Tudor West Hoathly
By Ian Mulcahy
This article first appeared in the January 2019 edition of Tudor Life, the magazine of the Tudor Society.
The photographs in this article were derived from three walks around the
parish of West Hoathly and the walk write ups can be seen as follows:
Part One | Part
Two | Part Three
|
West Hoathly is a West Sussex parish of just under 2,200 inhabitants (as of 2011) with a land area of over 5,000 acres. The parish is centred on the village of the same name; an ancient hilltop settlement which, at its highest point, stands 185 metres above sea level. The area displays evidence of human activity dating back up to 12,000 years; a time when Great Britain was still connected to continental Europe by a land bridge. At Philpots Camp, an Iron Age promontory hill fort located approximately one mile to the south west of the village, worked flints have been found in natural cave shelters; evidence of hunting dating as far back as 10,000BC. Fragments of Neolithic pottery have also been found which suggests that, as humans evolved from hunter gatherers to land cultivators, the area was being farmed up to 6,500 years ago.
In 1538, during the Dissolution, the advowson of St Margaret’s was granted to Thomas Cromwell. Following Cromwell’s decapitation on the orders of the King in 1540, it passed to Anne of Cleves who remained the avowee until her death in 1557, at which point the right returned to the Crown. Further evidence of the wealth of Tudor history around West Hoathly can be found in the story of parish resident, Ann Tree. ‘Mother’ Tree was one of three Sussex Martyrs burned at the stake in the High Street of nearby East Grinstead on 18 July 1556 for refusing to return to the teachings of Rome. Her charred remains are interred under a memorial stone in the grounds of St Swithun’s Church, a mere stone’s throw from the spot where she met her fate, and a memorial plaque can be seen within St Margaret’s Church.
Leaving the Church and walking through the churchyard towards the western gate, the imposing Manor House looms large on the western side of North Lane. Originally built in the 16th century, the property was acquired and considerably altered in 1627 by the Infield family of nearby Gravetye Manor who turned it into a Dower House (that is, a residence for the widow of an estate where the heir is married) for Katherine Infield, the widow of Richard Infield.
Behind the Priest House is Lower Barn which served as the Tithe Barn. The building dates back to, at the latest, the 16th century, but could be considerably older. The barn is now a private residence and is well shielded by trees, rendering it virtually invisible to those on public land. Slightly north of the Priest House, on the opposite side of North Lane is Upper Pendant, a 16th century building that was formerly divided into two houses, but is now a single residence. A 19th century lean to at the southern end was added when the building served as a shop. The building is timber framed, but is now encased in painted bricks on the ground floor and is tile hung on the upper storey.
A short walk north past the church and
on the northern side of the junction of Church Hill & North Lane is
The
Cat Inn, an early 16th century timber framed building which, like Upper
Pendant, is now encased in painted bricks and tiles, though the timber
framing is visible from inside. The Cat Inn has been operating as a
public house since at least 1615, when it was known as the ‘Ale House’,
and serves as an ideal refuelling point for the contemporary visitor to
the village.
Opposite the Cat, and to the north of the Manor House, are
The Old
Parsonage (to the south) and Taddys (to the north). The south west wing
of The Old Parsonage, where the timber framing is visible externally
when viewed from the right angle, is potentially of Tudor origin while
Taddys is a 16th century house set on a stone base with its timber
framing hidden behind a more modern façade, though some of the timber
framing is visible to the rear. The three storey cross wing on the
southern side was added in the 17th century.
A view south along North Lane with Taddys (centre), The Old Parsonage (behind, left) and The Manor House (behind, right) To the immediate north of Taddys is a public footpath which, initially, affords a view of the rear of The Manor House, The Old Parsonage and Taddys and, if followed for a mile or so, leads westwards out of the village to Chiddingly Farmhouse, a 15th century farmstead with a southern wing added in the 16th century. Chiddingly was originally part of a Saxon manor which, by the late 13th century, was held by William de Chytyngele. In 1409, the manor belonged to the Pope family who held the lands until 1536 when it was sold to Thomas Mitchell. Mitchell’s heirs subsequently conveyed the manor to the Mills family in 1577 and they were still in possession at the end of the Tudor period.
A short walk across fields to the north west takes us to Stonelands, a large and mainly modern property which incorporates a stone wing built in approximately 1580 and a timber framed wing dating back to c.1500.
The Manor, which had northern and southern wings added in the 19th century, was a step up the property ladder for Infield who previously resided at The Moat, a timber framed building 200 metres to the south west which was built in c. 1500 and is visible both from the western gardens of Gravetye Manor and from a nearby public footpath.
Having circled the northern side of the valley we re-join the Holloway midway along its course and retrace our steps back towards the village once again, slowly this time due to the steep incline from the floor of the valley. On reaching the main road and walking south east for roughly a third of a mile we leave the road and turn left onto a public footpath which we follow for around half a mile downhill. Old Coombe House is located on the bridleway beyond this footpath, close to the site of the now demolished West Hoathly Railway station and is of late 16th century construction and, in common with our previous two stops, was originally built to serve as an ironmasters house.
Sources: http://westhoathly.org.uk
Text & photographs © Ian Mulcahy. Contact photos@iansapps.co.uk or visit my 'Use of my photographs' page for licensing queries (ground level photographs only). |
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