Former Legat’s School of Ballet, East Sussex

The Grade II Former Legat’s School of Ballet in East Sussex was built in 1865.

Former Legat’s School of Ballet, nr Rotherfield, East Sussex (Grade II, 1865, exterior: George Goldie, interior: E.W. Pugin) Hidden by thick woodland on all sides, this handsome Victorian mansion was built as a girls’ orphanage and until recently its most famous incarnation was as a ballet school from 1970-90. But in the early 1990s it was bought by a charity and run as a Islamic school, before it was raided by police in 2006 on the suspicion that it was being used as a training camp for terrorists. Since the school closed in 2007 it has remained unused and is beginning to show signs of disrepair. It is a beautiful building in large grounds and has amazing potential for reuse.

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