Sir Laurence Olivier and Dame Joan Plowright's seven bedroom mansion in West Sussex is now on the market for £2million after belonging to the legendary acting family for over 60 years. The English actor was one of the greats on screen in the 20th century, starring in big productions such as Rebecca, Sleuth, and Marathon Man before he died in 1989.

The Malthouse was originally purchased in the early 1960s as a quiet countryside base for Plowright’s parents. Joan and Laurence was so taken by the Elizabethan farmhouse that they soon made it their own getaway from their respective careers on the stage and screen. The mansion is nestled into four and a half acres of fertile land near the River Adur.

Toby Brown, the estate agent overseeing the sale of the sprawling home, gushed: "If only the walls could talk. It really is a secret of a house. Quite unassuming at first glance — but once inside, it’s a property that keeps on giving."

The Malthouse, which was once made up of two modest cottages used for malting barley, has been expanded and modernised over the decades. It now boasts 5,000 square feet of living space, five bathrooms, a private apple orchard, tennis court, a yoga and art studio, and secluded indoor swimming pool.

The first floor master bedroom offers sweeping vistas across the surrounding countryside from its private balcony. It was Dame Joan's favourite spot in the house, and she lived there until she moved into retirement care in 2024. She passed away earlier this year, just months after turning 95.

Besides being a family home, The Malthouse was also the setting for decades of the couple's personal and professional milestones. Their son Richard directed family productions there, and Sir Ian McKellen rehearsed lines for Macbeth in the building.

Paul Newman once visited the family home, famously bringing a bottle of 1944 claret that "expired in the glass", and Sir Mark Rylance became a regular on the tennis court.

When Sir Laurence hosted his 80th birthday there in 1987, the country house was filled with notable families from that time period, including the Redgraves, the Richardsons, and the Wagners.

In 2017, the home also functioned as the backdrop for Nothing Like a Dame, Roger Michell’s BAFTA-nominated documentary that featured candid conversations between Dame Joan, Dame Maggie Smith, Dame Judi Dench, and Dame Eileen Atkins.

Estate agent Brown has explained: "It was really the private theatre that their lives revolved around. This is where Sir Laurence passed away in his sleep in 1989, and where Joan made her last on-screen appearance."

Although the property is prized for its location in the secluded countryside, the home is less than an hour away from London, making it a handy retreat from city life.

Brown added: "There’s a real sense of peace here. You can hear the birdsong and the wind in the willow trees. That’s what made it special for them — it was an escape."

The family is hoping the next owner will be someone who can expand on the house's legacy of being a place patrons of the arts go to unwind. Brown shares this perspective with the previous owners, and has explained: "We’d love for it to go to someone in the arts. Someone who would appreciate who Laurence and Joan were, and what this place meant to them."

Viewings are scheduled for April 26 and 27, between 10am and 3pm, with private appointments also available for serious buyers.