Warnham: Manors and other estates

MANORS AND OTHER ESTATES.

Land at Warnham was held in demesne by the lords of Bramber in the 1210s; (fn. 1) the connexion between it and later estates in the parish is not clear.

The manor of DENNE, also known as WARNHAM (fn. 2) or DENNE IN WARNHAM, (fn. 3) was held of the honor of Bramber in 1409 and 1601. (fn. 4) Since in 1720 it included land south-east of Horsham town near Hornbrook, it was probably once part of the outlying lands of Washington manor, like Denne in Horsham. (fn. 5) Its description in the 18th and 19th centuries as two manors, i.e. Warnham and Denne, (fn. 6) was apparently incorrect: only one descent can be made out for both, and only one set of boundaries was given for both in 1803. (fn. 7) In 1262 John Doyley had the manor, (fn. 8) apparently in right of his wife Rose, who is said to have bought it from Sir Henry Tregoze. At John's death, apparently between 1272 and 1278, (fn. 9) he was succeeded by his son William, who settled the estate on his mother for life in 1286. (fn. 10) Thomas Doyley was granted free warren at Denne in 1328 (fn. 11) and died c. 1336. In 1352-3 Humphrey Doyley settled it on John and Margery Doyley for life; (fn. 12) John, apparently Thomas's son, died c. 1363, being succeeded by his son Thomas. At the last named Thomas's death in or before 1370-1 (fn. 13) he was succeeded by his sister Joan, wife of Thomas Lewknor. Their son John died seised of it in 1409, and was succeeded by his daughter Joan, who married John Barttelot (fn. 14) of Stopham, described as of Denne in 1425. (fn. 15) John died in 1453, and Richard Barttelot, presumably his son, witnessed a deed of land in Warnham in 1463. (fn. 16) In 1474 Denne was in the Crown's hands because of the idiocy of William son of Thomas Barttelot, (fn. 17) at whose death c. 1482 (fn. 18) it apparently passed to John Barttelot of Stopham (d. 1493), grandson of John (d. 1453). The younger John's son and heir John was succeeded in 1525 by his nephew William (fn. 19) of Stopham (fn. 20) (d. 1601). (fn. 21) William's grandson and heir Richard Barttelot, of Stopham and Denne, (fn. 22) was succeeded in 1614 by his son Walter. (fn. 23) Walter died in 1641, and one of his six daughters and coheirs (fn. 24) Jane, with her husband Christopher Coles, afterwards acquired the whole estate, possibly by 1650. (fn. 25)

After Christopher's death in 1675 (fn. 26) Jane Coles was described in 1685 as lady of the manor. (fn. 27) About 1690 she sold it to Henry Cowper (fn. 28) of Strood in Slinfold (d. 1707), who was succeeded by his son Edward (fn. 29) (d. 1725). (fn. 30) Jane Lawton, described as lady of the manor in 1741, may have had a life interest only; she may also be the Jane Moreton in whose right her husband William was lord in 1744. (fn. 31) Edward Cowper's niece Anne Upton (fn. 32) was lady in 1758, and in 1763 (fn. 33) married (Maj.-Gen.) John Leland. (fn. 34) In 1801 he sold the estate, with Strood, to John William Commerell, (fn. 35) who was succeeded between 1845 and 1848 by his grandson William Augustus Commerell, (fn. 36) whose executors in 1859 sold Denne to Thomas Wisden. Wisden's son Lt.-Col. T. F. Wisden was lord in 1876; (fn. 37) at his death in 1904 (fn. 38) he was succeeded by his widow (fl. 1927). In 1930 the manor belonged to the Warnham Court estate, (fn. 39) with which it afterwards descended.

Meanwhile the demesnes of the manor, comprising Denne farm and other lands, had been separated from the lordship. (fn. 40) John Evershed is said to have had them in 1695 and to have left them to his cousin John Young, possibly the man of that name who held land in Warnham in 1705. (fn. 41) From Young they are said to have passed to his nephew George Luxford, who had a farm in Warnham, presumably Denne, in 1755. (fn. 42) He conveyed the estate, evidently in that year or the next, (fn. 43) to John Collier of Hastings and at the partition of Collier's estates between his daughters and coheirs in 1766 it was allotted to Cordelia, wife of the Hon. James Murray. (fn. 44) At Murray's death in 1794 (fn. 45) it passed under Collier's will to Collier's grandson Edward Milward, who owned Denne farm in 1800. (fn. 46) John Lanham is said to have bought it in 1806, and to have sold it in 1814 to the duke of Norfolk, whose executors sold it in 1821 to J. S. Broadwood of Lyne House in Newdigate (Surr.). Broadwood had the estate in 1822 (fn. 47) and by 1830 owned over 1,100 a. in the parish. (fn. 48) At his death in 1851 Denne passed first to his son the Revd. John Broadwood (d. 1864), and then to John's half brother Henry F. Broadwood (d. 1893). Henry's son J. H. T. Broadwood (d. 1903) was succeeded by his son Capt. Evelyn H. T. Broadwood, (fn. 49) who still owned Denne farm and other lands in Warnham in 1955. (fn. 50) In 1967 Denne farm, comprising 265 a., was bought by the Richardson family, which still had it in 1982. (fn. 51)

Denne Farm, the manor house of Denne manor, consists of a wide east-west main range and a cross wing, both with late medieval crown-post roofs. Part of a moulded dais beam and carved spandrels over the parlour door survive in the hall. In the 17th century much of the exterior was refaced in brick with stone dressings; a brick chimneystack and stone fireplaces were also inserted. There are remains of a moat on the east and north sides of the house, and a fivebayed medieval barn, of which the central three bays were originally open, the end bays apparently having upper floors.

The reputed manor of KINGSFOLD in the north part of the parish was held of Denne. (fn. 52) It evidently originated in lands in Warnham and Rusper held by members of the Kingsfold family in the Middle Ages: Robert (fl. c. 1250), Simon (fl. 1296-1305), his son John (fl. 1305), and the same or another John (fl. 1327- c. 1380). (fn. 53) In 1410 Edward at Hale quitclaimed to John Warnecamp and his wife Isabel lands at Kingsfold formerly of John Kingsfold. (fn. 54) The estate was apparently resumed by the lord of Denne, for at William Barttelot's death c. 1482 land at Kingsfold was divided between his five sisters and coheirs, one of whom, Isabel, married Thomas March. (fn. 55) In 1576 John March and John Fuller were dealing with Kingsfold manor, first so called. (fn. 56) John Fuller's son James, described as of Rusper, had succeeded his father by 1607, and in the following year sold Kingsfold to Nicholas Jordan and Henry Gorringe, who in turn sold it in 1609 to Richard French, also of Rusper. (fn. 57) In 1620 French conveyed it to John Manning, a London skinner, whose son John died in 1633 seised of the reversion after his mother's death. The younger John's heirs were his two sisters, Anne, wife of Thomas Lawley, and Elizabeth, wife of Robert Caesar. (fn. 58) Thomas Lawley (created Bt. 1641) was succeeded in a moiety of the manor in 1646 by his son Francis, (fn. 59) who in 1684 bought the other moiety from Francis Coventry, son of Elizabeth Caesar by a later marriage. (fn. 60) At his death in 1696 Sir Francis Lawley left Kingsfold to his younger son Richard, (fn. 61) who lived on the property. In 1720 Richard conveyed the manor to John Webster of London, (fn. 62) who in turn sold it in 1723 to Edmund Blunkett (d. 1731× 1733). Blunkett's daughter Elizabeth married Edmund Smith, and they were succeeded before 1794 by their son William, of Horsham Park. In 1794 the estate comprised 372 a. (fn. 63) William Smith (d. 1798) was succeeded by his son Edmund, (fn. 64) who apparently sold it to the duke of Norfolk in 1801. (fn. 65) From the Norfolk estate it passed by sale in 1838 or 1839 to Robert Hurst, also of Horsham Park. (fn. 66) Thereafter it descended in the Hurst family until 1979 when it was sold. (fn. 67)

The original manor house of Kingsfold presumably occupied the moated site in Rusper parish north-east of the modern Kingsfold hamlet, (fn. 68) since members of the Kingsfold family were assessed for tax, served as juror, and were buried in Rusper in the 14th century; the family is said to have moved its seat from Rusper to Warnham because of a tithe dispute. (fn. 69) There was a house belonging to the estate in 1482. (fn. 70) The existing building has a timber-framed north-south range with a service cross wing at the north end, both of 17th-century date, and with red brick infill and a roof of Horsham slates. In the earlier 18th century a staircase was added and internal alterations were carried out. The house was greatly enlarged to the south and west in the mid 19th century; later it was renamed Kingsfold Place and a park was laid out to the south-east. (fn. 71)

The reputed manor of SLAUGHTERFORD OR POWERS in the south-west quarter of the parish, so called by 1591, (fn. 72) was also held of Denne. (fn. 73) It apparently originated in land in the parish which Stephen Power of Thakeham had in 1324 and 1343-4. (fn. 74) He may have been identical with the Stephen of Slaughterford taxed in Warnham in 1332, (fn. 75) who was dealing with land there in 1344-5. (fn. 76) Richard Slaughterford, taxed in the parish in 1378, was dealing with a messuage and 36 a. there at the same date. (fn. 77) Other holders of the surname recorded locally in the 15th century were Stephen (fl. 1438) (fn. 78) and John (fl. 1470). (fn. 79) The estate was evidently resumed by the lord of Denne, for at William Barttelot's death c. 1482 it, like Kingsfold, was divided between his five sisters and coheirs. (fn. 80)

In 1548 John Ede, perhaps the man of the same name taxed in the parish in 1525, was dealing with a moiety of the manor, first so called; at his death in 1555 or 1556 (fn. 81) he was succeeded by his son James, (fn. 82) who at his death in 1591 had the whole manor. (fn. 83) James's son James died soon after him. (fn. 84) John Young was dealing with the whole manor in 1623, (fn. 85) and in 1626 settled it on his younger son Ockenden, (fn. 86) who was succeeded in 1630 by his brother William. (fn. 87) In 1638 William conveyed the manor to Richard Yates, (fn. 88) who was living in Warnham in 1642 (fn. 89) and died in 1657; his son and heir Henry died in the following year. Thereafter the descent is lost until 1715, when Henry Yates, M.P. for Horsham, had the manor. At his death in the following year (fn. 90) the estate comprised c. 300a. (fn. 91) His son and heir Thomas, M.P. for Chichester, (fn. 92) was succeeded between 1751 and 1758 by his three daughters and coheirs who sold Slaughterford in 1758 to John Martyr. He sold it in the same year to John Laker, and after Laker's death between 1763 and 1769 and that of his wife, it passed to his cousin Matthew Napper, (fn. 93) described as lord in 1794. (fn. 94) He was succeeded in 1801 (fn. 95) by Dendy Napper, (fn. 96) after whose death in 1820 most of the estate was sold, though his eldest son Henry continued to live there until c. 1830. (fn. 97) Richard Barnett owned the estate c. 1840, (fn. 98) and perhaps earlier, since he already had c. 800 a. in the parish in 1830, (fn. 99) and Mrs. Barnett had it in 1870. (fn. 100) Charles B. Gregson bought the estate c. 1901, (fn. 101) and had 214 a. there in 1910. (fn. 102) His son H. G. Gregson owned it in 1957, (fn. 103) and in 1983 it belonged to his widow Mrs. M. Gregson; at that date it comprised c. 1,000 a. (fn. 104)

A house called Ends was associated with Slaughterford or Powers manor in 1630 and 1762; (fn. 105) an alternative name was Old House. (fn. 106) The building is said to have been burnt down c. 1830. (fn. 107) The present Ends Place is an early 19th-century L-shaped building refaced and greatly enlarged c. 1908 to the design of C. T. Miles of Bournemouth. (fn. 108) Two ponds existed north-east of the house c. 1840; (fn. 109) by 1896 there were four or five in a line, (fn. 110) but in 1983 they were much overgrown.

An unidentified estate called the manor of WARNHAM descended with Roffey manor in Horsham in the Hoo and Copley families between 1457-8 and 1616, and may represent lands in Warnham held of Roffey. (fn. 111) It is not heard of later.

The reputed manor of FUSTS, so called in 1613, (fn. 112) evidently derived from lands in the parish held in the 13th and 14th centuries by members of the Fust family: William (fl. 1280-1302), his brother Richard (fl. 1302-32), William (fl. 1330-1), Richard (fl. 1340-1), and Walter (fl. 1378). (fn. 113) In 1330-1 their estate was said to contain 50 a. and ten years later 83 a. (fn. 114) In 1471-2 John Fust was dealing with 186 a. in Warnham and Rusper. (fn. 115) By 1612 the estate belonged to Sir John Caryll (d. 1613). (fn. 116) Since it is not heard of after 1628, (fn. 117) it was apparently identical with the WARNHAM PLACE estate, represented by the modern Warnhamplace farm, which belonged to the Caryll family from the early 16th century. John Caryll of Warnham, serjeant at law (d. 1523), was succeeded in it by his son, also serjeant at law (d. 1566), whose grandson and heir Sir John, (fn. 118) though a recusant, was sheriff of Surrey and Sussex in 1588. (fn. 119) He was succeeded in 1613 by his son, another Sir John (d. 1652), who lived at Harting (fn. 120) but let the estate at Warnham to his son, also John (d. 1681). (fn. 121) In 1686 Warnham Place was settled on Henry Yates; he had it in 1700, (fn. 122) and was perhaps identical with his namesake, lord of Slaughterford manor, who died in 1716. Col. Yates, apparently the same as the last named Henry's son and heir Thomas, owned the Caryll chapel in the parish church in 1724. (fn. 123) Certainly a Thomas Yates had the estate, of 120 a., in 1737, the year in which he sold it to Edward Shelley (fn. 124) of Field Place; thereafter it descended with Field Place (fn. 125) until 1875, when Sir P. F. Shelley sold it to C. T. Lucas of Warnham Court, with which estate it afterwards descended. (fn. 126)

A capital messuage belonging to John Caryll, mentioned in 1523, (fn. 127) seems likely to have been the manor house of Fusts manor in which his son John lived. (fn. 128) By 1625 it was evidently called Warnham Place since Warnham Mill pond by which it stood was then described as the 'place pond'. (fn. 129) A house apparently of 16th-century date remained until shortly before 1772, when Bysshe Shelley demolished it, except for the tall chimneystack, and built a new rectangular, pedimented house of seven bays and two storeys nearby to the east. That too was demolished before c. 1801, the materials being used to build Shelley's new house at Castle Goring near Worthing. (fn. 130)

The manor of HOLLANDS, (fn. 131) also called WARNHAM, apparently commemorates Thomas Holland, vicar of Warnham, who had it in 1641 in right of his wife Joan. Simon Holland was lord in 1687, and he and Edmund Michell were dealing with it in 1690. (fn. 132) In 1793 the estate was jointly owned by the Revd. Samuel Shuckford, also vicar of Warnham, and John Miller, both of whose wives had the maiden name Michell. Shuckford apparently conveyed a moiety to his son-in-law John Nichol in 1793, (fn. 133) and in 1802 Nichol and Miller were said to be lords. (fn. 134) The manor was still divided into moieties in 1835. (fn. 135) In 1881 Hollands farm passed to the Warnham Court estate, with which it later descended. (fn. 136) The manor house of Hollands stood on the west side of Church Street opposite the modern Warnham Court Farm. In 1835 it was apparently divided into three dwellings. The building survived in 1881. (fn. 137)

Street farm, comprising 183 a. south of Warnham village, belonged in 1778 to the Revd. Samuel Shuckford and John Miller, (fn. 138) and in 1802, like Hollands, to Miller and John Nichol. (fn. 139) By 1828 the lands had passed to Henry Tredcroft, (fn. 140) who soon afterwards built there a new house called WARNHAM COURT. (fn. 141) After Tredcroft's death in or before 1844 (fn. 142) the estate was sold by Edward Tredcroft (fn. 143) in 1855 to Sir John Henry Pelly, Bt. (fn. 144) (d. 1864), (fn. 145) whose son Sir Henry C. Pelly, Bt., (fn. 146) sold it in 1865-6 (fn. 147) to Charles Thomas Lucas (d. 1895), partner in Lucas Bros., builders and contractors. Lucas's son Charles James was succeeded in 1928 by his son Charles Eric (d. 1967), whose son and heir Charles James Lucas had the estate in 1982. (fn. 148)

Warnham Court was built in 1829 in Elizabethan style to the design of Henry Harrison. (fn. 149) Though asymmetrical in plan, it had symmetrical faôades to west and south. On the south side a terrace gave views to the South Downs. The house was faced with stone dug on the estate, possibly from a quarry on the site of the later sunken rock garden on the west side, and in 1835 was said to have c. 50 rooms. (fn. 150) In 1865 there were a conservatory, a kitchen garden, a vinery, and peach and fig houses. (fn. 151) Between 1866 and 1877 large additions were made on the north side to the design of A. W. Blomfield, including new stables, a billiard room, partly burnt in 1901, and a clock tower; at the same time the east wing was heightened by two storeys. By 1877 the south terrace, with statues and trees, extended to c. 600 ft. (183 metres), while the grounds immediately round the house, which Lucas laid out himself, contained exotic trees and shrubs. In the later 19th and earlier 20th century the house contained many paintings and objets d'art, (fn. 152) but it was sold by the Lucas family in 1947 to the London county council. (fn. 153) From 1952 it was used by the council and its successor the Greater London council as a special school, (fn. 154) the outbuildings to the north being replaced by new buildings. Some elaborate carved 17th-century woodwork from Slinfold church which formed a rear porch to the house in 1896 had been destroyed by 1981. (fn. 155)

The grandiose Jacobean-style stone gateway and lodge at the south-east entrance to the park was built in 1889 to the design of A. W. Blomfield's son Arthur; (fn. 156) it replaced an earlier one further north which also survived in 1982.

Henry, later Sir Henry, Harben, secretary and afterwards president of the Prudential Assurance Co. and the first mayor of Hampstead (Lond.), (fn. 157) bought WARNHAM LODGE, north-west of the village, in 1888, and afterwards acquired adjacent land to make a compact estate which included Sands, Maltmayes, and Northlands farms. (fn. 158) At his death in 1911 he was succeeded by his daughter Mrs. Mary Wharrie (d. 1937), (fn. 159) and in 1963 the estate still belonged to the Harben family. (fn. 160)

A gentleman's house existed at Warnham Lodge by 1866, (fn. 161) in revived vernacular style with heavy decorated bargeboards and tall chimneys. (fn. 162) Large additions, partly to cater for cricket parties, were made by the architects Batterbury and Huxley in 1894; they include a water tower 120 ft. (37 metres) high with an ogee-sided pyramidal cap. The enlarged house was complemented by well-wooded grounds including unusual trees. Most of the house was demolished in 1961, (fn. 163) a new one having been built in 1939, (fn. 164) but the red brick water tower survived in 1982, forming with its strange silhouette a prominent landmark.

The estate called FIELD PLACE in the south part of the parish was held of Drungewick in Wisborough Green. (fn. 165) It perhaps included the lands in Warnham with which Simon at Field was dealing in 1251. (fn. 166) Richard at Field held the estate in 1353, when it was said to comprise 100 a. (fn. 167) It was presumably also identical with the 140 a. of land in Warnham which Richard Hayne, William Brown, and John Hole conveyed to John Michell of Stammerham in Horsham between 1482 and 1485, (fn. 168) since John's son Richard (fn. 169) later owned and lived at Field Place. At his death in 1524 or 1525 the property passed to his son Henry (d. 1546), (fn. 170) whose son Avery (d. 1558) was succeeded by his son John, of Stammerham. John was succeeded in 1610 by his cousin Roger, (fn. 171) of Field Place (d. 1630), whose son John (d. 1656) was succeeded by his own son, also John. In 1701 the estate was said to contain 120 a. (fn. 172) The last named John sold it before 1706 to his stepson Edward Shelley, in circumstances that later gave rise to dispute. (fn. 173)

At his death in 1748 Edward left the estate to his nephew Timothy Shelley (d. 1771), (fn. 174) who leased it to his son John (fn. 175) (d. 1790). John's brother and heir Bysshe (fn. 176) (created Bt. 1806; d. 1814) made over the estate to his son Timothy from 1791. (fn. 177) Timothy was succeeded in 1844 by his grandson Percy Florence, son of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley; Sir Percy let the house to various tenants and in 1889 (fn. 178) was succeeded by his cousin Sir Edward (d. 1890), whose brother and heir, also Sir Edward, died in 1902. The latter's son and heir Sir John Shelley (later ShelleyRolls) also lived elsewhere, and in 1929 sold Field Place to G. N. Charrington, tenant since 1922. The estate, which had shrunk before 1929 to only 27 a., was enlarged by Charrington to c. 215 a. by 1942. (fn. 179) At his death in 1958 he was succeeded by his sister Doris (d. 1971), (fn. 180) whose nephew and heir Mr. H. Chisenhale-Marsh had the property in 1981.

A house (fn. 181) apparently on the same low-lying site as the modern Field Place was mentioned in 1353. (fn. 182) The oldest parts of the existing house are the timberframed north, south, and east ranges, which are probably 15th-or early 16th-century. They are low and mainly clad in sandstone, with roofs of Horsham stone slabs; there are tall chimneystacks and in the 1720s there were also gables. (fn. 183) The five-bayed east range contained the two-storeyed great hall, whose large open fireplace was visible in 1959; (fn. 184) in 1982 the hall was used as a kitchen. The north range was perhaps originally an outbuilding, and the south range, of very fine workmanship, contained another open hall. There is no proof that the medieval house had a west range on the site of the later one. In the later 16th century the north, south, and east ranges were united under one roof, chimneys were added, and other alterations made. In 1630 the house contained a hall, a parlour, kitchen, buttery, and other offices, and at least eight chambers besides lofts. (fn. 185) Some early 17th-century decoration, apparently re-used, survived in one room in 1982.

In 1678 a taller two-storeyed west range, with prominent eaves cornice and string course, was built to serve as a new entrance wing; a central courtyard was thus formed. The new range was of eleven bays, the central seven being recessed, with a pediment in the middle. (fn. 186) The late 17th-century staircase survived in 1982, as did contemporary decoration, including bolection-moulded fireplace surrounds, in some other rooms. Most interiors, however, are of the mid 18th century, including the entrance hall in the centre of the west front and apparently the screen to the staircase. At some point after 1788 (fn. 187) the entrance doorway was moved two bays to the left to lead into the staircase hall, the original entrance hall being used in 1982 as a dining room. About 1845 the recessed centre of the west front was filled with a one-storeyed loggia of cast-iron columns with Egyptian lotus capitals. (fn. 188) After 1922 the house was restored, the entrance then being moved to the south front, and the drawing room on the north side being extended northwards, to the design to R. W. Symonds, in matching style and with an external shell-hood door surround brought from a house in Ipswich. At the same time or later the central courtyard was converted to a toplit library and offices.

The fine gardens were begun in 1922 and include a pair of early 18th-century iron gates from a house in Chiswick Mall (Lond.).

Warnham RECTORY followed the descent of the advowson of the vicarage, passing from Rusper priory (fn. 189) to the dean and chapter of Canterbury. (fn. 190) Between 1615 and the later 19th century (fn. 191) its lands comprised 5½ a. west of Church Street. In the later 16th and 17th centuries the estate was leased to members of the Ravenscroft family of Horsham: Peter (d. c. 1574), his son John, (fn. 192) and Hall (fl. 1638-50). (fn. 193) In the 18th century the lease descended with Horsham Park, (fn. 194) being retained by Sir Thomas Broughton, Bt., in 1776, and between 1808 and 1870 it descended with Field Place. (fn. 195)