On a quiet country lane in East Sussex, alongside the jigsaw patches of pale yellow, green and mustard of the South Downs, an unshowy sign hanging from a wooden pole announces the entrance to Farleys House & Gallery. A smaller subtitle reads “Home of the Surrealists”.
Less than 20 minutes’ drive from this landmark, near Chiddingly, stands the better-known Charleston House, the bohemian home of the artists Vanessa Bell (sister of Virginia Woolf) and Duncan Grant, both members of the Bloomsbury Group. Yet despite being significantly less well known than its neighbour, Farleys has an equally fascinating story to tell.
Walking past the gravel car park you can just about see the façade of Farleys’ grade II listed, 17th-century farmhouse, and guided tours are well worth booking. These begin in the modest-sized kitchen, which seems unremarkable at first glance, with its 1950s cooker and Formica worktops. But look a little closer at the splashback by the Aga, amid the ordinary white ceramic tiles, and you’ll see a larger tile with a brown border. It features a simply, almost childishly drawn white face with two black panda-like eyes, a vertical yellow nose that looks like a banana and a blue semicircular line hinting at a faint smile. This tile was painted by Picasso, and the story goes that the Farleys housekeeper used to scrub it with Vim while cleaning.
Picasso was a guest at Farleys House, which for 35 years was home to Lee Miller, the exceptional American photographer, war correspondent and, later, celebrity cook whose circle of friends also included Man Ray, Joan Miró, Max Ernst, Leonora Carrington and Eileen Agar.
What you need to knowWho will love it? Cultural types interested in photography, art and war historyWhere is it? Farleys House is in the village of Chiddingly, near the South Downs, in East SussexInsider tip Book to visit soon because the house closes for winter on October 31Playing host to artists and the beau monde
Miller — whose powerful photography will be showcased in a retrospective exhibition at Tate Britain from October 2 to February 15 (£20; tate.org.uk) and whose life was the subject of the 2023 film Lee starring Kate Winslet — moved to Farleys in 1949 with her husband, the British surrealist painter Roland Penrose, and their young son, Antony. And they used their home to entertain some of the most renowned names in 20th-century art.
Originally from Poughkeepsie in New York, Miller had been a successful fashion model — photographed by Cecil Beaton — and a photographer herself, working initially with Man Ray, for whom she also became a muse and lover. She then became a war correspondent — documenting the liberation of Nazi concentration camps — and a photographer for Vogue.
Lee Miller is the subject of a new Tate exhibition
ROLAND PENROSE ESTATE
After the Second World War, the bucolic East Sussex countryside seemed ideal to Miller and Penrose as a place to entertain friends, allowing them more space than they had at their London flat, while remaining close to the capital. Equally importantly, it was close to the coast — specifically the Newhaven-Dieppe ferry — making it easy for them to visit friends in France and vice versa.
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A particular style of entertaining
Stays at Farleys were not idled away drinking by the fire, however. Antony Penrose, now 78, runs Farleys House & Gallery and the Miller archives with his daughter, Ami Bouhassane. He tells me: “Lee writes to her mother that when people come here they have two choices: they can either sit down in the kitchen and peel vegetables with me or they can become ‘one of Roland’s victims’ — and by that she meant that they were marched for miles across the farmland, often in thick mud and pouring rain. And this didn’t suit everybody, as you can imagine — Man Ray came back cold and tired and just couldn’t summon the strength to drag his feet with three kilos of mud on them. He definitely was not a country boy.”
The dining room inside Farleys
LEE MILLER ARCHIVES
Ernst was roped into planting borders; Alfred Barr, then director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, ended up feeding the pigs; the British sculptor Reg Butler spent hours salting green beans.
Farleys House is home to the art collection of Miller and Roland Penrose, and as I walk through the brightly coloured rooms of the Queen Anne house I see Picasso lithographs and ceramics, as well as work by Miró, Man Ray, Carrington and many canvases by Penrose.
The sunflower-yellow dining room is dominated by a huge surrealist mural that Roland Penrose painted around the fireplace — featuring a face and ploughed fields and inspired by the Long Man of Wilmington, the giant chalk figure carved into the South Downs that you may spot on walks in the area.
Charleston House is just 20 minutes’ drive from Farleys
ALAMY
In the pastel-pink living room, Miller’s Hermes Baby portable typewriter and Rolleiflex camera are displayed in a cabinet; hanging on a wall upstairs is the renowned photograph of Miller in Hitler’s bathtub after his death.
Many of the rooms have views of the sculpture gardens, the lawns of which are lined with oaks, ash and fig trees alongside surrealist works by artists such as Lynn Chadwick. Just beyond there’s an outbuilding for temporary exhibitions, as well as a café and gift shop.
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And Miller’s surreal cooking creations
In her later years Miller became known for the dishes that she created for her guests — including her “goldfish”, an entire cod slathered in carrot to give it an orange hue, and cauliflower florets shaped to resemble breasts — and Farleys offers cookery workshops that allows visitors to recreate her recipes in her kitchen, as well as art and photography workshops. For example, there is an autumn foliage sketching on October 22 (five hours £85pp) and winter cookery on December 10 and 11 (four hours £105pp).
Unlike with the guests of Miller and Penrose, however, working during your visit to Farleys is not obligatory. You can, of course, choose to simply enjoy this fascinating farmhouse, hidden away down a peaceful Sussex country lane, and relax in a gorgeous pub with rooms nearby afterwards.
Eddi Fiegel was a guest of Visit England (visitengland.com) and Farleys House & Gallery, which has tours on Thursdays to Saturdays, April 3 to October 31, from £24pp (farleyshouseandgallery.co.uk), and
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Where to stay nearbyThe Star, Alfriston 
The Star, a 15th-century coaching inn turned stylish boutique hotel
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Fifteen minutes’ drive from Farleys House is the village of Alfriston, the high street of which is lined with fabulously photogenic half-timbered buildings. Among them is the Star, a 15th-century coaching inn with low ceilings and wonky beams that is now a smart boutique hotel with contemporary chintz prints and artworks by Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant. The restaurant serves seasonal fare, such as grilled stone bass and honey-glazed duck, and there’s a library filled with books. Wellies are available to borrow for walks.
Details B&B doubles from £260 (thepolizzicollection.com)
The Alfriston, Alfriston
The Alfriston’s restaurant serves pub grub with a focus on seafood
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At the far end of Alfriston high street, this 14th-century manor house stands at the point where the village ends and the South Downs begin. The comfortable rooms feature Colefax and Fowler prints and some suites have leaded windows and rolltop baths. The restaurant serves pub grub with a focus on seafood, and there’s also a bar, a heated outdoor pool, a spa and pretty gardens. A footpath from the back of the hotel leads over the Cuckmere River to the South Downs.
Details B&B doubles from £150 (thealfriston.com)
The White Hart, Lewes 
The conservatory dining room at the White Heart, which has views over the South Downs
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Among the Tudor houses and grand Victorian halls in Lewes, about 20 minutes’ drive west of Farleys, this 18th-century inn is one of the most popular pubs in town, with a series of cosy, oak-panelled snugs. Its 23 rooms feature original beamed ceilings, Linwood fabrics and glamorous bathrooms. The restaurant offers top-end gastropub fare — including cheese soufflé, beef and ale pie and duck leg confit, as well as a children’s menu — and the conservatory dining room onto the South Downs.
Details Room-only doubles from £99 (whitehartlewes.com)