PIDDINGHOE
Peddinghowe, Pidingeho (xiii cent.); Pydynghowe
(xiv cent.).
The parish of Piddinghoe lies south of Lewes between the River Ouse and the sea. It is bounded on its
western side by the parishes of Telscombe and Southease, and on its eastern side by the parish of Newhaven.
Until 1929 the parish of Piddinghoe was comparatively large, having an area of 2,347 acres, including
7 acres of water. Since 1929, however, by the East
Sussex (Piddinghoe and Peacehaven) Confirmation
Order, a part of the parish on the coast has been formed
into the parish of Peacehaven. By the East Sussex Review Order of 1934 a further portion of Piddinghoe
was transferred to Newhaven parish and urban district. (fn. 1)
The present area is 1,047 acres and the population in
1931 was 216, as compared with 231 for the old parish
in 1831.
The soil of the parish is clay, and clay with a subsoil
of chalk. Wheat, barley, and oats are grown. In 1874
there were 560 acres of common-field lands. (fn. 2)
The highest part of the parish is in the neighbourhood of Hoddern Farm and Lodge Hill, north of
Peacehaven, where the land rises to a height of over
200 ft. A footpath leads down from here to the scattered
village of Piddinghoe which stands close to the right
bank of the River Ouse, about a mile and a quarter
above Newhaven. The old main road from that town
to Lewes passed over the brow of Lodge Hill, west of
the village, by a deep bostal. On the brow of the hill is
'The Lydds', a hummocky area believed to mark the
site of an early medieval village, beneath which may be
seen the broad lynchets of ancient fields. The later
road passes between the hill and the river, and skirts the
village green, around which cluster its few cottages and
the church. A few cottages, an inn amongst them,
straggle along the road towards Newhaven. The village
is now by-passed by a new road. Towards the northern
end of the village is a wharf, but the river-trade of
Piddinghoe was probably more important in medieval
times than it is to-day. There was a curious local
saying, the origin of which is unknown, to the effect
that 'Piddinghoe people shoe their magpies'. (fn. 3)
There is a large farm, Court Farm, in the village, and
another with a 17th-century farm-house at Halcombe.
There are several old cottages of early-17th-century
date in the village.
Half a mile north-west is the manor-house of Deans,
a large late-16th-century building, built of chalk faced
with flint and with stone dressings. The building lies
south-east to north-west, the former being the upper
end. The original entrance was near the middle of the
north-east front, at the lower end of the hall, which has
a fine open fire-place with stone jambs and a depressed
four-centred oak chimney-beam. The arch has long
narrow spandrels, the sinister of which is carved with a
sword, the dexter portraying a scabbard. The upper
parlour has a fire-place with stone jambs and cambered
oak chimney-beam, and shares the hall stack. Between
this and the entrance front is an oak newel-stair in a
square well. The newel is square, and is finished with
a broomstick terminal. The whole stair is encased in a
bay projecting from the entrance front. The bargeboard of its gable has a finial bearing the date 1622 and
the initials H.W.E. At the lower end of the hall is the
lower parlour, which has a fine timbered ceiling. Its
fire-place, however, has been remodelled, as has that of
the kitchen adjoining it. This is a large room, the axis
of which is at right angles to that of the main house.
The south-west wall of the kitchen, which is carried up
as a gable, is continued along the back of the house to
form the usual outshut aisle. This is divided from the
hall and the two parlours by a timber framing carrying
the main roof. On the ground floor, the filling of this
has been removed to throw the aisle into the main
rooms; the timber posts and braces have been left,
however, and can be seen passing through the rooms.
The chamber over the upper parlour has a fire-place
with stone jambs and a stone segmental-pointed arch
with wide hollow chamfer, over which is a four-centred
relieving arch turned in thin bricks or tiles. Such other
fire-places as remain on the upper floor have stone
jambs and timber chimney-beams. The timber-work
of the house is good throughout, the stops to the chamfers on the main beams being varied and interesting.
Unfortunately no old windows or external doors remain. At the foot of the old stair is a small cellar, the
walls of which are of chalk rubble. An attic floor has
been inserted above the original first floor, a wing has
been added at the eastern corner of the house to connect it with the stables, and another wing at the opposite end of the house provides for modern offices and
servants' quarters. A large 17th-century barn, known as
'Chapel Barn', remains in the farm-yard to the east of
the house, and near it is the outlet of the old main
drain, discharging into the lower end of a coombe which
was presumably once a river-creek. The old main road
once passed by the house, but the present road runs
between it and the river. On the hill-side behind the
house is a Bronze Age long barrow known as 'Moneyburgh'.
Peacehaven, which was formed into a separate parish
in 1929, is a holiday resort or bungalow-town which
takes its name from having been founded at the end of
the War of 1914–18. It lies at the edge of the cliffs,
2 miles south-west of Piddinghoe, its plan being a grid
of unmade roads about a mile long and half a mile
deep, based on the main road from Newhaven to
Brighton. There is a temporary parish church, and also
a Roman Catholic church. The population in 1931
was 2,007, and the parish covers 1,296 acres.
Formerly, Piddinghoe appears to have been of some
industrial importance. There is still a whiting-works
in the village, and a Lewes firm has a wharf there, but
the kilns in the village are derelict, and pottery and
bricks are no longer made there.
Manors
PIDDINGHOE is not found in Domesday Book, but by 1220 a manor of that
name was in the hands of William Earl
Warenne. (fn. 4) The vill of Piddinghoe descended with the
manor of Meeching (q.v.), (fn. 5) but at the same time there
was a manor of Piddinghoe which came into the possession of William Bardolf lord of Plumpton (q.v.), (fn. 6)
and was held by him at his death in 1275. (fn. 7) His overlord was John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey. (fn. 8) Nothing
more is heard of this manor (fn. 9) until 1486, when William
'Viscount Beaumont, Lord of Bardolf', was seised of it
at the time of his marriage with Elizabeth Scrope. (fn. 10)
He died in 1507. (fn. 11) This manor
appears to have followed the
fortunes of Plumpton, since
Nicholas Carew was holding it
at the time of his attainder in
1536. (fn. 12) The king restored it to
Elizabeth Carew, his widow,
in 1539, (fn. 13) from which time it
was described as the manor of
PLUMPTON-PIDDINGHOE. Francis Carew, son of
Elizabeth, had succeeded her by
1554, (fn. 14) and in 1593 conveyed
the manor to Richard Leache and his wife Charity. (fn. 15)
In 1656 the manor was in the hands of Anthony
Springett, who then sold it to William Lane. (fn. 16) He
died in 1702 and his son William sold it in 1730 to
Edward Gibbon. (fn. 17) His daughter Hester died unmarried in 1790, leaving the manor to her nephew
Edward Gibbon, the historian, (fn. 18) who apparently sold
it to his friend the Earl of Sheffield, as in 1823 and
1835 it belonged to the Earl. (fn. 19) Part of it, 'that part of
the manor which is in the marsh', lay in the parish of
Piddinghoe. (fn. 20)
Bardolf. Azure three cinqfoils or.
The manor of HARPETING or HARPINGDEN
[Herbertinges (xi cent.); Harpedynges (xii-xiii cent.);
Harpings (xix cent.)] was held at the time of Edward
the Confessor by Alnod. (fn. 21) In 1086 it was held of
William de Warenne by Godfrey de Pierpoint, and
with it went four messuages in Lewes. (fn. 22) The overlordship descended with the rape at least until 1428. (fn. 23)
William de Pierpoint (fn. 24) was lord of Herbertinges in
about 1090, (fn. 25) but after this time the Pierpoint connexion
can no longer be traced. William de Herbertinges, a
tenant of William de Pierpoint, granted to the Prior of
St. Pancras, Lewes, 18 acres of land and grazing for
100 sheep at Harpeting, about 1090. (fn. 26) Simon de
Herbeting, presumably a descendant, held 2 knights'
fees in Piddinghoe, and his widow Muriel held onethird of his land in dower. (fn. 27) His grandson, also Simon,
was holding the 2 knights' fees in 1224, but in that year
he conveyed to William Haubois Muriel's third, which
included a capital messuage and the southern half of the
garden. William Haubois was to perform to the chief
lord all the service pertaining to the 2 fees. Simon
retained two-thirds of the fief, with the northern half
of the garden pertaining to the capital messuage,
together with a messuage likewise pertaining to Muriel's
portion. For this two-thirds he was to perform the
proportion of service due and to pay annually one sore
sparrow-hawk or two shillings. (fn. 28) In 1230 Simon conveyed to Aubrey de Marinis and his wife Eleanor two
parts of 42 acres of land and 8 acres of heath, (fn. 29) of
which they received the other third from William son
of Gervase. (fn. 30)
In 1344–5 Peter de Harpetynge conveyed to Thomas
de Wylecombe land and rent in Piddinghoe, with a
messuage and a mill, (fn. 31) and including the reversion of
the third held in dower by Joan widow of Simon de
Harpetynge, and of 1 virgate held for life by Ismania de
Harpetynge. (fn. 32) It was apparently this land that by 1428
had descended to John Leedes,
who was holding it as half a
knight's fee. (fn. 33) For some time
it followed the descent of the
Leedes manor of East Chiltington (q.v.). (fn. 34) In 1541 John
Leedes paid £10 relief for the
2 knights' fees he inherited from
his father William Leedes. (fn. 35)
John Leedes was a recusant and
had to flee the country. (fn. 36) In
1583–4 Henry Collyns and his
wife Alice conveyed the manor
of Harpeting to John Pryor, (fn. 37)
but John Leedes died seised of it, and also of Horcombe (q.v.), in 1606, his heir being his son Sir
Thomas Leedes. (fn. 38) These manors were held in 1631
by William Heath of the manor of Portslade as 2
knights' fees. (fn. 39) In addition, William Heath held as ¼
knight's fee, one messuage, one barn, and half of the
lands called Harpinges alias Harpeting' in Piddinghoe,
formerly Pilbeames. (fn. 40)
Leedes. Argent a fesse gules between three eagles sable.
Nothing further is known of the history of the manor.
The Heath family is said to have owned and occupied
in the early 17th century the mansion house of Deans,
of which the Earl of Chichester was owner in 1835. (fn. 41)
The manor of HORCOMBE (Horecumba) is first
mentioned in a charter of William de Warenne to
Lewes Priory, between 1091 and 1098, confirming
Norman the Hunter's gift of the tithe of Horcombe,
and Joslen the Constable's gift of the tithe of 2 hides
there. (fn. 42) By about 1530 the manor was already held by
the Leedes family, (fn. 43) and it descended with Harpeting
(q.v.). In 1612 it was conveyed by Sir Thomas Leedes
and his wife Mary, and Sir John Leedes to Richard and
William Heath. (fn. 44) In 1631 it was in the hands of
William Heath, (fn. 45) and it remained in the possession of
the Heath family at least until July 1640, at which date
William Heath devised to Henry Shelley and his other
executors the profits of all his manors until his son
Robert attained his majority, with the proviso that if
his son died before the age of 21 without heirs, the
manor of Horcombe should descend to his daughter
Martha, wife of Henry Shelley, for life, with remainder
to William Shelley, their son. (fn. 46) The subsequent
history of the manor is unknown, but the name survives
in Halcombe Farm. (fn. 47)
In 1086 ORLESWICK [Laneswice (xi cent.);
Horlaueswica, Horlaueswik, Horlaweswica (x—xii
cent.); Hordlaueswick, Ordlaueswica (xii cent.); Ordlaweswyk (xiii cent.); Orleswick (xviii cent.)] was held
by Niel of Earl Warenne as 5 hides. Earl Godwin
had held it as 6½ hides in the time of King Edward, and
seven alodial tenants held it of him. There were two
haws in Lewes pertaining to it. (fn. 48) This land appears
to have been near Herbertinges. (fn. 49)
PARISH CHURCH of ST. JOHN PIDDINGHOE
Niel gave his tithes there to the priory of St. Pancras
at Lewes and Godard gave them tithe of 1½ hides
there. (fn. 50) Ralph son of Niel gave 6 acres of land there
to the monks; (fn. 51) and in about 1170 Simon de Herbertinges gave them 18 acres of land, and Walter son of
Gerard de Horecumba confirmed the grant of 7 acres
in Orleswick made to the monks by his father. (fn. 52)
In the early 13th century Ralph de Meyners was
holding land in Orleswick which by 1247, after his
death, had come into the hands of his sister Agnes
widow of William de Benefeld. Agnes made this over
to her sister and coheir, Isabel wife of Philip de Neubaud, in return for other land of the inheritance of
Ralph. (fn. 53) The only other reference to Orleswick that
has been found occurs in a rent-roll of the Duke
of Dorset, where, under the heading of the manor of
Swanborough, Orleswick is found to be held in 1719–20
by Ann Winton, widow. (fn. 54) The name is now lost. (fn. 55)
Church
The church of ST. JOHN stands on a
low bluff rising from the river's edge. It is
faced with flint and has stone dressings. It
consists of a nave and chancel, both with aisles on either
side, a circular western tower, and a south porch. The
nave and tower are probably of early-12th-century date,
with the north aisle of the nave slightly later than the
nave itself, and its original south aisles, rebuilt in 1882,
probably dating from the end of the 12th century. The
original chancel was probably of the 12th century, and
had a north aisle. Early in the 13th century the chancel
was rebuilt with north and south aisles, which were
later removed, with the south aisle of the nave, (fn. 56) and
not rebuilt until 1882. The south porch belongs to the
same rebuilding.
The east wall of the chancel is lit by a triplet of plain
lancet lights, above them in the gable being a large
round window. Two buttresses of uncertain date take
the thrust of the chancel arcades. The whole of the
south aisle wall of the chancel and nave is modern, as is
also the south porch. The north aisle
wall of the chancel is also modern.
The wall of the north aisle of the
nave, however, is probably of the mid12th century, although all the windows are later. The two easternmost
of these are plain rectangular openings
of about 1400. On either side of
the blocked north door, which has a
flat lintel and is perfectly plain, is a
single-light window with a foliated
head, possibly also of the 14th century. The west window of this aisle
is a plain rectangular light similar to
those near the east end of the aisle.
The round tower is contemporary
with the nave, possibly early-12th
century, and has a ring of six plain
semicircular-headed windows lighting the belfry. Two similar windows
light the west wall of the ringing floor
and the ground floor respectively.
The tower is perfectly plain, without
set-offs, and has a steep conical shingled
roof or low spire, at the summit of
which is a very large vane in the form of a salmontrout.
The east end of the chancel shows internally the
splays of the three lancets noted above. Their sills are
stepped, and the arrises of the splays are ornamented
with a roll-moulding. A string-course runs beneath
them, and above them is the round window in the
gable. In the east wall, just north of the altar, is a plain
rectangular aumbry, rebated for a door, and on the
south of the altar, is a simple piscina with an obtusely
pointed arch and a projecting half-octagon bowl. Above
both aumbry and piscina is a pair of image brackets, one
over the other. The chancel arcades both consist of two
obtusely pointed arches of two orders, each chamfered,
springing from a circular column in the middle and
segmental responds at either end. The caps have a
roll-moulding beneath the abacus, a plain bell, and an
astragal. The bases have roll-mouldings, and rest on a
low octagonal plinth. The chancel arch is a fine lofty
feature. Its responds have each a face-shaft and two
nook-shafts, and rise from moulded bases similar to
those of the chancel arcades. The capitals have stiffleaf carving on the bells, and the arch above is deeply
moulded in two orders. The arch crossing the north
aisle has been rebuilt in a circular form, but that it is
an ancient feature is shown by the imposts, which are
of the 12th century. The nave arcades have both been
cut through the walls of the original nave at some time
in the middle of the 12th century. The north arcade
is in three bays with semicircular arches, and is earlier
than the southern one of four bays with pointed arches.
The imposts are formed with simple bands of chamfered string-course. In the eastern respond of the south
arcade has been cut a rectangular window, similar to
those which have been noted in the north aisle, and
dating from after the removal of the south aisle itself.
The tower arch is very simple, being a plain semicircular-headed arch with no imposts, and plainly showing that the tower and nave are contemporaneous. The
roofs of both nave and chancel are modern, (fn. 57) but the
braced principals to the former may be old. The font
is a plain square block mounted on a square pedestal
having on each face a pair of vertical square recesses,
each containing another vertical trefoil-headed recess,
the whole standing on a square base and apparently
dating from the late-13th century. In the north-east
corner of the north aisle of the nave is a square projecting bracket having 15th-century crenellation round it
and a hole in the middle which makes it appear to be a
sconce. In the north wall of the nave is a figure-head
corbel. The church possesses a fine example of an early19th-century barrel-organ.
There are three bells, one bearing the date 1713, the
other two uninscribed. (fn. 58)
The plate includes a communion cup with the mark
for 1568, but the foot is that of a pre-Reformation
chalice, and the paten is also of pre-Reformation
origin. (fn. 59)
The register of baptisms dates from 1540, that of
marriages from 1701, and that of burials from 1697.
In the churchyard, at the west end of the church, are
the two stone uprights which once supported the village
stocks.
Advowson
The church of Piddinghoe is a
vicarage united since 1877 to the rectory of Telscombe. In 1252, in the
endowment of Bishop Richard de la Wich, the vicarage
was to be of the value of 15 marks. (fn. 60) In 1291 the
rectory was valued at £29 6s. 8d., and the vicarage
at £8. (fn. 61) In the reign of Henry VIII the living was
valued at £7 14s. 2d. (fn. 62)
The church of Piddinghoe was given to the Priory
of St. Pancras, Lewes, by William de Warenne about
1090. (fn. 63) The gift was confirmed in 1121 by Bishop
Ralph of Chichester, and afterwards by Bishop Seffrid. (fn. 64)
At the dissolution of the priory in 1536, the advowson
was taken into the king's hands, (fn. 65) and in 1538 was
granted to Thomas Cromwell. (fn. 66) After Cromwell's
attainder, the advowson was granted to Anne of Cleves,
in January 1541. (fn. 67)
In August 1603 Thomas, Lord Buckhurst, was patron, (fn. 68) and the advowson appears to have remained
with his descendants, the Earls of Dorset, until at least
1710, (fn. 69) though in 1631 the Rev. Edward Wood of
Hamsey and John Wood presented. (fn. 70) In 1694 the
Crown presented, by lapse. (fn. 71) From at least 1715 the
advowson descended with that of Telscombe (q.v.), to
which the living was united by Order in Council of
30 April 1877. (fn. 72)
The advowson of the new vicarage of Peacehaven is
alternately in the gift of the Crown and the Bishop of
Chichester. (fn. 73)