MANORS AND OTHER ESTATES.
IFIELD manor was held by Alwi in 1066, and by William son
of Rannulf of William de Braose in 1086. (fn. 18) The
overlordship continued to belong to the lords of the
rape. (fn. 19) The early medieval descent is fragmentary. (fn. 20)
Robert Bonet, who gave Ifield church to Rusper
priory c. 1200, may also have held the manor. (fn. 21)
Edmund de Valle in 1273 settled a messuage and
100 a. in Ifield, together with land in Kingston by
Sea, on Thomas of Warbleton, Hugh de Buci putting in his claim. (fn. 22) In 1313-14 the same or another
Hugh de Buci settled the manor of Ifield, so called,
on Lucy, widow of Robert de Buci, as her dower. (fn. 23)
Hugh's two daughters and heirs Sibyl, wife of John
de Lislebonne, and Joan, wife of William of Fyfield,
each apparently held a moiety of the manor in
1348, (fn. 24) and 172 a. in Ifield which may represent the
Lislebonne moiety were settled on Fyfield in 1357-
8. (fn. 25) Joan, widow of Sir John Foxley, perhaps the
Joan mentioned, gave up her claim to dower in the
manor of Ifield in 1379. (fn. 26)
In 1387 Sir Richard Poynings died seised of the
manor; (fn. 27) the Poynings family were already lords of
neighbouring Crawley, (fn. 28) and Thomas of Poynings
had received a grant of free warren over lands in
Ifield in 1328. (fn. 29) After 1387 the manor descended
with Poynings (fn. 30) until 1531, when Henry Percy, earl
of Northumberland, settled it on Sir Thomas
Nevill, (fn. 31) whose daughter Margaret and her husband
(Sir) Robert Southwell (fn. 32) had it in 1542. In 1545 they
settled it on Edward Shirley (fn. 33) (fl. 1554). (fn. 34) Thomas
Shirley had it in 1566; (fn. 35) at his death in 1579 he was
succeeded by his son John, (fn. 36) later Sir John, who in
1617 conveyed it to Sir Walter Covert (fn. 37) (d. 1632),
then or later his son-in-law. Sir Walter's niece and
heir Anne, widow of Walter Covert of Maidstone
(Kent), (fn. 38) died later in 1632, and was succeeded by
her son Thomas. (fn. 39) John Covert was dealing with the
manor in 1649. (fn. 40)
Denzil Holles, (fn. 41) created in 1661 Lord Holles of
Ifield, married Jane, widow of Sir Walter Covert,
and was dealing with the manor in 1659. (fn. 42) Formerly
a strong opponent of Charles I, he was employed in
the 1660s as a diplomatist. He was apparently living
at Ifield by 1662, from which date members of the
family were buried there. (fn. 43) At his death in 1680 the
manor passed to his son Francis, Lord Holles (d.
1690), whose son and heir Denzil, Lord Holles (d.
1694), was succeeded by his cousin John Holles, earl
of Clare and from 1694 duke of Newcastle (d. 1711).
John's heir was his nephew Thomas Pelham-Holles,
later duke of Newcastle. By 1739 (fn. 44) Ifield had passed
to Newcastle's brother Henry Pelham (d. 1754),
whose heirs were his four daughters. (fn. 45) One of them,
Frances, was described as sole lady of the manor in
1770; (fn. 46)
c. 1786 she sold Ifield to Thomas Dennett (fn. 47)
(d. 1793 × 1801). (fn. 48)
Dennett's daughter Anne married Capt. the Hon.
Robert Rodney, R.N. (d. 1826), whose son and heir
Robert succeeded in 1846 as Lord Rodney and died
in 1864. (fn. 49) In 1844 over 1,300 a. in the parish belonged to the Rodney estate. (fn. 50) The manor was later
in two moieties, one belonging to Lord Rodney and
later to his widow Sarah (d. 1882), and the other to
his sister Anne and her husband Maj. Manaton
Pipon (d. 1881). (fn. 51) By 1887 both moieties had passed
to Lord Rodney's daughter Patience (fn. 52) and her husband R. W. D. Harley, who in 1889 sold Ifield
manor, with Ifield Court farm, to William Wood,
tenant of the farm since 1856; (fn. 53) Wood still owned
both in 1894, (fn. 54) but had died by 1896. (fn. 55) R. N. S.
Lewin, a relation of the owners of the rectory, (fn. 56) had
the manor in 1905 and apparently in 1909; (fn. 57) the
farm belonged to Ronald W. Selby in 1916, and to
Messrs. Selby and Nevill in 1917. (fn. 58) Sir John Drughorn, Bt., was lord by 1922, but lived at Ifield Hall
rather than Ifield Court both then and later. (fn. 59) At his
death without surviving male issue in 1943 the Ifield
manor estate, comprising 1,268 a., was sold to Mr.
J. A. Farmer (fl. 1986). (fn. 60)
A house on Ifield manor was mentioned in 1387, (fn. 61)
and a moated house in 1529. (fn. 62) By 1835 it had become
a farmhouse called Ifield Court occupying the
northern corner of the moat; (fn. 63) it was burnt down
before c. 1875. (fn. 64) The moat survived in 1985, when
the area within it was rough grass; (fn. 65) also then surviving were a group of farm buildings to the north,
including a probably 16th-century barn. (fn. 66) A new
house east of the moat in revived vernacular style
had been built by c. 1875; it was enlarged in the
early 20th century, (fn. 67) and after c. 1970 was used as a
hotel. (fn. 68)
The manor of BONWICKS was held of Ifield in
1566. (fn. 69) A Walter of Bonwick owned land possibly in
Ifield in the 13th century, (fn. 70) and a yardland, 46 a.,
and rents in Ifield were settled on John Bonwick in
1381-2. (fn. 71) The 110 a. of land together with rents in
Ifield settled on Thomas Fenner in 1506-7 (fn. 72) may
have been the same, since John Fenner died seised
of Bonwicks c. 1513. John's estate, subject to the life
interest of his daughter-in-law Anne, then the wife
of Thomas Culpeper, descended to his grandson
John, (fn. 73) presumably the John Fenner who died seised
of Bonwicks manor, then first so called, and 320 a.
in Ifield and Rusper in 1566, leaving as heir his son
Dudley. (fn. 74) Thomas Gage was said to be lord in
1579. (fn. 75) Edward Baron or Barnes was dealing with
the manor between 1623 and 1643, and Jane Baron
or Barnes in 1645, when it was settled on Richard
Arnold. (fn. 76) By 1666 Thomas Arnold had it, (fn. 77) and in
1718 another Thomas Arnold, (fn. 78) presumably the
same man who sold it to Michael Wood in 1729,
when its demesne comprised 227 a. (fn. 79) Thereafter the
descent is lost until 1771, when Henry St. John, who
had Bonwicks in right of his wife, devised it to his
daughter Susanna Wigsell (d. 1779). Her son Attwood Wigsell was lord in 1786, and was succeeded
in 1795 by his brother the Revd. Thomas Wigsell
(d. 1805). In 1806 Bonwicks was sold by Thomas's
heirs to William Cutler (d. 1837), (fn. 80) who was a chief
landowner in the parish in 1830, (fn. 81) and resided
there. (fn. 82) Another William Cutler was dealing with the
manor in 1838, (fn. 83) but by 1844 the farm had passed to
George Birch. (fn. 84) A Mrs. Birch, perhaps his widow,
was living at Bonwycks Place in 1855. (fn. 85) In 1881 the
farm was sold to George Trist (d. 1884). (fn. 86) Francis
Allen owned the estate between 1900 and 1919, when
he sold it to H. A. Baxter. He sold it after 1922 to
Alexander Graham Lawrence, Lord Lawrence, who
sold it c. 1940 to a Mr. Forbes. About 1960 it was
again sold to a speculator, afterwards being divided
up. (fn. 87)
A house on Bonwicks manor was mentioned in
1566. (fn. 88) The main range of the present Bonwycks
Place is a tall brick 17th-century building with a
projecting stair turret at the back; the staircase is
original. A lower service wing extended northwards
from its west end. (fn. 89) That range was rebuilt when the
house was refitted in the earlier 20th century, and
further additions were made after 1970.
The manor of PRESTWOOD perhaps represents
former demesne woodland of Rusper priory (fn. 90) broken
up for cultivation during the Middle Ages. Four
yardlands at Prestwood and elsewhere were held of
Bramber rape by the priory in 1368, when Roger
Atwater held another ½ yardland also called Prestwood. (fn. 91) The priory retained its lands until the Dissolution. Thomas Shirley and Thomas Michell
leased them for 60 years in 1534, and in 1537 the
Crown granted the reversion of Prestwood manor,
then first so called, to (Sir) Robert Southwell and his
wife Margaret, (fn. 92) who granted it back in 1546. (fn. 93) John
Shirley was said to be lord in 1579. (fn. 94) In 1590 the
Crown granted Prestwood, with the Nunnery estate
in Rusper, to John Cowper. (fn. 95) Richard Cowper died
seised of it in 1592, and in 1608 his son and heir Sir
Richard Cowper conveyed it to John Middleton (fn. 96)
(d. 1636). Middleton's son and heir Thomas (fn. 97) suffered trespass from a riotous assembly at Prestwood
c. 1642. (fn. 98) In 1650 his son-in-law Bray Chowne
claimed to hold the manor on a 1,000-year lease,
having entered on the premises 18 months before. (fn. 99)
In 1662, however, Middleton conveyed it to Richard
Arnold. From 1666 the manor descended with Bonwicks until 1717 or later. (fn. 1) The lands are then said to
have passed, by sale and inheritance, to a Mr. Dungate of Mayfield, who held them in right of his wife
in 1777. (fn. 2) John Fuller had them in 1799, (fn. 3) and the
same or another John Fuller, who was one of the
chief landowners in the parish in 1830, (fn. 4) devised
them at his death in 1839 to his son John Bird Fuller.
The latter in 1856 conveyed Lower and Little Prestwood farms, of 139 a., to John Wood, after whose
death they were sold in 1864 to George Trist (d.
1884), whose successor G. A. Trist offered them for
sale in 1927. (fn. 5) The later history has not been traced.
Lower Prestwood Farm, apparently the former
manor house, is an 18th-century painted brick building of two storeys; there are later extensions on the
east side. The farm buildings include an 18thcentury timber-framed barn.
The reputed manor of LANGLEYS, so called by
1594, (fn. 6) presumably derived from land held by members of the Langley family in the Middle Ages. (fn. 7)
Thomas Shirley, lord of Ifield manor, died seised of
land called Langley in 1579. (fn. 8) Thomas Jordan was
dealing with the manor between 1594 and 1603. (fn. 9)
The lands later became part of the Ifield Court
estate. (fn. 10)
The RECTORY estate originated in the grant of
Ifield church to Rusper priory c. 1200. (fn. 11) It was
valued at £10 in 1291; (fn. 12) in 1341 it included 36 a. of
glebe, (fn. 13) which presumably corresponded to the 40 a.
on the west side of Ifield green mentioned in 1636. (fn. 14)
Between 1534 and 1544 the rectory descended with
Prestwood; (fn. 15) in the latter year Sir Robert and
Margaret Southwell conveyed it to Edward Shirley, (fn. 16)
who in 1554 granted it to his son John. (fn. 17) The same
or another John sold it in 1607 to Sir Thomas and
Henry Bludder; (fn. 18) the latter at his death in 1645 devised it to his brother-in-law Henry Peck of Lewes (fn. 19)
(d. 1675 or 1676), whose son and heir Henry (d. c.
1680) was succeeded by his son John (d. 1688).
John's brother and heir Henry (fn. 20) (fl. 1714) (fn. 21) may be
the Mr. Peck described as impropriator in 1724, (fn. 22)
but had been succeeded before 1733 by John's unmarried sister Anne (d. by 1735), who devised the
rectory to another sister Martha Harsnett (fn. 23) (d. c.
1741). Her heir Nicholas Spencer (fn. 24) (fl. 1762) devised
it at his death in 1783 to his daughter Martha, wife
of James Lewin. Their son Spencer James Lewin,
vicar from 1790, (fn. 25) had it c. 1830, (fn. 26) when the lands
totalled 57 a. (fn. 27) At Lewin's death in 1842 he was succeeded by his son Francis E. Lewin (d. 1850), (fn. 28) from
whom the rectory passed first to Thomas and Henry
Lewin (fl. 1855) (fn. 29) and then to Thomas's widow Mary
Emily Lewin (d. 1909). In 1913 her executors conveyed a moiety to the Commonwealth Investment
Co., which sold it in 1920 to British and Continental
Estates Ltd., from whom it was acquired by Sir
John Drughorn (d. 1943). (fn. 30) After c. 1952 it belonged
to Mr. J. A. Farmer. (fn. 31)
No rectory house is known before the existing one
was built in the early 19th century. Described in
1830 as a competent residence, (fn. 32) it is a stuccoed,
two-storeyed building in classical style with deep
projecting eaves.
Various members of the Ewhurst or Eworth
family were recorded locally in the Middle Ages, including William, who was dealing with ½ yardland in
Ifield in 1273, (fn. 33) Thomas, who was taxed in Ifield
vill in 1332, (fn. 34) and William, who held ¼ fee in Ifield
of Bramber rape in 1368. (fn. 35) Their lands seem likely
to have been what was later EWHURST PLACE
FARM. William Sidney was dealing with 800 a. in
Ewhurst (presumably in Ifield), Crawley, and elsewhere in 1447-8. (fn. 36) Between 1631 and 1645 Ewhurst
descended with Ifield manor, (fn. 37) as apparently again
in the mid 18th century (fn. 38) and certainly between 1821
and 1888. In the latter year R. W. D. Harley and his
wife Patience sold the farm, then comprising 194 a.,
to Philip H. Rawson, who sold it in 1904 to Henry
Longley, who still had it at his death in 1922. (fn. 39) From
Longley's daughter and heir Ann it passed in 1923
to H. T. Gardner, who sold it in 1932 to Antonio
Gordon. The estate was afterwards split up. (fn. 40)
Ewhurst Place (fn. 41) comprises the north and part of
the east range of a red brick, timber-framed, and
partly tilehung 16th- or early 17th-century house
occupying the northern portion of a rectangular
moated site of which the moat survived complete in
1985. Foundations of canted bays in the north arm of
the moat evidently belong to an earlier building of
which there is no other record. The size and scale
of the present house indicate a building owner of
importance and, in view of the poor agricultural
potential of the parish, one with income from elsewhere; he is, however, unknown. The east range
contained the hall, of which one moulded screenspassage door and part of another survived in 1985,
and the north range the service rooms, including a
kitchen at the east end, together with a living room
at the west end which has 17th-century panelling;
there may have been a corridor along the south side
of the range to give access to the latter. There is
evidence that the third storey of the north range was
intended to be a long gallery, but was perhaps not
completed as such. The north side of the north range
has three wide external chimneystacks rising directly
from the moat, and had at one time a projecting
staircase with gabled roof. (fn. 42) The main living rooms
were presumably in the destroyed south range, of
which foundations survived in 1985 along the south
arm of the moat. The building had been reduced to
its present size by c. 1840. (fn. 43) It has since been much
restored.
The moat is crossed by an 18th-century brick
bridge and two timber bridges. (fn. 44) The large garden
outside the moat was mostly under rough grass in
1985; it contains dry ditches north and south-east of
the moat which may represent remains of an outer
moat.
One or more men called John of Ifield held lands
in the parish in the early 14th century. (fn. 45) The lands
were apparently called a manor in 1339 (fn. 46) and free
warren was granted over them in 1317, (fn. 47) but they
have not been located.
Sele priory in Upper Beeding owned land in the
parish in 1477-8. (fn. 48)
JORDANS FARM on London Road belonged to
John Hughes in 1791 and Isaac Hughes in 1805.
Matthew Buckle, who had it in 1808 (fn. 49) and 1844, (fn. 50)
was described as one of the chief landowners in the
parish in 1830. (fn. 51) The farmhouse was bought by the
A.P.V. Co. Ltd. for a club house in the 1950s. (fn. 52)