Thakeham: Manors and other estates

MANORS AND OTHER ESTATES.

In 1066THAKEHAM was held by Brixi, probably the Kentish noble Brixi cild; by 1086 it had passed to William de Braose. (fn. 1) The overlordship descended with Bramber barony until 1361 or later. (fn. 2) In 1086 Morin, perhaps Morin of St. André, held 5 hides in Thakeham of William de Braose, and a knight held 1 hide of Morin. (fn. 3) Morin's estate seems to have descended to the Power (le Poer) family. Ranulf Power was mentioned 1141 X 1163, (fn. 4) and may be the Reynold of 'Felkham' who obtained seisin in 1175 or 1176. (fn. 5) A David Power died in or before 1208 leaving as heir Stephen, then a minor. Stephen was disputing ¼ knight's fee in Thakeham with Robert le Savage in 1213, and obtained seisin of David's land in Thakeham in 1218. (fn. 6) In the same year he agreed with Robert le Savage to hold the estate, assessed at 4 knight's fees, from Robert as he had previously held it of Reynold de Braose. (fn. 7) The mesne lordship thus established descended with Robert's manor of Broadwater until 1606. (fn. 8) Stephen or a namesake was still undertenant in 1242, (fn. 9) and successive Stephens held the manor apparently until 1357 or later. (fn. 10) Nevertheless Isabel, widow or mother of the last Stephen, allegedly held the manor, presumably in dower, in 1355-6. She was still alive in 1362. It later passed to her daughters Margaret and Joan; (fn. 11) they married respectively Stephen or John Apsley and John Clothall. Stephen Apsley and John Clothall had partitioned the manor by 1377. (fn. 12)

Clothall's moiety (fn. 13) passed to his son John, to John's widow Isabel c. 1409, to Richard Clothall, apparently the first John's grandson,c. 1447, and to John Wiltshire, husband of Richard's sister Isabel, c. 1454. Isabel held it in 1455. Her daughter Joan had married by 1477 Thomas Bellingham, (fn. 14) who succeeded to the moiety c. 1485 and died in 1490. It passed in 1501 to their son Ralph Bellingham (d. 1532), who was followed by his son John (d. 1542). (fn. 15) John's son Ralph, then a minor, seems to have obtained possession in 1546 and was still alive in 1552. (fn. 16) The moiety passed c. 1557 to his brother Thomas Bellingham (fn. 17) and in 1558 (fn. 18) to his sister Margaret and her husband Richard Boys of Hawkhurst (Kent), who died in 1605. Richard was succeeded by his son Samuel, (fn. 19) after whose death in 1627 the moiety presumably passed to his son William. William's son Samuel held his first court in 1650 and settled the moiety in 1678 (fn. 20) on his son William (d. 1698). That William's son Samuel had obtained the moiety by 1706 (fn. 21) and in 1730 settled it on his son Samuel (fn. 22) (d. 1772), who was followed by his son, another Samuel Boys (d. 1795). (fn. 23) The last left the moiety to his daughter Elizabeth, wife of Charles Lamb. (fn. 24) Lamb died between 1813 and 1816 and Elizabeth between 1819 and 1821 when the moiety had passed to their daughter Elizabeth Dorothy and her husband Thomas Ferris. (fn. 25) In 1836 they settled it in trust for sale; it was bought by G. J. Gibson of Sandgate Lodge, Sullington. (fn. 26) He died in 1860, as did his son and successor George Carew Gibson. The moiety then passed to the latter's son George Carew Carew-Gibson. (fn. 27) He advertised it for sale in 1887 but was apparently still lord in 1895. (fn. 28) The lordship has not been traced further.

The other moiety, held by Stephen Apsley c. 1377, had passed to John Apsley by 1431. (fn. 29) In 1467 it was held by him or another John, and was then confirmed to the holder with remainder to his son John. (fn. 30) After a dispute with Thomas Bellingham, one of the Johns was confirmed in possession of the moiety, including most of the manor house, in 1477. (fn. 31) The youngest John died in 1507, (fn. 32) and the moiety passed to his nephew William Apsley (d. 1527). (fn. 33) William's son John held it in 1571 and died in 1587. (fn. 34) Under a settlement the moiety then passed to Edward Apsley, second son of John's son William. (fn. 35) Edward (knighted 1603) died in 1610. The moiety was then held in dower by his widow Elizabeth, passing between 1624 and 1626 to their son Edward (d. 1651). (fn. 36) It seems to have descended with the last Edward's Warminghurst estate; his brother-in-law George Fenwick held courts between 1653 and 1655, George's daughter Elizabeth from 1657 to 1658, and she and her husband Thomas (later Sir Thomas) Hesilrige from 1659 to 1662. (fn. 37) In 1663 the moiety was held by the Hesilriges and Elizabeth's sister Dorothy Fenwick; their title was challenged by Edward Apsley's other coheirs, daughters of Edward's second sister Ann and her husband Richard Caldecott, who together demanded a partition of Edward Apsley's estates. The Fenwick coheirs resisted partition, (fn. 38) and in 1667 Dorothy and her husband Sir Thomas Williamson sold a quarter of the manor to Henry Bigland. (fn. 39) By 1668, however, a partition had assigned the moiety of the manorial rights to the Caldecotts' daughter Cordelia (d. 1718) and her husband Henry Shelley (d. 1691). (fn. 40) Their grandson Henry Shelley held it by 1720 (fn. 41) and died in 1736, leaving it to his son Henry (d. 1805). (fn. 42) It then descended with Durrington (fn. 43) until 1864, when a partition between Henry E. A. and William Dalbiac assigned it to the latter, with 200 a. in Thakeham. Henry Dalbiac received 35 a. there (fn. 44) and he or his son, also Henry, still held land in the parish in 1887. (fn. 45) The estate has not been traced further.

Part of the Apsley's estate was settled on Grace, another daughter of the Caldecotts, in 1670. (fn. 46) In 1673 she took that part, including Thakeham Place (the manor house) and Nash farm, in marriage to James Butler of Amberley. Butler bought more of the estate from the Shelleys in 1687, (fn. 47) and died in 1696. (fn. 48) By 1707 the estate had passed to his son James Butler, later of Warminghurst, and descended with Warminghurst manor. (fn. 49) The Norfolk trustees sold Nash farm to James Wilson in 1874; it had passed to F. H. King of Itchingfield by 1910. (fn. 50) The trustees sold Thakeham Place in 1925. (fn. 51) It passed to W. H. Aggs, whose daughter Guli sold it in 1977 to T. and J. Binnington. (fn. 52)

In 1477 the manor house, later Thakeham Place, included a great chamber and other rooms, and a gatehouse. (fn. 53) It was remembered c. 1830 as a courtyard house with an entrance gateway and a chapel and a hall on opposite sides, allegedly demolished c. 1770, (fn. 54) but in 1789 the buildings consisted of a stone or brick south-facing range of 17th-century date which survived in 1981, and a detached timberframed range at right angles on its north-east corner; both were of two storeys with attics, and the south range retains evidence of a basement. There were ancillary buildings to the south and south-east. (fn. 55) Probably in the early 19th century the south range was remodelled and a parallel front range added north of it.

ABINGWORTH a farm in the south part of the parish, gave its name to a family who lived in Thakeham in the 13th and 14th centuries. A Roger of Abingworth was mentioned in 1231 (fn. 56) and another in 1296, (fn. 57) and James of Abingworth was mentioned from 1327 to 1341. (fn. 58) The family still lived in the parish in 1389. (fn. 59) Abingworth with 50 a. was later held as a freehold of Thakeham manor by John Lee (d. by 1631) and passed to his son John (d. 1657 X 1659). That John settled it on his daughter Susan, wife of Thomas Mellersh (d. 1683). She died in 1684 and was succeeded by her son John Mellersh, perhaps the John who died in 1714. (fn. 60) It then descended to his brother Joshua (d. 1714), who left his estate to his wife and three children; (fn. 61) one of them, John (d. 1743), left Abingworth to his sister Annesley and her husband Thomas Butcher. (fn. 62) Annesley held it in 1752 and was succeeded between 1763 and 1765 by her son Thomas Butcher. (fn. 63) He died between 1779 and 1786 leaving as heir his son Thomas (d. 1787), who was followed by his sister Elizabeth, wife of Edward Fuller. She was dead by 1793, when Edward held by the curtesy. (fn. 64) He died in 1817 and the estate passed successively to his daughter Charlotte, wife of Luke Upperton (d. 1835), and their son Edward Fuller Upperton (d. 1868). E. F. Upperton left it to his nephew George Edward Lear, who lived in the house from 1870 to 1901. (fn. 65) In 1901 (fn. 66) and apparently again in 1904 the estate was offered for sale; it was bought by A. C. and C. S. Peach. In 1913 they sold it to Sir Oswald Mosley, Bt. (d. 1915). His executors still held it in 1921. By 1928 it was owned by F. E. Stobart, and later passed successively to N. S. Bostock in 1942 and to Doris Hall in 1945. The estate was then broken up. The farm and buildings (151 a.) passed to A. G. Linfield, and the house and 7 a. to others. The farmhouse was burnt down and rebuilt in 1910, occupied by Canadian and British troops during the Second World War, and converted to a hotel after 1944. (fn. 67) It was still so used, with 7½ a., in 1982.

A Richard Champneys was taxed in Thakeham in 1296 and 1327, and in 1332 he or another Richard Champneys and Gilbert Champion. (fn. 68) Richard was still living in 1341; (fn. 69) Gilbert, then called Campion, in 1348 still had a house and three quarters of 2 yardlands held for three lives from William Power, who conveyed it in that year to Stephen Apsley. (fn. 70) The names Campion and Champneys were later confused and applied to a single estate in Thakeham. (fn. 71) Probably in the mid or later 15th century CHAMPNEYS, a holding of c. 50 a., belonged to John Champneys and descended to Edward Champneys, son of his son William, and after Edward's death to John Sharpe, son of Edward's sister Joan. (fn. 72) Sharpe died c. 1503 leaving it to Richard Brome, otherwise Bremner or Bramber, but from c. 1517 the estate was disputed by John Scutt, grandson of John Champneys's other son Stephen, and in 1523 Scutt expelled Brome's tenant by force. (fn. 73) The estate had passed by 1552 to John Turner, whose son John in 1578 settled it with remainder to his son Edmund. (fn. 74) In 1580 Edmund mortgaged it; the mortgage was redeemed in 1593 by his brother and uncle, both Edward Turner. The younger Edward remortgaged it to his uncle, who foreclosed and held it in 1601. (fn. 75) Between 1662 and 1668 Champneys, then a freehold of Thakeham manor, was bought by John Shelley from a widow Byne. (fn. 76) He died in 1673, leaving it to his grandson John Shelley, (fn. 77) still a minor in 1679, (fn. 78) who died in 1740. He left it to his wife for life and then to his second son Timothy, who held it by 1748. The estate, known by 1804 as CHAMPIONS, descended with Timothy's Field Place estate in Warnham to Sir Percy Florence Shelley, (fn. 79) who with his mother Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley sold it in 1850 to George King. (fn. 80) By 1855 it had passed to Frederick King, (fn. 81) still the owner in 1871, and by 1910 to R. M. King. (fn. 82) In 1921 the Kings put it up for sale, (fn. 83) and it was presumably then that it passed to Hugh Norcott Durant. He sold it in the early 1930s to a Mr. Francis. His son Group-Capt. Francis resold it in 1955 to Sir Archibald James (d. 1980), who was succeeded by his widow. The estate in 1982 included c. 200 a., of which c. 120 a. was Champions farm. (fn. 84) Champions is an L-shaped house of coursed rubble with brick and moulded brick dressings and formerly had mullioned and transomed windows. The details resemble those of West Wantley in Sullington, built in 1656. Champions was presumably built by John Shelley (d. 1673) or his son Timothy, at whose death in 1671 it had two storeys and attics and c. 13 rooms. (fn. 85) The house appears to have faced south; the west range, truncated perhaps after a fire c. 1820, (fn. 86) included the hall and the staircase which was replaced in the early 20th century; the east range perhaps included the study mentioned in 1671. An outshot was added on the south side in the 19th century.

Land called SLAUGHTER in Thakeham was acquired from Richard Croft by Stephen Apsley, presumably in the 14th century. In 1488 John Apsley quitclaimed it to Thomas Oxenbridge and Edward Barttelot, and they to John and Joan Mill. (fn. 87) It may have been the Slaughter which descended with Champions between 1552 and 1601. (fn. 88) In 1603 Edward Turner settled that on his son Anthony, whose son and heir Edward mortgaged it in 1641 and sold it to Elias Blunt in 1648. Blunt resold it with 50 a. in 1656 to John Shaw of Shipley. He sold it in that year to his brother Hugh, who mortgaged it to John in 1658. (fn. 89) The Shaws conveyed 18 a. in 1672 to their nephews Thomas and John Edwards, who built a house there which they conveyed to Jane Batcheler in 1679. The house was evidently that known as Little Slatter, which later became the Quaker meeting house. Thomas Edwards left his share to John Shaw in 1681. (fn. 90) John Shaw, son and heir of Hugh, sold Slaughter in 1718 to Thomas Butcher, who resold 20 a. of it to Benedicta Legg in 1744. (fn. 91) Slaughter later passed to Richard Greenfield of West Chiltington, who by will proved 1777 left it in trust for his son William. (fn. 92) By 1841 it belonged to the Revd. L. Vernon Harcourt. (fn. 93) The marquess of Clanricarde sold part of it in 1873 to James Wilson, whose mortgagees sold it in 1892 with 53 a. to Robert Evershed (d. 1910). The estate, by then known as Hayler's farm, passed by sale successively to R. H. Coton in 1911, R. A. Bryant in 1917, and Arthur Cornish in 1918. (fn. 94) In 1968 T. W. Crouch sold the farmhouse to G. C. P. Hamilton, and in 1979 it passed to Mrs. G. E. B. Hare, the owner in 1984. (fn. 95) The farm appears to have no connexion with a copyhold called Halers mentioned in 1513. (fn. 96)

Haylers Farmhouse includes a two-bayed timberframed rear wing of the earlier 17th century, incorporating re-used medieval timbers. (fn. 97) A large double-fronted range was built to the east in the earlier 19th century, perhaps replacing an older building.

Before 1511 Thomas Snape held an estate in Thakeham which passed to his grandson and heir John Snape. (fn. 98) It may have been the freehold of Thakeham manor called SNAPES which was later held with another estate in Thakeham by John Scutt (d. by 1614). He was succeeded by Edward Harraden (d. by 1645). The estate then passed from father to son through John (d. by 1654) and Edward Harraden (d. by 1682). Another Edward Harraden sold it in 1728 to John Mordaunt, and he in 1767 to Joseph Standen. Edward Harraden had sold part of the estate in 1631 to Alexander Roch; through further sales that part descended to John Mordaunt and passed with the rest to Joseph Standen. (fn. 99) He exchanged that part before 1779 with Henry Shelley for another house and lands in the parish, and by will proved 1780 left his estate to his widow Mary. (fn. 100) She died in 1783 or 1784 (fn. 101) when her trustees conveyed it to William Langley, (fn. 102) who owned 52 a. in Thakeham in 1812 (fn. 103) and died in 1824 leaving the estate in trust for sale. The trustees sold it to George Gibson of Sandgate Lodge, Sullington, in 1834. (fn. 104) G. C. CarewGibson advertised Snapes farm with 62 a. for sale in 1887. (fn. 105) The owner between 1910 and 1918 was E. Kellett; (fn. 106) the ownership has not been further traced. Snapes Farm adjoins Storrington Road; it is of two storeys with attics, and dates from the late 17th century. The south front, of two bays flanking the former entrance, and the rear wall are timberframed, but the end walls are brick, with gable chimneys. The house was extended northwards in the 20th century. The original farmhouse, however, may have been Snapes Cottage, on a lane west of the road. In 1982 it retained a 15th-century timberframed and jettied north cross wing of two bays with a crown-post roof, traceried bargeboards, and bay window. The hall range to the south was replaced in the 19th century by a small double-depth stone block.

In 1693 Robert Leeves, incumbent of Warminghurst, left a freehold farm at GREENHURST to his cousin and namesake. Another Robert Leeves in or after 1744 left it to his brother Samuel, whose coheirs Jane Edwards, Robert Lamport, and Henry Johnson in 1774 sold the farm, then 28 a., to the tenant, Joseph Standen. By will proved 1780 he left it to his widow Mary, who sold it in 1783 to Edward Chatfield, already the mortgagee. Chatfield by will proved 1815 left it to his son John (d. 1821), who settled it in trust for sale. Luke Upperton bought it in 1822, and it then descended with Abingworth. (fn. 107)

A second farm at Greenhurst belonged to the Lambs in 1812 (fn. 108) and descended with their moiety of Thakeham manor to G. C. Carew-Gibson, who advertised it for sale, with 114 a., in 1887. (fn. 109) At least part of it had passed to the Abingworth estate by 1901, when 87 a. were advertised for sale as Greenhurst farm. (fn. 110) That presumably formed the core of the estate of over 100 a. acquired by Ernest Murray Blackburn about that time, later known as the Little Thakeham estate. (fn. 111) Between 1917 and 1919 Little Thakeham passed from Blackburn to W. H. Aggs, and belonged in 1957 to his son Sylvanus Hanbury Aggs. (fn. 112) The house and 5 a. were bought in 1979 for a hotel. (fn. 113)

The old farmhouse had been renamed Little Thakeham Farm by 1909, (fn. 114) but was again known as Greenhurst Farm in 1982. It is an L-shaped timberframed building of the earlier 17th century, re-using much timber probably from an early 16th-century predecessor, and extended to the east later in the 17th century.

The house called Little Thakeham was designed in 1902 by E. L. (later Sir Edwin) Lutyens in a revived Tudor style externally, with classical interior details in Mannerist style. Built of sandstone dug on the site, it has a symmetrical H-shaped main block with central hall and staircase, flanked by drawing room and library to the west and dining room and pantry to the east. At the north-east corner is a long kitchen wing with a service courtyard north of it. Blackburn himself laid out the gardens. (fn. 115)

A third farm at Greenhurst belonged to Cordelia Shelley in 1850; at least part of it had descended with her moiety of Thakeham manor since 1727 or earlier. It was assigned with 73 a. in 1855 to W. W. Dalbiac, and Henry Dalbiac held it in 1887. (fn. 116)

Among the lands held by Charles and Elizabeth Lamb in 1812 were Hungerhill, Redlands, and Danhill farms, (fn. 117) which probably descended with their moiety of Thakeham manor and were presumably sold in 1836 by G. J. Gibson to the rector, John Hurst, (fn. 118) who held them in 1843. (fn. 119) Hurst also then held Voakes farm, which had belonged to the trustees of James Sayers in 1812, and was the largest landowner in the parish. (fn. 120) He acquired another farm at Hungerhill, much of it in Shipley, in 1857. (fn. 121) Hurst evidently sold back Redlands and Danhill farms in 1858 to the Gibsons, (fn. 122) and G. C. Carew-Gibson offered the farms, including 216 a., for sale in 1887. Hungerhill farm then belonged to H. R. Hurst, (fn. 123) in 1910 to Leslie Norman, and by 1945 to the earl of Cottenham, who sold it with 290 a. in 1964. The owner from 1965 was W. McPhail. (fn. 124) The house, built evidently by Norman c. 1910 in a revived vernacular style, may have been the Thakeham House occupied by the earl of Rosslyn in the 1920s; it was extended between 1945 and 1954 for Lord Cottenham. (fn. 125)

Danhill farm was sold in 1894 by G. T. Woodroffe and H. E. Burgess, who had apparently been mortgagees since 1884, to Albert Yelverton Dawbarn. It included 101 a. in Thakeham. Dawbarn sold it in 1910 to W. C. Fladgate, who was apparently acting as agent for his wife Sarah and Rebecca Jane Harris, probably his sister-in-law. They sold part to West Sussex county council in 1920. (fn. 126) The rest passed to B. Wady c. 1937, to a Mr. Johnson c. 1945, and in 1947 to the Haslam family, who owned it in 1982. The farmhouse was rebuilt as Great Danhill in a revived vernacular style c. 1900, retaining earlier elements including a 17th-century chimneystack. (fn. 127)

Redlands was owned in 1905 by a Mrs. Thorpe, who by 1910 had been succeeded by H. R. Briggs; he still occupied the house in 1918. (fn. 128) In 1982 the farm belonged to Mrs. Jane White. Redlands Farmhouse retains one two-storeyed bay of a late medieval house; the rest was replaced in the earlier 17th century by a three-bayed timber-framed wing at right angles.

Voakes farm had also passed to G. J. Gibson by 1858; (fn. 129) as Lower Voakes farm, it was advertised for sale in 1923. (fn. 130) H. R. Hurst in 1895 sold John Hurst's second farm at Hungerhill, by then called Haines farm, to J. H. and G. W. Brooks. (fn. 131) James Brooks sold it to A. E. Perry in 1899, (fn. 132) and in 1917 it was held by W. F. Hughes. (fn. 133) Known from c. 1920 as Nightingale farm, it was bought in 1951 by Michael West. (fn. 134)

MUTTON'S FARM, known from the later 17th century to the 19th as CHILDS LANDS, was held by John Awood of Shermanbury (d. by 1654). (fn. 135) It passed to his daughter and coheir Ann, who with her husband Battey Pollington conveyed it in 1670 to John Mutton of Rusper, then or later husband of Joan, the other coheir. Mutton still held the estate in 1695 when he mortgaged it, but by 1707 (fn. 136) it had passed to his eldest son George Mutton. George was still the owner in 1732, but had died evidently by 1757, (fn. 137) leaving it to Richard Mutton, perhaps his grandson or nephew. After further mortgages Richard sold it in 1786 to the mortgagee Francis Dear (d. c. 1799); the Mutton family remained as tenants. Dear left it to Martha Dear (d. 1806). (fn. 138) In 1808 her legatees conveyed their interest to the Revd. William Walker, who seems already to have had an interest in the estate and who sold it the same year to John Upperton (d. 1817). Upperton's successor Thomas Upperton sold it in 1827 to Thomas Chatfield (d. 1835), who was followed by his son Robert. Robert sold the farm in 1841 to Thomas Manfield Halliday, who in turn sold it in 1857 to trustees under the will of Charles Goring of Wiston. It belonged to his descendant Charles Goring in 1910. (fn. 139)

Mutton's Farm includes a late 17th-century threebayed range symmetrical about an axial stack; that range is of stone with brick quoins and dressings at front and sides, but timber-framed at the rear, where 18th- and 19th-century extensions completed a double-depth plan.

Stephen Apsley of Shipley held land in Thakeham in 1347 or earlier, and in 1361 held land at Apsley of Bramber rape. (fn. 140) That presumably became the manor of APSLEY, held of the rape in 1583, (fn. 141) which descended with the Apsleys' moiety of Thakeham manor, apparently until the death of Edward Apsley in 1651. (fn. 142) In 1654 George Fenwick and Richard Caldecott conveyed it to Henry Apsley, son of Edward's uncle Anthony. (fn. 143) Henry died in 1669, leaving the manor to his nephew Henry Apsley, who was in possession in 1675 and died in 1693. (fn. 144) His heir Henry died a minor in 1697; the second son John, still a minor in 1701, obtained possession in 1708 (fn. 145) and died in 1770, leaving it in trust for his daughter Cordelia and her husband James Apsley Dalrymple. (fn. 146) Cordelia died in 1802, (fn. 147) and in 1803 Apsley manor and farm were settled on their son John Apsley Dalrymple. (fn. 148) Henry John Peachey, Lord Selsey, had acquired them by 1830. (fn. 149) The farm later passed to William Terry, perhaps the same as the tenant in 1803; his executors owned it, with 180 a. in Thakeham, in 1843. (fn. 150) By 1858 it had been acquired by G. J. Gibson, whose grandson G. C. Carew-Gibson advertised it for sale in 1887; (fn. 151) in 1893 he apparently still owned it but his mortgagees readvertised it, probably successfully. (fn. 152) It was again offered for sale in 1897; (fn. 153) in 1905 it was owned by W. C. Fladgate, and in 1910 by T. F. Harris. (fn. 154) By 1921 it had passed to the Apsley Farm Co. Ltd., (fn. 155) which sold it with 350 a. in 1922 to the Revd. T. J. Parry. His family still owned it in 1982, having sold 180 a. (fn. 156)

Apsley Farm, possibly the former manor house, includes two bays of a late medieval timber-framed house, formerly with an open hall and aligned northsouth. In the 17th century it was incorporated as the hall of a two-storeyed range running east-west, also timber-framed and re-using many of the medieval rafters; short projecting wings were added to the north and probably to the south also. The latter, if they existed, were replaced in the 19th century by a block parallel with the main 17th-century range, providing a double-depth plan with central entrance hall. A kitchen was added later at the north-west corner.

Sir John de Gatesden (d. 1262), lord of Broadwater, held the manor of LAYBROOK, and in 1497 Laybrook, though not called a manor, was apparently a member of Broadwater manor. (fn. 157) William Sandys, Lord Sandys, sold Laybrook to Edward (later Sir Edward) Apsley c. 1588. (fn. 158) It then descended with the Apsleys' moiety of Thakeham until c. 1667. (fn. 159) It seems later to have passed to Apsley Newton of Southover, husband of Elizabeth, one of the daughters of Richard Caldecott, to whom Edward Apsley (d. 1651) had attempted to leave it. In 1707 the Newtons apparently conveyed the manor to James Butler. (fn. 160) The estate, however, consisting of Laybrook and Townhouse farms, descended in the Newton family, presumably to Apsley Newton's grandson and great-grandson, both also Apsley Newton (d. 1760). It was held by the last's son William Newton (d.1808), (fn. 161) and in 1830 by William's widow Elizabeth (fn. 162) (d. 1837). It later passed to William's second cousin Elizabeth Newton, wife of W. Courthope Mabbott. Mabbott owned the farms in 1843 and Elizabeth was still alive c. 1856. (fn. 163) G. J. Gibson had acquired Laybrook farm by 1858; it descended with Apsley until 1893, and in 1910 belonged to James Philp. (fn. 164) In 1924 Laybrook was owned or occupied by G. H. Barley. (fn. 165) In 1964 G. H. Patten sold the farm with 93 a. to Valerie Wilcock, and in 1968 it passed to Broadland Properties. The farm was then broken up; 30 a. including the farmhouse were sold to J. T. Gifford in 1969 and of that the house and 2½ a. were sold in 1971 to R. G. Smith (d. 1974), whose heirs sold the estate to Mrs. M. Shippam in 1977. Meanwhile most of the rest of Gifford's holding passed to her son Mr. J. Shippam. (fn. 166)

Laybrook Farm is a timber-framed building of two storeys and three bays, with a continuous outshot on the north side and a two-storeyed brick wing to the south. The earliest part is the west bay of the main range, which formed the end of a late medieval hall, perhaps with an aisle to the north. About 1600 the house was converted to two full storeys by raising the roof of that bay and adding or rebuilding the two eastern bays to include a central hall and a heated parlour. The outshot probably dates from the same time. The south wing was added in 1767. (fn. 167)

Townhouse farm belonged to Lady Loring in 1910; it seems to have been bought by A. G. Linfield in 1913 and was still owned by A. G. Linfield Ltd. in 1982. (fn. 168) The farmhouse has been demolished.

CHRISTIAN LANDS, a 15-a. farm in the north part of the parish, was sold in 1670 by Henry Shelley of Lewes to John Dyne (d. 1712). Dyne left it to Sir Robert Fagg, Bt., of Wiston (d. 1715), with remainder to his son Sir Robert (d. 1736) and grandson Sir Robert (d. 1740). (fn. 169) One of the last-named Sir Robert Fagg's four sisters married Gawen Harris Nash of Petworth; (fn. 170) another was evidently the Christian Fagg whose nephew, also Gawen Harris Nash, conveyed a moiety of the farm in 1776 to Elizabeth Goring of Wiston, (fn. 171) another sister and coheir of Sir Robert Fagg. (fn. 172) By 1843 the farm, then 53 a., was owned by the executors of John Wood. (fn. 173) Later known as SIR ROBERT'S FARM, it passed to W. M. Allen, the trustees of whose will advertised it for sale in 1898. (fn. 174) In 1910 it belonged to James Philp, and in 1921 to a Mr. Bradburn. (fn. 175) Its later descent has not been traced.

The manor of Knepp in Shipley included tenaments in Thakeham in the mid 16th century and in 1834, (fn. 176) as did Sullington manor in the mid 16th century, (fn. 177) and then or later the reputed manor of West Wolves in Ashington. (fn. 178)