DISCOVER LIFE-FRIENDLY CREATIVE CONNECTIONS AT …
GETAWAYS
DISCOVER LIFE-FRIENDLY CREATIVE CONNECTIONS AT …
CRAFTED AT POWDERMILLS
BY SAMANTHA READY
© Euan Baker
© Euan Baker
© Milo Hutchings
© Euan Baker
You can tell a lot about a place by how it treats its history. At Crafted at Powdermills, just outside Battle, the past isn’ t hidden away behind information boards or confined to a few framed photographs in reception. Instead, it quietly informs everything. The lake( absolutely vast and entirely man-made) that shimmers across the estate was once integral to one of Britain’ s oldest gunpowder manufacturing sites, powering the mills that supplied powder for centuries. What was once an industrial landscape has been reimagined into something entirely different: a creative retreat, wellness destination, members’ club, hotel, restaurant and country pub rolled into one beautifully considered experience.
Even the name tells a story. The team chose Crafted because it reflects a simple but increasingly rare philosophy: we take greater care over things we craft. Whether that is a piece of furniture, a meal, a building or even a life, being crafted is the result of countless small actions, daily habits and intentional decisions repeated over time until something develops character and meaning. Spend even a few hours here and that ethos becomes clear. Nothing feels rushed nor accidental; every space, object and experience has really been considered.
The vision comes from Chris King, cofounder of the original Birch hotel, whose pioneering approach to blending hospitality, creativity, wellness and community helped reshape expectations of what a modern hotel could be. Crafted feels like the natural evolution of that thinking. Less a hotel, more a place designed to help people step away from autopilot and reconnect with nature, creativity and each other. The result feels refreshingly difficult to categorise. If Soho Farmhouse decamped to East Sussex and developed a fascination with contemporary art, craftsmanship and slow living, it might look something like this.
Arriving at Crafted feels deliberately unhurried. The drive winds through mature trees before opening onto a landscape of water, woodland and heritage buildings. Should you choose to travel by train, the station is at the end of the drive and the estate’ s VW camper bus runs shuttle services. At the heart of the vast acres of grounds sits the elegant Georgian manor house; the estate’ s architectural anchor. Its handsome proportions and period character provide a striking counterpoint to the contemporary maker-led interiors now found throughout the property. There is no grand hotel pomp here. Instead, inthe-know corporates- who descend for unique team days- practised members and intrigued overnight guests combine in an atmosphere of relaxed, creative and calm confidence.
118 • www. insidekent. co. uk