IFORD
Niworde (xi cent.); Iuorda (xii cent.); Hyford
(xiii cent.); Iford (xiv cent.).
The parish of Iford, which lies about 2 miles south
of Lewes and 4 miles north-west of Newhaven, formerly
had an area of 2,200 acres, including 116 acres detached from the parish, and 2 acres of water. The
population in 1931 was 194. Since 1934, however, by
the East Sussex Review Order, part of the parish of
Southover Without has been added to Iford. The
subsoil of the parish is chalk and the chief crops are
wheat, oats, and pasturage. (fn. 1)
The high road from Newhaven to Lewes, running
parallel to the river, traverses the parish. The area
between the road and the river consists of a large expanse of marshland called the Brooks. It is drained by
an elaborate system of sewers, and is used as pastureground for cattle. On the western side of the highway
the land rises steeply to over 600 ft. at Swanborough
Hill. In this part of the parish there is much rich arable
land and some downland. By an Inclosure Act of 1830,
2,405 acres of common land in Iford and Kingston
were inclosed. (fn. 2) There are a number of tumuli in the
parish. One, on Front Hill, a spur of Iford Hill, was
recently opened, and was found to be of the Bronze
Age, (fn. 3) and on Heathy Brow, along which runs the
boundary between Iford and Rodmell, was a considerable settlement of the same period, tumuli and fields
being still visible. (fn. 4) Burials have also been found on
Bird Brow in this parish. The village lies in two portions, a short quarter of a mile apart, between the river
and the main Lewes-Newhaven road. The two halves
are each joined to the main road by side lanes, and
another joins the ends of these. Norton, the northern
half of the village, contains the church, and the southern,
Sutton, possesses the manor-house. Norton and Sutton
both contain old cottages and each has a large farm.
The present manor-house is a late-19th-century shamTudor building standing between the two halves of the
village. Immediately to the south of it is an ancient
building which appears to be the original manor-house.
Until a year or two ago it was in nearly perfect condition, but it has recently been remodelled and turned
into three cottages and is now known as Sutton Cottages.
It is a building of the end of the 16th century, showing,
externally, flint facing with stone dressings, and has
three rooms running south-west and north-east, the
former being the upper end. The south-east or entrance front is in perfect condition except for the windows, which have all had their stone mullions removed.
Between the hall and the upper parlour is a large stack
serving both rooms, between which and the entrance
front is a lobby containing the front door, which has a
segmental head and is all in good stone-work, with a
label-mould over, having a rather coarse ovolo moulding, returned as stops. Over the door is a two-light
window. The hall is lit by a four-light window and the
parlours have each a three-light. The windows on the
upper floor match those below. All the windows retain
their label-moulds and some of those in the gables have
a mullion or two remaining. At the back of the house,
an outshut aisle passes along the whole length of the
house, but this has recently been raised and remodelled
to provide accommodation on the upper floor. The old
front door is now blocked up, and three new doors have
been cut in the back wall of the house. No old fireplaces remain, but the chamfered and stopped beams
of the ground-floor ceilings may still be seen in some of
the rooms.
Swanborough Manor House (fn. 5) is an L-shaped building, of which the northern block is medieval and
probably constituted a grange of Lewes Priory, forming
the administrative centre of the monastic farms in this
district, and the southern dates from about the time of
the Dissolution. In the northern block the original hall,
lying east and west and measuring internally 37 ft. by
15½ ft., was built about 1200. To this period belong
the masonry of the lower portion of the walls, a circular
window in the west gable, slightly encroached upon by
a later, 15th-century, window, and one lancet window
in the north wall; this lancet is chiefly made of hard
chalk, and the chamfer of the rear-arch has nail-head
stops near the springing. The position of the original
doorway in the north wall, about 10 ft. east of the end
of the hall, is marked by the remains of the external
relieving arch. In the 15th century the walls were
raised and a floor was introduced, supported by heavy
oak joists, tenoned into four transverse beams, two of
which were moulded, but one has had to be renewed.
Of the windows inserted at this time, three remain in
the north wall; one on the ground floor is of two lights,
with cusped trefoil heads, under a square hood-moulding, the other two, on the first floor, are similar but have
sunk spandrels over the shoulders of the lights. In the
south wall, on the first floor, are traces of a similar
window, apparently of four lights, enlarged from two.
At the west end of the north wall, at first-floor level, is
a blocked 15th-century doorway which led either to an
external stair or to the upper chamber over a porch to
the entrance below. The large chimney-stack in this
wall, containing a stone fire-place on each floor, has
been rebuilt above the eaves, and the lower portion
contains pieces of carved stones, possibly from the
Priory, suggesting a reconstruction after the Dissolution.
At the lower (west) end of the hall are two, instead
of the usual three, doors. Of these the southern opens
on to a newel stair in a narrow 15th-century twostoried gatehouse, the ground floor containing an archway in the centre between this staircase and, probably,
another stair on the west; above was a passage which
led to a western wing both from the upper part of the
stair and from a doorway in the upper hall, or dormitory; at some period the windows in this passage were
blocked and it was converted into a dovecot, with
nesting-boxes of chalk blocks. The northern door
opened from the hall into a single-story room, presumably the buttery, covered by a span roof with tiebeams resting on three carved corbels which still remain.
At the upper (east) end of the hall in the centre of the
wall is a doorway with a four-centred head, and north
of this a pierced quatrefoil looking into the former
chapel. (fn. 6) The side-walls of the chapel are of the 15th
century, and that on the north contains a single-light
window with cinquefoiled head, while on the south is
a doorway leading from the south wing into what would
have been the gallery. The east wall is later and there
is no evidence for the former length of the chapel. In
the 16th century a floor was inserted and a chimneystack was built against the north wall.
In the fine 15th-century roof of the upper hall each
rafter is trussed by a pair of moulded curved braces,
giving the whole an arched or cradled form. The
timbers are grooved for thin boards between each pair,
but these have disappeared and the spaces are now
plastered. The roof of the chapel portion is of kingpost construction, possibly a re-use and certainly incomplete. At either end of the hall are now fixed the
upper traceried parts of two fine oak screens, of different
designs but each of five bays of three panels. Probably
one of these formed part of the normal screen at the
lower end of the hall, and the other may have served to
separate the upper hall, or dormitory, from the chapel.
SWANBOROUGH MANOR
Doors from the hall and chapel led into a south wing.
This is now mainly of the early 16th century, either
just before or just after the Dissolution. It contains a
quantity of fine oak timbers and two good door-cases
with solid moulded frames and arched heads. The
whole building has recently been put in repair for the
present owner, Mr. Cecil A. H. Harrison.
The Iford and Kingston National School, built in
1871, stands upon the main road, near to the village.
Among the people connected with Iford is Dr. John
Delap (1725–1812), poet and dramatist, who was appointed to the united benefices of Iford and Kingston
in 1765. He did not, however, reside in the parish, as
he preferred to live at South Street, Lewes. (fn. 7)
Iford, as one of the three boroughs of the hundred of
Swanborough, (fn. 8) paid a common fine of 8s. annually. (fn. 9)
In the 17th century there were 64 yardlands in the
parish and each paid 3d. yearly towards the fine, except
the Court farm, containing 16 yards, which paid
3d., and Stuckles, containing 8 yards, which paid 8d.
A penny was paid for every cottager. (fn. 10) The surplus of
the money thus raised was given to the Headborough
for his pains. In addition, the alderman of the hundred,
in return for the money which he disbursed for the
hundred twice every year at the sheriff's tour, and for
his pains, was allowed five sheaves of wheat in Iford,
levied from certain tenements. (fn. 11)
Manors
The original manor of Iford which
Queen Edith, the wife of Edward the Confessor, held before the Conquest, was a
large one covering an area of 77½ hides. (fn. 12) After the
Conquest, part of this, lying in the rape of the Count
of Mortain, was cut off. (fn. 13) Of the rest, William de
Warenne held a large part in demesne; 6½ hides were
held by the monks of St. Pancras, Lewes; 2 hides by
Hugh son of Golda; and 1½ hides by Tosard, who later
gave them to Lewes Priory on becoming a monk there. (fn. 14)
The earl's demesne land formed the vill of Iford and
descended with the rape as the manor of Northease cum
Iford (q.v.). (fn. 15)
The 2 hides held by Hugh son of Golda formed the
manor of IFORD, and the overlordship of this manor
and of the rest of the 7 knights' fees held by his successors, the Plaiz family, descended with the rape, falling in 1439 to Lady Bergavenny. (fn. 16) Her descendants
were still overlords in 1543. (fn. 17)
Hugh son of Golda was succeeded by his son Hugh,
whose connexion with the family of Plaiz is not known.
A Ralph de Plaiz was living about 1140, and Hugh son
and heir of Ralph de Plaiz is found about 1150 (or
later?). (fn. 18) A Ralph occurs again in 1177 and two
Ralphs, father and son, about the same time; (fn. 19) one of
these seems to have died about 1194, leaving a nephew,
also Ralph, who died about 1204. (fn. 20) Hugh de Plaiz
owned the manor in the first half of the 13th century. (fn. 21)
He died in 1244 and was succeeded by Richard de Plaiz
his son by his first wife Philippa de Munfichet, (fn. 22) but in
1256 his third wife and widow Alice claimed a third of
Iford and other manors as her dower. No Sussex
manors were conceded to her. (fn. 23) Richard died in 1269 (fn. 24)
and was succeeded in turn by his sons Ralph and Giles.
Ralph died in 1283 (fn. 25) and the manor of Iford was
granted in dower to his widow Isabel (fn. 26) who subsequently married John Marmion (fn. 27) and would appear to
have been still holding it in 1302, (fn. 28) since it is not included among the lands of which Giles de Plaiz died
seised in that year. (fn. 29) Richard son of Giles was, however, seised of the manor at his death in 1327, holding
it with its members Warningore, Wapsbourne, and
Worth as half a knight's fee. (fn. 30) His eldest son Giles died
in 1334 while still a minor and in 1344 Richard
brother of Giles obtained livery of his lands, (fn. 31) dying
'in parts beyond the seas' in 1360. (fn. 32) He had previously
alienated his Sussex manors to Sir John de Sotton and
others for their lives, with reversion to himself and his
heirs. (fn. 33) Richard's son John died in 1389 holding no
lands in Sussex, (fn. 34) nor were they held by his daughter
Margaret, wife of Sir John Howard, at the time of her
death in 1391. (fn. 35)
Plaiz. Party or and gules a lion passant argent.
Dalyngrigge. Argent a cross engrailed gules.
By 1396 the manor of Iford was in the hands of Sir
John Dalyngrigge, of Bodiam, (fn. 36) who died without issue
in 1417, having settled it on his cousins, the sons of
Walter Dalyngrigge. (fn. 37) Sir John's widow, Alice, held
the manor in dower until her death in 1443, (fn. 38) when it
passed to Richard Dalyngrigge, her husband's cousin,
who died seised of it in 1470. (fn. 39) His heir was Roger
Lewknor, son of his sister Philippa, (fn. 40) and from him it
descended in the Lewknor family, (fn. 41) being held by Sir
Roger Lewknor in 1538 and at his death in 1543. (fn. 42)
Iford was then, apparently, held in third shares by his
daughters by his third wife, namely, Katherine Mill,
Mabel Stapley, and Constance Foster, afterwards
Glemham. (fn. 43) Mabel's son died in infancy, (fn. 44) and though
in 1587 Lewknor Mill, son of Katherine by her first
marriage, was dealing by fine with one-third of the
manor, (fn. 45) in the next year the manor appears to have
been held in moieties by Katherine and Constance or
their heirs. (fn. 46)
Sir John Mill, (fn. 47) son of Lewknor and grandson of
Katherine, was dealing by fine with a moiety of Iford in
1628, (fn. 48) and in 1666 his son, also Sir John, conveyed
this half to William Lane. (fn. 49) It remained in the Lane
family (fn. 50) until 1716, when William Lane and Elizabeth
his wife sold it to Francis Zouch. (fn. 51) In 1743 the Rev.
Charles Zouch and his wife Dorothy quitclaimed it to
William Grover. (fn. 52) It was doubtless this moiety that
John Ellis and Catherine his wife sold to Richard
Hurley in 1786. (fn. 53)
Meanwhile, in 1588, Constance and her second husband, Edward Glemham, quitclaimed their moiety to
Richard Lewknor, Arthur Salwey, and Thomas Bateman (fn. 54) probably for purposes of a settlement on Anthony
Foster, son of Constance by her first husband, to whom
it returned in 1623. (fn. 55) In 1651 Morgan Jeffereyes, one
of the coheirs of Foster, (fn. 56) conveyed a sixth part of this
moiety to David Jeffereyes. (fn. 57) He, in 1660, sold it to
Thomas Rogers, (fn. 58) whose family later acquired other
portions of the manor, possibly including a ninth share
held in 1719 by John Ade. (fn. 59) In July 1784 Henry Ade
was called lord of the manor, as was Samuel Marshall
in September of that year, (fn. 60) and Richard Hurly and
Thomas Rogers in 1791. (fn. 61)
In 1810 the lords of the manor were Richard Hurly,
Thomas Rogers, and Samuel Snashall. (fn. 62) Afterwards, in
1824, Thomas Rogers sold his share, consisting of a
ninth, a sixth part of a moiety, and a twelfth part of the
manor, to Henry Hurly, (fn. 63) who, in 1835, was said to
hold five-sixths of the manor, while Mrs. Snashall had
the rest. (fn. 64) Henry Hurly died in 1837 and the manor
descended to Mary Elizabeth, his niece, the wife of the
Rev. Robert Rosseter, subsequently passing to James
Rosseter, who died in 1866, and his wife. Mrs. RidgeJones later bought the manor. The manor-house is now
the property of Dr. H. R. Andrews, but all manorial
rights have lapsed.
The Priory of St. Pancras, Lewes, held 6½ hides in
Iford for which no geld was paid. (fn. 65) In about 1145
William III of Warenne gave to the monks a further
2 hides which William son of Godwin had held, and
they also received the temporary grant of 2 hides
formerly held by Guy de Menchecurt. (fn. 66) In about
1100 Ralph de Plaiz granted to them the church
of Iford, and in about 1140 his son Hugh gave the
mill and 'the site of the place there with ways and
paths'. (fn. 67)
The manor of SWANBOROUGH is not mentioned
in Domesday Book, but before 1087 William de
Warenne gave two plough-lands in Swanborough, with
the villeins, to Cluny, (fn. 68) the mother-house of the Priory
of St. Pancras. In about 1089 the gift was described as
5½ hides, (fn. 69) and the grant was confirmed to the Priory of
Lewes by successive holders of the barony of Lewes. (fn. 70)
PARISH CHURCH of ST. NICHOLAS IFORD
The manor remained in the possession of the priory
until the Dissolution, (fn. 71) and in February 1538 the king
granted it to Thomas, Lord Cromwell, (fn. 72) who already, by
August 1536, had written to the Prior of Lewes urging
him, in vain, to lease the manor to him. (fn. 73) After Cromwell's attainder in 1540, the manor, together with 40
cart-loads of wood hitherto let to farm with the site and
demesnes and to be yearly gathered in the wood called
Homewood, was, in May 1541, granted to William,
Earl of Arundel, in exchange for certain manors sold
to the Crown. (fn. 74) In 1555 his son, Henry, quitclaimed
the manor to the king and queen. (fn. 75)
Thomas Caryll died in 1566, holding the manor of
the queen in chief by service of the fifth part of a knight's
fee. It was then worth £53. By his will he appointed
that it should descend to his grandson, John Caryll,
when he became of full age, and that in the meantime
Edward Caryll should receive the issues of the manor
so that Robert Keyelweye; who was bound with him
[Thomas] in the Court of Wards, might be indemnified
if put to any charge on account of the contract. (fn. 76) In
1584 John Caryll and his uncle Edward sold the manor
to Thomas Sackville, Lord Buckhurst, (fn. 77) who eight
years earlier had acquired from the Earl of Derby his
¼ of the barony of Lewes, with which the manor continued to descend. (fn. 78) Reginald Windsor, 7th Earl de la
Warr, was seised of the manor in 1879. (fn. 79) The manor
house is now the property of Mr. C. A. H. Harrison,
but all manorial rights appear to have lapsed. The
custom of Borough English prevailed in the manor. (fn. 80)
Church
The church of ST. NICHOLAS stands
at the north corner of the village, overlooking the wide expanse of The Brooks.
The 'Niworde' of Domesday possessed a church. The
present building has a nave and chancel, between which
is a tower, possibly formed by raising the original
chancel. The nave has a south porch, and once had a
north aisle; the chancel has a north chapel. The nave
and original chancel appear to date from the early or
middle 12th century. The present chancel was added
at the very end of the same century, when the tower was
built and a north aisle added to the nave. The north
chapel dates from the end of the 13th century.
The exterior shows flint facing with stone dressings.
The east end of the chancel is lit by three lofty narrow
windows each of a single round-headed light, their
heights being the same. Above these windows is a plain
circular light high up in the gable. (fn. 81) The buttresses are
all modern. The south wall of the chancel is lit by two
single-light windows with trefoiled ogee heads, apparently of the 14th century. The north chapel seems
to have been rebuilt in modern times, and shows no
old features externally. The lower walling of the presumed original chancel may be clearly seen in the ground
stage of the present axial tower. The eastern quoins are
visible, and the straight joint between them and the
present chancel shows the difference in date. The old
chancel was very much out of the square, and the tower
had to be twisted as it was raised to enable it to attain
a rectangular plan at the roof level. This twisting was
effected by curious set-offs on each face, commencing
at one angle and dying away before the next was
reached. The ground floor of the tower is lit by a single
late-12th-century light on either side, the only other
window being a similar one in the east wall of the belfry.
The tower has two plain string-courses, and is capped
by a steep pyramidal roof covered with shingles. Most
of the south wall of the nave seems to be modern.
There are two two-light windows, having the south
doorway between them, all modern, as is the porch
covering the doorway. The only old feature in this
wall is its easternmost window, a single 14th-century
light with a trefoiled head. The west wall has modern
diagonal buttresses at the angles and a single narrow
light with an obtusely pointed head. The north wall
of the nave shows the blocked arcade which led to the
destroyed north aisle. It consists of three pointed arches
cut through the pre-existing wall, which was left, where
required, to form the piers. The soffits of the arches
have a small chamfer, stopped above the impost moulding, which is a simple chamfer, hollow and roll, not
carried across the faces of the piers, which are chamfered and stopped to match the arches above. Two
two-light windows have been inserted in the filling of
the two westernmost bays, while the third is a single
trefoil-headed light similar to that on the opposite side
of the nave.
Iford Church
The interior of the chancel shows the splays of its
three eastern windows, and, in its north wall, the low,
wide arch leading to the north chapel. This arch is
segmental-pointed of two heavily chamfered orders,
the inner being carried on figure-head corbels, the
westernmost of which is tonsured. It appears to be of
the end of the 13th century, but the chapel to which it
leads, now a vestry, has been rebuilt in modern times.
Within the tower-space, the walls of the original chancel
can be seen on either side, pierced with the two 12thcentury lights mentioned above. These side walls have
been thickened to carry the tower above by inserting
two lofty semicircular arches, with plain soffits and
springing from simple imposts, quirked and hollowchamfered, these imposts being carried round across the
east and west arches of the tower and across its east wall,
but not across the side walls of the old chancel. The
cracked plaster suggests that these arches are not bonded
into the walls of the latter. The east and west walls of
the tower are very thick. The eastern arch is plain
except for a roll-moulding round the western edge of
its soffit, and one voussoir of the western arch, opposite,
has on it a roll-moulding never carried round the arch.
The western face of this arch shows two roll-mouldings,
the outer plain, and the inner curiously embellished
with intermittent cheverons. Below this arch, the piers,
originally plain, have been recut with nook-shafts
in modern times. (fn. 82) There
is a modern sham-Norman
aumbry in the north wall of
the chancel, and, opposite, in
the south wall, a very small
and simple piscina, having a
square projecting bowl, and a
plain semicircular head over.
The nave has little to show internally except the blocked
north arcade. The window
splays all appear to have been
renewed, and the south door
is modern. The nave roof has
three tie-beams, each having
a king-post with caps, bases,
and curved struts. The roof itself, however, appears modern,
as is that to the chancel. The
font has a central shaft and four
surrounding shafts, supporting
a bowl which shows rusticated
tooling and appears to have
been refaced in the 17th century. The base is circular and
modern, but the simple Attic bases of the surrounding
shafts show the 13th-century origin of this font.
The tower contains three ancient bells, invoking
Saints Botulph, Katherine, and Margaret respectively. (fn. 83)
The church possesses a communion cup with the
mark for 1674; a paten cover of the same date, but
mostly modern repair; a silver flagon of 1864, presented
in that year by Ruth Hurly; and a Sheffield plate almsplate. (fn. 84)
The registers date from 1654.
The building was restored in 1868, when the north
arcade was discovered and opened, and traces of mural
paintings, now no longer visible, were exposed. (fn. 85) The
church was again restored in 1874. A notable feature
of the churchyard is the pair of ancient elms which
frame the west end of the church.
Advowson
The church of Iford is a vicarage,
united since 1666 with the rectory of
Kingston near Lewes. (fn. 86) In 1291 the
church was valued at £12 and the vicarage at £10, (fn. 87)
and in 1535 it was assessed at £10 10s. 2d. (fn. 88) It was
given to the Priory of St. Pancras, Lewes, by Hugh son
of Golda, (fn. 89) and continued in their possession until the
Dissolution, when it passed into the king's hands. (fn. 90)
The king granted the advowson to Thomas Cromwell
in 1538 (fn. 91) and, after his attainder, to Anne of Cleves in
1541. (fn. 92) Anne died in 1557 and in that year the Bishop
of Chichester presented. (fn. 93)
In 1603 the patron was Thomas Sackville, Lord
Buckhurst, (fn. 94) who held the advowson of the king as of
the manor of East Greenwich. (fn. 95) It continued in the
possession of his descendants, the Earls of Dorset, until
at least 1664. (fn. 96) In 1666 the living was united with
that of Kingston near Lewes. (fn. 97)
In 1690 Patience widow of John Forward, the late
incumbent, presented Richard Owen, (fn. 98) whom she, or
perhaps her daughter, seems to have married, as in 1727
the Rev. Richard Owen and Patience his wife sold the
advowson to the Rev. Richard Davis. (fn. 99) The Rev.
William Davis presented in 1732, as guardian of
Richard and Jane Davis, (fn. 100) and Jane Weekes, sister and
heir of Richard Davis, in 1764. (fn. 101) The trustees of Jane
Weekes sold it in 1765 to David Walter Morgan, (fn. 102) who
with his wife Mary conveyed it in 1772 to Francis Laprimaudaye. (fn. 103) In 1787 it was quitclaimed by Thomas
Harben and his wife Elizabeth to Thomas Wyatt and
Charles Stuart, and Wyatt's heirs. (fn. 104) In 1812 James
Warwick presented (fn. 105) and in 1821 Mrs. Jackson did so. (fn. 106)
In 1822 John Starkie Jackson and his wife Elizabeth,
with James Warwick and others, sold the advowson to
Henry Hurly. (fn. 107) Henry Hurly in 1835 devised it to
Louisa his wife with remainder to his children and to
Elizabeth Mary Skelton. (fn. 108) Louisa Hurly and Elizabeth
Skelton conveyed it in 1843 to Emeric Essex Vidal (fn. 109)
who in 1853 granted it to James Marmaduke Rosseter, (fn. 110)
and he in turn in 1863 conveyed it to the Rev. Thomas
Bedford. (fn. 111) Thomas Bedford sold it to James Hurly
Rosseter in 1880. (fn. 112) In 1895 it was acquired by Mrs.
Louisa Ridley and in 1897 was held by Thomas Glyn
Ridley. (fn. 113) Thomas Henry Green acquired the advowson in 1911, and it is now held by his executors. (fn. 114)