DISCOVER

Tilsmore is a family-run wine estate set deep in the Sussex Weald. Our small-batch English sparkling wine is grown here and shaped by the ancient land, the iron-rich soil and the quiet rhythm of the seasons.

THE REGION

Tilsmore takes its name from the stream that runs through the estate and feeds into the River Rother. Found in the historic parish of Mayfield, the land sits on a rich mix of sandstone and clay, heavy with iron - the same ore that once fuelled the Wealden iron industry. The estate still holds traces of a medieval bloomery, a quiet reminder of Sussex's industrious past.

The old Cuckoo railway line between Tunbridge Wells and Polegate runs along the edge of the property, and the farmhouse is reached through the original railway bridge. An entrance that feels like stepping into another world.

THE ESTATE

The vines sit on a south-west facing slope, sheltered on three sides by ancient, untamed woodland. They are flanked by landscaped gardens and overlooked by the Georgian-inspired farmhouse. The sandy clay loam soil beneath them is one of the defining influences on Tilsmore's delicate and nuanced character.

THE LEGEND

The estate is believed by some to be the setting of one of Sussex's most enduring folk tales — the legend of St Dunstan and the Devil.

Before becoming Archbishop of Canterbury, St Dunstan worked as an iron smelter in Mayfield, in a bloomery that once stood in Quarry Wood. Legend has it that the Devil, disguised as a beautiful maiden, came to deceive him - but Dunstan spotted the cloven hooves beneath the dress and seized the Devil's nose with a pair of hot pincers.

In another tale, the Devil returned as a traveller needing a horseshoe, but Dunstan saw through the trick and beat him until he vowed never to enter a home with a horseshoe above the door - a tradition still upheld by some of Mayfield's more superstitious residents today.