From National Trust to local treasure
We all know that English wine is, in 2026, hitting its stride. Recognised for its exceptional quality, English vineyards are honey pots for visitors attracting increasing numbers and it employs thousands of people across the country as a thriving new ‘farming’ venture. Moreover, it makes Kent & Sussex, quite literally, taste delicious.
However, this viticultural revolution is relatively new and when Sally Palmer (pictured below), her husband Charles and their children moved to Wickham Manor farm in 1998 as arable, pig, beef and sheep farmers, vines were not on their minds. The Sussex downland farm overlooking Winchelsea and Rye is leased to them by the National Trust, but it’s the family who over the last thirty years have invested, and reinvested in the land and who have, since 2006, turned to English wine as the farming venture to secure their future.
There is no more beautiful spot on a clear day. You can gaze out from the converted stable over undulating hills, hundreds of acres of vines and take in the sea views whilst looking back at Wickham Manor itself gives you a sense that modern times haven’t really touched the essence of the place.
Steeped in local Sussex history, Wickham Manor Farm house, built 1580, was once owned by William Penn’s family. His name may not be immediately familiar but if we mention Pennsylvania, then we’ve dropped a clue as to who he was. William Penn, Quaker and forward thinking ‘unionist’ who, in the new lands of ‘America’, founded the city of Philadelphia on land ‘given’ to his father by the King. His name lives on here as does, we think, a little of his zeal for change and progress.
Today, the Palmer family live on-site on one side of Wickham Manor and the farm, vineyards, holiday letting and tasting room are divided amongst Sally, Charles, their son Robert, daughter-in-law Chantal and other family members to run day-to-day.
The ‘other’ side of the Grade II-listed farmhouse is perfectly set up for holiday letting, so guests can take in those views and taste the wine without having to worry about the car.
Stepping inside the heavy, English oak front door immediately takes you back several centuries. It’s history film-set stuff, as the low ceilinged rooms, small leaded light windows, huge fireplaces and four poster beds awaken your inner time traveller; your imagination can run wild here. Comfort is plentiful, and of the 21st century variety, including a welcome with a glass of wine, produced from some of those same vines.
Those vines now producing Charles Palmer sparkling, rosé, and still red and white wines are a great success story for Sally and Charles and the family. Since planting nearly twenty years ago, they have turned the original designation of 5 acres under vine (planted by hand) into 40 acres today producing three different grape varieties (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Sauvignac) on rich, sandy loam. Winning headline-grabbing awards for their first vintage of wine in 2009 – and again in 2012 – propelled them to success in the wine industry and they haven’t looked back since. Leading restaurateurs including Yorkshire’s Michelin-starred Tommy Banks serve their wine and they are well known in Rye and the South East. The on-site tasting room holds three tastings a day five days a week plus tours on request and special events. Sitting in one of their sheltered outdoor pods with their own viewing window gazing down over the Sussex countryside remains one of our recommended ‘must do’s’ of an English summer. There’s absolutely no excuse not to.
The William Penn and The Tudor Wing at Wickham Manor are now available for bookings, exclusively on Bloom Stays.
