Kipling's Bookplate
Bateman's   East Sussex

Delve into the collection at Bateman's

You'll find some unusual and intriguing objects in the Kipling collection. Don't miss the Nobel Prize for literature or paintings from The Jungle Book. Discover more about Bateman’s collection and some of the highlights to look out for.

Discover Bateman's collection

Discover the fascinating story behind Rudyard Kipling’s family tree and his connections to pre-Raphaelite artists, Prime Ministers and a fashionable reservoir in Staffordshire. Our volunteer guides have a wealth of knowledge which we love to share: from the British Empire in India to the iron industry in Sussex and everything in between.