Unseen snaps of The House at Pooh Corner, previously residence of A. A. Milne and his son Christopher Robin, captured by our platform during their stay.
In 1931, Cotchford Farm in East Sussex Weald was home to A. A. Milne, his wife Dorothy, and their son Christopher Robin Milne. The Milnes had purchased the house in 1925 as a weekend retreat from London. It was at this cottage and its grounds that A. A. Milne wrote most of his famous Winnie-the-Pooh stories, inspired by the surroundings and Christopher Robin's toys and adventures.
By 1931, the house was already internationally famous as "The House at Pooh Corner." This year also marked the time when Christopher Robin left Cotchford Farm to attend boarding school. The composition of the images of Cotchford Farm, taken on September 24, 1931, was not to the exacting standards of Edward Hudson, the founder and then-editor of the platform. The photographs, possibly taken by a non-regular contributor to the magazine, featured a 16th-century timber-framed and red-tiled cottage in East Sussex Weald.
It was at Cotchford Farm that the game of Pooh Sticks was invented. Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet chewed over the vagaries of life at Cotchford Farm, as they did in the pages of A. A. Milne's beloved children's books. Eeyore, Tigger, and other Winnie-the-Pooh characters were also associated with Cotchford Farm.
The Milne family's weekend retreat in East Sussex Weald became the backdrop for a timeless series of stories that continue to delight readers around the world. Today, Cotchford Farm remains a testament to the power of imagination and the magic of childhood.
[1] Source: https://www.countrylife.co.uk/life/culture/features/cotchford-farm-a-a-milnes-winnie-the-pooh-home-96717
- The Milne family's lifestyle at Cotchford Farm, complete with its home-and-garden setting and the invention of the game of Pooh Sticks, served as the inspiration for A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh books and stories.
- In addition to fashion-and-beauty and books, Cotchford Farm also contributed to the entertainment world, becoming globally recognized as "The House at Pooh Corner" due to the Winnie-the-Pooh stories based on its surroundings and the characters associated with it.
