Meet the creator of The Grain Store: A conversation with Anni Townend

Anni Townend, creator of The Grain Store Lewes. (Image: by Suki Dhanda)

We sit down with creator Anni Townend to discover the inspiration, vision and values behind The Grain Store… 

The Grain Store is such a unique place in an idyllic setting. How did you, a woman who hails from Yorkshire, come across the building in the first instance?
When I moved to Sussex 35 years ago I was instantly drawn to this part of the South Downs. I bought a semi-detached house built by the army for Land Girls in the Second World War. It was love at first sight as the house met one of my criteria for where I live: you can walk directly from the back door into wide-open countryside without getting into a car, or meeting anyone. A few years later I bought the nearby land, including a redundant farm building that was, many years later, to become The Grain Store. 

Previously used for storing grain, it had a combine harvester that was too big for the building, and the drying machine was antiquated and no longer fit for purpose. I put metal doors on the building, and a farm gate at the entrance. For many years it served as storage for friends; a tree surgeon, a carpenter and a vintage car owner all stored their respective tools of the trade, along with the car!

A masterclass in renovation: The Grain Store transformed from a redundant farm building

What inspired you to create The Grain Store?
I felt compelled to find a way to make something magical out of the structure of the building and to share it with other people. We dreamt of converting it into a place where people could stay and enjoy the spectacular rolling fields and Downs from the comfort of a sofa, or from a hot tub in the garden. And giving people the chance to experience the thrill of stepping out the front door  onto the bridleway and then onto the magnificent walking trails along the South Downs Way.

Some eight years ago, we got planning permission specifically for accommodation for people visiting the South Downs National Park area. It was an enormous task but absolutely a labour of love undertaken with a team of talented and inspiring people. We opened in 2020.

Describe The Grain Store in 3 words
Simple. Functional. Beautiful.

The concrete structure viewed from the mezzanine floor

What’s your favourite detail in the space?
There are so many! If I have to pick one, it’s the concrete structure: the ribs of the building, the frame and how the huge window doors are framed by the structure. It makes me smile! I love that the concrete is the original building, the huge iron bolts, the original fixtures, and how this frame informed my decisions about the design.

What were the key guiding principles for your design?
That everything must be considered and intentional. A place needs to make sense, respond to the environment.  It needs to have an integrity and a flow to it. I remember the joy of marking the space out and it then evolving as it took shape and the view from the window doors onto the Downs! My other favourite details are the result of this approach: the willow hedge shaped on purpose to reflect the Downs, and the choice of plants likewise reflecting the movement of the grasses and trees. The whole garden including the grass sofa in the orchard gives me great joy. 

What feeling do you want people to leave with after visiting?
I want people to feel cared for in the space, by the place, and by the landscape. I want people to feel inspired and encouraged by the design, the details; and to leave more creatively engaged, more relaxed, and at ease, with more energy and focus.

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Working while she walks: Anni incorporates the power of nature in all aspects of her work

Where do you find creative inspiration?
In nature: in the light and shadow, the shapes, the sound of the birds, the wind, and the sound of it rustling in the trees.  I love being outside. As a child I imagined myself as a farmer, a writer and photographer. I consider myself really fortunate to live close to farmland and the Downs, and that through my work as an executive team coach, and thinking partner to leaders that I get to do the work I love with people, helping them have conversations that matter, often side by side outside, either sitting or walking. I take great care to ask for a room with natural light, windows and access to a park, or countryside so that people can walk and talk outside.

What keeps you motivated?
A friend remarked while walking with me earlier this year how much they love my delight in the light and shadow, the shapes over the Downs and how these change throughout the day.  I do feel this sense of wonder when I look out of the window every morning, depending on the season and the time of year there may well be a frost, or a low lying mist which rolls and shifts across the downland. So, I’d say never losing my sense of wonder. And this is what inspired me to build a community sauna and led to the co-creation of South Downs Sauna Lewes with Simone Thorn, which was a thrill to open to guests and the public earlier this year. 

Anni and Simone Thorn at South Downs Sauna Lewes

What’s your perfect morning?
Waking up early (05.00) which I do most days, opening the blinds, looking out, making a bean to cup coffee, sitting in bed and reading. Then either a walk, followed by a dawn or early morning sauna at South Downs Sauna, or a sauna then a walk. I then head over to my shed, which is my office, and where I work one-to-one with Executive Coaching Clients, and prepare for working with teams. When I work with leadership teams I do so in their chosen location, and always make time to walk at the start and end of the day, it is an important part of my preparation, and reflection. I meet some of my individual clients on the Downs and we walk side by side. On Wednesdays I usually host my podcast, Leaders in Conversation with Anni Townend.

Favourite season at The Grain Store?
I love spring into summer, and late summer into autumn.  It is all about the light, the sunrise, and sunset, the colours, shadows and shapes cast.  When I hear the sound of the combine harvester, and see the cloud of dust I know that the season is shifting. I always feel a sense of excitement at the harvesting and loss at the end of this rapid growing time, and of summer ending and the beginning all over again.  It is the 'both, and' that I talk about in my work with leaders and their teams, the holding of both the end, and the beginning; the excitement and the anxiety; the joy and the sadness.

Dream guest at a dinner party hosted at The Grain Store?
Wow, well it would be a photographer/writer. I recently met Suki Dhanda and Annabel Elston, both wonderful photographers, and I would love to have dinner with them to hear their stories, and to learn from them.

Inspired by the light: Anni pursues her passion for photography

What’s one surprising thing people may not know about you?
Oh, that many years ago and long before setting up my executive team coaching business, I lived in a commune called Lifespan on the Yorkshire Moors! At the time I had a motorbike which I bought thinking that a friend would repair it for me, instead they insisted I repair it myself with their guidance, so I did! I rode the motorbike from the commune to and from Sheffield where I was in a Women's Group. I used to paint, and sold some paintings at this time. My work on the commune was to build and fit wood stoves. I also wrote from time to time for a women's magazine called Spare Rib. When I tired of communal life, I moved to live in a community in North Yorkshire, where I got into making patch work quilts and clothes.

Anni at work in The Writer’s Studio at The Grain Store

Favourite way to spend a Sunday in Lewes?
Walk from The Grain Store over the Downs all the way into Lewes, or even to Seaford as some guests did recently.  Get the train from Seaford back to Lewes. Have lunch at either No.34 or Squisito, or a coffee at Taith with the amazing 'picture window', and then get the No.28 or 29 bus back to The Grain Store.

The picture window at Taith cafe in Lewes

What’s next for The Grain Store?
We have a truly great team with each of us bringing different strengths and skills which I love. We are keen to build our relationships with the local community, other businesses and groups and for them to use The Grain Store for their team building days, and meetings, the place and space helping them to do their best thinking together. We are keen for The Studio to be used by people looking for a creative place and space to write, to think,

to create. And of course for all who stay or visit The Grain Store, The Studio to book a sauna and enjoy the health benefits of the experience. South Downs Sauna is set in a small woodland copse not far from The Grain Store and The Studio.

Anni Townend is an Executive Leadership Coach & Mentor. She specialises in helping senior leaders bring out the best in each other and their teams through the power of open conversation. Listen to her podcast:Leaders in Conversation with Anni Townend.  

Photoshoot with Anni Townend by Katie Beth Payne.