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Now pay attention 007 fans: the former home of Desmond Llewelyn is for sale with Knight Frank for £2 million.
Llewelyn, who played gadget master Q in the James Bond films, lived at the Georgian property near Battle, East Sussex, for almost 30 years.
Llewelyn had been living in London and bought Whitelands, as the house is known, in 1957. He moved in with his wife, Pamela —they met through a repertory theatre company at nearby Bexhill-on-Sea— and two young children.
In 1963, Llewelyn was cast as Q in the second James Bond film, From Russia with Love. He would remain in the role until 1999, starring in 17 James Bond films —more than any other actor— alongside five different Bonds: Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan.
Llewelyn undertook extensive renovations to the house, reportedly roping in friends by offering them accommodation in exchange for help with the redecoration.
Unlike Q, Llewelyn was famously low-tech, telling reporters: "I am hopeless with gadgets. I can't even get a ticket to work in one of those confounded machines on the London Underground. And I can hardly put on a kettle, let alone set a video.”
Instead, Llewelyn was a keen gardener, enjoying Whitelands’ 1.5 acres of grounds.
“When he was not at work as an actor, he would always be found digging in the garden or cutting hedges,” Reverend John Duggan, a close friend of Llewelyn, told the BBC in 2000. "He was also a wonderful host and gave wonderful parties.”
Llewelyn and Pamela sold Whitelands in 1997, according to Land Registry records, and moved to Bexhill-upon-Sea. Llewelyn died after a car crash in 1999.
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Today, his former family home covers 4,671 square feet over three main floors, plus a basement with a utility room, boot room and wine cellar.
The rest of the house has a symmetrical Georgian layout, with its rooms branching off from a central entrance hall.
There are two reception rooms downstairs, alongside a kitchen and adjoining dining room, while the house’s five bedrooms are on the two floors above.
Whitelands retains many of its original period features: wooden floorboards, sash windows, high ceilings, fireplaces.
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The property is also sold with a detached, self-contained annexe, with its own reception room, office, bedroom, bathroom and games room, which is currently used as a gym.
Outside, there is a kidney-shaped swimming pool, outdoor dining area and a pool house with a shower and sauna.
For buyers who share Llewelyn’s former hobby, there are gardens and grounds to enjoy, including a vegetable garden and greenhouse.
The property also has stables and a garage with electric vehicle charging points.
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Whitelands has had two different owners since Llewelyn, with the current owners having been there since 2008. Now, with the couple’s children having left, they are selling the family home.
“Whitelands is an elegant Georgian residence set within beautifully tended grounds, all within easy reach of the town’s historic centre,” says Simon Biddulph at Knight Frank.
“The home stands out for its comprehensive sustainability upgrades, including solar panels with battery storage, an EV charging point, a salt swimming pool with a heat pump, a new high efficiency boiler, and last year’s full programme of insulation and double glazing rarely achieved by period homes of this scale.
As the long-term home of James Bond franchise actor Desmond Llewelyn, Whitelands stands as a unique blend of cultural heritage and forward-thinking modernisation.”
