MANORS AND OTHER ESTATES.
The manor
of STEYNING presumably belonged to the kings
of Wessex by the mid 9th century, for Ethelwulf
(d. 858) is reliably said to have been buried there. (fn. 50)
His son Alfred (d. 899) devised it to his nephew
Ethelwold, (fn. 51) on whose rebellion it presumably
reverted to the Crown. (fn. 52) Edward the Confessor
granted the reversion after the death of Bishop
Aelfwine to Fécamp abbey (Seine-Maritime). (fn. 53) It is
not certain whether the abbey received the land,
which in 1066 was in the hands of King Harold, (fn. 54)
but duke William's promise to uphold the abbey's
claim if his invasion should be successful supports
the contention that Harold had prevented it from
taking possession. (fn. 55) In 1085 William confirmed the
manor to Fécamp abbey 'whether they had held it
before 1066 or not'. (fn. 56) The abbey continued to hold
the manor during the next two centuries. It had
free warren in its demesne lands there by 1103. (fn. 57)
In 1275 the manor was said to be held of the king in
free alms. (fn. 58) In 1246 Steyning was ordered to be
tallaged as ancient demesne, (fn. 59) but in 1279–80 it
was proved by reference to Domesday Book not to
be true ancient demesne. (fn. 60)
For various periods from the 13th century on,
and continuously from 1369, Steyning manor was
in the hands of the Crown because of war with
France, (fn. 61) usually being farmed to the abbey's
bailiff or proctor. (fn. 62) In 1403 it was leased for life to
Sir John Cornwall and his wife Elizabeth, Henry
IV's sister. (fn. 63) Under a reversionary grant of 1414, (fn. 64)
it passed on Cornwall's death in 1443 to Syon
abbey (Mdx.), (fn. 65) to which it was confirmed in
1461. (fn. 66) By then it had lost its former unity, being
divided between the borough (later often called
borough and manor), and the manor of Charlton;
in the late 15th century courts were held for each
unit and not as in the previous century for the
manor of Steyning. (fn. 67) The abbey still owned the
manor and borough in 1535. (fn. 68) At the Dissolution
it passed to the Crown, and became part of the
honor of Petworth. In 1562 the manor and borough
was granted (fn. 69) to Thomas Howard, duke of Norfolk
(d. 1572); thereafter it descended with Bramber
rape until 1869, when it was sold by the duke of
Norfolk to the Revd. John Goring, (fn. 70) afterwards
descending with Wiston.
The manor of CHARLTON, sometimes called
CHARLTON-ASHURST, representing the nonurban part of the original manor of Steyning
together with land in Ashurst, had acquired a
separate identity by 1440, when Sir John Cornwall
held it. (fn. 71) Whether it was separate much earlier is
uncertain; the manor of Steyning was still so called
in 1405. (fn. 72) Charlton followed the descent of Steyning
manor and borough until the Dissolution, (fn. 73) when
it came to the Crown, being attached like Steyning
to the honor of Petworth. (fn. 74) William Pellatt, to
whose grandfather (fn. 75) and namesake Syon abbey
leased Charlton manor in 1484 (fn. 76) and who himself
held a lease first from the abbey (fn. 77) and later from
the Crown, was granted the manor in fee in 1557. (fn. 78)
He was succeeded c. 1558 (fn. 79) by his son Richard
(d. 1587), whose son Benjamin (fn. 80) sold the manor to
Sir Thomas Shirley of Wiston in 1593. (fn. 81) The
descent then followed that of Wiston until 1649,
when the manor was retained by John Tufton,
earl of Thanet, who sold it in 1653 to John Eversfield. (fn. 82) Eversfield died in 1678, (fn. 83) and was succeeded
in turn by his son Nicholas (d. by 1684), Nicholas's
son Charles (d. 1749), and Charles's son Sir Charles
(d. c. 1784). On the death of the last without issue
the manor passed jointly to his sister Olive and his
nephew William Markwick. (fn. 84) The manor-house
was occupied by a tenant in 1777. (fn. 85) On Olive's
death in 1803 Markwick inherited her share and
took the name Eversfield. At his death in 1812 he
was succeeded by his son Charles, who sold the
manor in 1818 to Charles Goring. (fn. 86) Since then it
has once again descended with Wiston.
A manor-house at Charlton was mentioned in
1464, when there was a gatehouse there. (fn. 87) The
present house probably comprises a single range of
the 17th century with 18th- and 19th-century
additions. There are traces of a formal garden
layout of the early 18th century. South of the house
is a large late medieval aisled barn of seven bays.
Several other manors or reputed manors originally
formed part of Steyning manor, some later being
held of Charlton manor. The reputed manor of
GATEWICK was one. The personal name de
Gatewick was often recorded in Steyning in the
Middle Ages. (fn. 88) Richard Farnfold (d. 1569) (fn. 89) was
described as of Gatewick in 1541, when he held
many tenements of Charlton manor. (fn. 90) Earlier
members of the family had held one of them, the
mill next to Gatewick House, from the mid 15th
century. (fn. 91) Richard's son Richard (fn. 92) died seised of
Gatewick House and extensive lands in Steyning
in 1609 and was succeeded by his sons Walter
(d. 1611) (fn. 93) and Sir Thomas (d. 1643) in turn. The
lands were described as a manor in 1620. Sir
Thomas's son Henry was described as of Gatewick
in 1649, (fn. 94) but by 1675 the lands belonged to Robert
Mawer, apparently a relative, who sold them in
that year to Thomas and Richard Barnard. (fn. 95) In
1799 the estate was in the hands of Richard Comber
of Lewes; (fn. 96) by 1817 it had passed to his son Richard
Barnard Comber (d. 1819), (fn. 97) under whose will it
was sold in 1855 to the Revd. John Goring. (fn. 98) Part
was sold by the Goring family in the 1920s, (fn. 99) and
the rest in 1932. (fn. 1)
Gatewick House, (fn. 2) of 5 bays and 2 storeys,
occupies an island formed by the mill race of the
former Gatewick mill and the overflow channel
from the now filled-in mill pond. The house is
basically of the late 16th or early 17th century, and
originally had tall end chimneys. It was given a
red brick façade and internally refitted in the mid
18th century, when additions were also made at
the back. At the same time an archway was erected
in front using 17th-century materials, possibly from
another building. The battlemented tower of
ashlar and flint rubble at the west end is probably
of the same period. In the early 19th century the
house had the appearance of a cottage ornée. (fn. 3) Two
gables with ornate barge-boards were added to the
main façade c. 1870, (fn. 4) and later the brickwork was
painted to represent timber-framing. Since 1953
the house has been restored in 18th-century style,
fittings from other houses being incorporated inside, (fn. 5)
and the grounds being landscaped.
The reputed manor of NASH, which was also
held of Steyning manor, may be identical with the
140 a. in Steyning which Niel de la Falaise granted
to Richard at Nash in 1310. (fn. 6) The same or another
Richard at Nash paid tax in Steyning in 1296 and
1327. (fn. 7) John de Herlaston granted 220 a. in Steyning
in 1376 to William Atwater and his wife Gillian, (fn. 8)
and in 1390 they granted the reversion to Hugh
Quecche. (fn. 9) Hugh died in 1402 seised of what were
evidently the same lands, then called Nash. (fn. 10) From
the late 15th century the lands were held of Charlton
manor. (fn. 11) In 1541 Henry Roberts conveyed them
to his son John (fn. 12) (d. 1556), who was succeeded by
his son, another Henry. (fn. 13) Richard Farnfold of
Wyckham died seised of Nash in 1600, (fn. 14) and his
son William sold the property with Wyckham
manor in 1610 to Sir Edward Bellingham, (fn. 15) who
by 1622 had conveyed it to Sir John Leeds of
Wappingthorn. (fn. 16) As Nash manor it descended
with Wappingthorn (fn. 17) until 1664, when Englebert
Leeds sold it to Henry (later Sir Henry) Goring of
Highden in Washington. (fn. 18) In 1681 it was settled
on Sir Henry's daughter Elizabeth and her husband
Timothy Burrell, (fn. 19) who was still said to hold it in
1707. (fn. 20) It later passed to Burrell's daughter
Elizabeth who married Thomas Trevor, Lord
Trevor (d. 1753), and then to the Revd. Timothy
Burrell, a cousin, who held it in 1765. (fn. 21) In the
early 19th century it belonged to John Bannister, (fn. 22)
and c. 1841 to the Misses Bannister. (fn. 23) At Elizabeth
Bannister's death (after 1860) it passed first to her
brother Thomas and then to Thomas's widow
Lucy, under whose will it was sold to Thomas
Brown, miller, in 1882. (fn. 24)
Nash Farmhouse, the former manor-house,
comprises a late-16th-or 17th-century north wing
with 19th-century additions.
The manor of EWELME, of unknown location,
was held of Charlton manor in the 15th century
and later, (fn. 25) but apparently had at least one tenant
of its own. It belonged in 1387 to John Banfield, (fn. 26)
and was conveyed by him or a namesake in 1434–5
to Richard Jay. (fn. 27) By 1475 it had passed to William
Penbridge and William Fagger, to whom Margery
Austin, a relative of John Banfield, quitclaimed her
rights in it in that year. (fn. 28) William Fagger is said to
have become sole possessor, and to have left the
manor to his son Thomas. (fn. 29) Between at least 1554
and 1667 (fn. 30) it descended with Annington in Botolphs.
No later record has been found, unless Newham
farm lying south of the town was its successor. (fn. 31)
The reputed manor of TESTERS, of which the
manor-house lay within the town, (fn. 32) was held of
Steyning borough in 1542, (fn. 33) and may originate in
a tenement of the Testard family, which was
prominent in Steyning in the Middle Ages. (fn. 34)
Richard Farnfold held it in 1542, (fn. 35) and William
Farnfold in 1548 and c. 1568. (fn. 36) In 1611 William
Farnfold of Nash conveyed it to Sir Edward
Bellingham and his son Thomas; they sold it in
1614 to William Holland, (fn. 37) who died seised of it in
the same year, (fn. 38) after he had granted the demesnes
as part of the original endowment of Steyning
school. (fn. 39)
The manor of WAPPINGTHORN was held of
Edward the Confessor in 1066 by one Carle. In
1086 it was held by William son of Manna of the
honor of Bramber, (fn. 40) and it remained part of that
honor thereafter. (fn. 41) Later it was held by the Bonet
family, perhaps descendants of the Hubert Bonet
who occurs locally c. 1080. (fn. 42) Robert Bonet occurs
c. 1190, (fn. 43) and he or another Robert was admitted to
lands in Sussex in 1209. (fn. 44) The name Robert Bonet
is often recorded in the 13th century, (fn. 45) one of its
bearers holding 1½ fee in Wappingthorn in 1242. (fn. 46)
Hamon Bonet held 1½ fee in Wappingthorn and
Wowood (in Beeding) in 1267 (fn. 47) and presumably
continued to do so in 1296. (fn. 48) William Bonet was
taxed in Steyning in 1332, (fn. 49) and what was presumably Wappingthorn manor, comprising a house
and 2 plough-lands, was settled on him in 1341. (fn. 50)
He had died by 1349; his son Niel and Niel's wife
Margaret both died shortly afterwards, presumably
of plague. Niel's brother and heir William (fn. 51) held
1½ fee in Wappingthorn, Wowood, and Tottington
(in Beeding) in 1361. (fn. 52)
Nicholas de Wilcombe, apparently the husband
of William's sister Alice, (fn. 53) perhaps held the manor
in 1367 (fn. 54) and certainly held it in 1374. (fn. 55) He was
still lord in 1390, (fn. 56) and at his death it descended
not to his eldest son Nicholas, who had renounced
his right in it, (fn. 57) but to another son, Peter, (fn. 58) who
held land at Wappingthorn in 1412 (fn. 59) and was still
alive in 1417. (fn. 60) In 1399, however, the manor was
in the hands of Ralph and Laurence Codington, (fn. 61)
who had apparently acquired it by force. John
Leeds, who had married Peter Wilcombe's daughter
Alice by 1427, (fn. 62) was named as lord in 1433, (fn. 63) but
by 1443 (fn. 64) he had been succeeded by his son John
(d. c. 1457). John's son John owned it in 1470–1.
The next recorded owner, William Leeds, had died
by 1525, (fn. 65) and his son John died c. 1558. (fn. 66) John's
son John, a recusant, forfeited his estates in 1572
on leaving England, (fn. 67) but they were later restored,
and he died seised of Wappingthorn in 1606. (fn. 68) His
son Thomas, who at first conformed, was knighted
in 1603 and became Lord Lieutenant of Sussex.
By 1610, however, he had embraced Roman
Catholicism and had gone to live abroad; his
estates passed to his son John (knighted 1611),
M.P. for Shoreham, during whose time others
occasionally lived at Wappingthorn. (fn. 69) At Sir John's
death in 1656, the manor passed jointly to his
cousins Robert and Englebert Leeds of Beverley
(Yorks. E.R.). In 1671 Englebert Leeds sold it to
Henry Goring the younger (fn. 70) (d. 1687); (fn. 71) after that
it passed with Highden in Washington until 1914,
when the executors of Genl. R. T. Godman
apparently sold it to C. F. W. Russell. (fn. 72) By 1930
it had been bought by the Hon. Arthur (later Sir
Arthur) Howard. (fn. 73)
Wappingthorn House (fn. 74) was built in 1609, (fn. 75) of
red brick with stone dressings, the north range
including a two-storeyed hall with bay window and
a projecting two-storeyed porch. By 1798 the house
had become a farm-house, (fn. 76) as it remained until
the 20th century, (fn. 77) the east part of the building
being demolished before 1911. (fn. 78) In 1928 the house
was entirely rebuilt, in the same style and materials
and on a much larger scale, to the designs of
Maxwell Ayrton, little more than part of the north
wall being left from the original house. At the same
date Ayrton also built a range of service buildings
and a water tower north of the house on the site of
the old farm buildings and new concrete farm
buildings of unusual appearance, including a model
dairy, further east. (fn. 79)
In 1073 William de Braose had a grange at
Wyckham, (fn. 80) which was presumably identical with
the future manor of WYCKHAM. It was probably
included in Domesday Book as part of his estate in
Steyning, (fn. 81) for it is not mentioned separately. In
1225 Adam Talcurtis held it of William de Braose,
and claimed that his ancestors had long owned it. (fn. 82)
It continued to be held of Bramber honor thereafter. (fn. 83) Philip Talcurtis had lands at Wyckham,
presumably Wyckham manor, c. 1255. (fn. 84) Afterwards
the manor was divided. In 1297 a life-interest in
two-thirds of it was settled on David Cubbel,
chaplain, (fn. 85) who afterwards sold it to Hugh le
Despenser the younger. (fn. 86) Despenser was confirmed
in it in 1326, (fn. 87) but forfeited it soon afterwards. Sir
John Ifield then received the estate, (fn. 88) under a
reversionary grant of 1312, (fn. 89) and in 1331 John of
Aythorpe Roding (Essex) quitclaimed to him his
right in the remaining third of the manor, which
had come to his mother Maud from her grandfather Philip Talcurtis. (fn. 90) In 1361 Sir Andrew
Peverel the younger and John at Hyde held ¼ fee
in Erringham (in Old Shoreham) and Wyckham (fn. 91)
under a settlement of 1333. (fn. 92) Reynold Cobham had
a moiety of Wyckham in 1384. (fn. 93) The same moiety
was settled in 1406 on John Norton, (fn. 94) from whom
Reynold's widow Sarah claimed dower in 1423. (fn. 95)
One or other moiety was settled in 1446 on Richard
Jay, (fn. 96) who by 1467 possessed the whole manor. (fn. 97)
Richard Farnfold held Wyckham c. 1538; (fn. 98) at
his death c. 1546 (fn. 99) it presumably passed to William
Farnfold who was said to hold it in 1566. (fn. 1) From him
it passed in turn to Richard Farnfold (d. 1600) and
to Richard's son William, (fn. 2) who sold it in 1610 to
Sir Edward Bellingham, (fn. 3) who apparently still held
it in 1638. (fn. 4) His son Thomas (fn. 5) was dealing with the
manor in 1641, (fn. 6) but thereafter no more is heard of it.
The demesnes of the manor, which in the early
17th century comprised 260 a., (fn. 7) were later known
as Upper Wyckham farm. The farm belonged to
the earls of Thanet from the late 17th century until
1737, when Sackville Tufton, earl of Thanet, sold
it to Sir Robert Fagg (d. 1740), whose heirs or
executors sold it in 1750 to John Wenham. (fn. 8) Another
estate, perhaps the same as the later Lower Wyckham farm, was conveyed by Thomas Bishop to
Richard Farnfold of Gatewick in 1602. (fn. 9) Sir Thomas
Farnfold died seised of it in 1643, when it comprised 120 a. (fn. 10) By 1650 it had passed to Robert
Mawer, who sold it in that year to George Raynsford. He sold it to Richard Hayler in 1695, when it
comprised 85 a. In 1749 it passed from members of
the Hayler family to John Bridger, who sold it in
1751 to John Wenham. In 1762 John Wenham sold
the two estates to Richard Trevor, bishop of
Durham (fn. 11) (d. 1771), who was succeeded by his
brother Robert, Lord Trevor, (fn. 12) (cr. Viscount
Hampden in 1776; d. 1783), who was succeeded
by his son, Thomas, Viscount Hampden (d. 1824).
Thomas's brother and heir John, Viscount Hampden
(d. 1824) (fn. 13) devised his estates to a distant cousin
H. O. Brand (d. 1853), who took the name Trevor.
The Wyckham estate passed in 1851 to his younger
son H. B. W. Brand (cr. Viscount Hampden, 1884;
d. 1892), and in 1890 to the latter's youngest son
Thomas (d. 1916), whose son H. R. Brand (fn. 14) sold it
in 1924. (fn. 15)
John Culpeper died seised of a third of the manor
of LITTLE WYCKHAM in Steyning in 1565,
when it was held of Bramber honor as ⅓fee. By
1571 his son Thomas had disposed of it in return
for an annuity of £4. (fn. 16) The history of the estate is
otherwise obscure, but it was presumably identical
with Little Wyckham farm recorded in 1875. (fn. 17)
Upper Wyckham Cottage, formerly Upper
Wyckham Farmhouse, is a small late medieval
house which still has some exposed timber-framing,
a smoke-blackened crown-post roof, and the
evidence for opposed doorways at one end of the
two-bay hall. The east range of Wyckham, formerly
Lower Wyckham, Farmhouse incorporates a small
late medieval house lengthened probably in the 17th
century and extended westwards in two stages
c. 1800.
The interests of the Braose family and their
successors in Steyning borough, and the detached
burgages of Bramber borough which lay in Steyning,
are discussed under Bramber.
Steyning RECTORY, comprising most of the
great tithes of the parish (fn. 18) together with portions
of tithes at Wappingthorn and Wyckham and in
Portslade and Beeding parishes, (fn. 19) followed the
descent of Steyning manor from the appropriation
of the church in the mid 13th century until the mid
16th century and was then retained by the Crown
until the early 17th. (fn. 20) During the next 50 years its
history is confused. (fn. 21) In 1649 Anthony Stapley and
Isaac Jones leased it to William Devereux and Anne
James, the second of whom as survivor had assigned
the lease by 1657 to Henry Peck the elder and his
son Henry. (fn. 22) In 1661 John St. Amand, an associate
of Devereux, (fn. 23) petitioned the Crown for a grant of
the estate. (fn. 24) John's son James (d. 1728) (fn. 25) was
described as the impropriator in 1724, (fn. 26) and was
succeeded by his grandson Robert Hesketh. (fn. 27) In
1774 Robert and Roger Hesketh sold the rectory
to Sir John Honeywood (fn. 28) (d. 1781), whose grandson
and heir, another Sir John, (fn. 29) sold it in 1796 to
Charles Howard, duke of Norfolk. (fn. 30) Bernard
Edward Howard, duke of Norfolk, sold it to Charles
Marshall in 1839, having previously sold the great
tithes arising from roughly half the parish to the
owners of the lands concerned. (fn. 31) From Charles
Marshall the commuted tithe-rent-charge of Steyning passed to C. M. Griffith (d. 1894), whose
executors sold it in 1896 to Charles Goring. (fn. 32)