The former home of Raymond Briggs, where he created The Snowman, has been listed for sale at £775,000, featuring a hidden bedroom concealed behind a bookcase. The detached property, called Weston, is located in Westmeston, East Sussex, and served as the residence and workplace of the celebrated author and illustrator for decades.
Set beneath the South Downs countryside that inspired his beloved 1978 book, the three-bedroom house is in need of significant modernisation. Despite its literary history, the next owner will inherit a unique layout filled with character, including the unusual entrance described by estate agents Chatt Estates as a “mysterious secret door”.
Unique interior features
The property also boasts a sculptural fireplace that dominates the ground floor and separates two large reception rooms. Over the years, the house has been altered and extended, with additions including a kitchen, garden room, store and integral garage.
Stairs lead to a large first-floor reception area providing access to the bedrooms. One bedroom features a high vaulted ceiling, while another is reached through the concealed bookcase entrance. The kitchen is currently fitted with basic units, a stainless-steel sink and space for an electric cooker.
Grounds and inspiration
The tiled bathroom contains a panelled bath, toilet and pedestal sink, and the house has electric heating. Outside, Weston sits in approximately 0.4 acres of private grounds, with a winding path leading through greenery to a timber garden room containing its own log burner.
The rural location appears to have provided more than just a peaceful place for Briggs to work. He later confirmed that the landscape seen during the boy and snowman’s magical flight in The Snowman was the South Downs behind his home. These facts emerged in handwritten notes Briggs added to a Finnish edition of the book decades later.
Legacy of The Snowman
The rare annotated copy was discovered during a clearance of Weston following Briggs’ death. Briggs lived and worked at the house for nearly half a century. His original book has since sold more than 5.5 million copies and inspired the famous animated adaptation first broadcast in 1982.
The film became a fixture of British Christmas television and was nominated for an Academy Award as well as winning a BAFTA. It also introduced audiences to Walking in the Air, performed in the original film by choirboy Peter Auty – not Aled Jones, who released his successful cover later.
Briggs’ other famous creations included the grumpy Father Christmas, first published in 1973, and Fungus the Bogeyman, released in 1977. Briggs died in 2022 at the age of 88. Weston is located close to the historic village of Ditchling, while Hassocks railway station offers services to London. The property is on the market with a guide price of £775,000.
