Introduction
An estate map of 1786 shows the church in the centre of the park, near the house. There is also an orchard, fences, footpaths and a pond. The 1875 Ordnance Survey map shows an icehouse in 'The Paddock', a later addition to the estate. The gardens are not extensive but show a kitchen garden with glasshouse, pond and extensive outbuildings. The house is clearly intended to sit in its parkland setting. Substantial flint walls to the kitchen garden are still extant, as is the lime avenue shown on the Ordnance Survey 1st edition 1875 map.
- Visitor Access, Directions & Contacts
- History
The Domesday Book mentions the manor of Findon as being held by King Harold. From 1641, the manor was bought by John Tufton, Earl of Thanet and separated from Findon Place when it was purchased by John Cheale in 1650 and lived in by his descendents. The lordship was sold to the Cheales between 1717 and 1729. The family lived at Findon Place until it was sold by William Green in 1786 to William W Richardson.
The present house was largely built in the early-18th-century and was enlarged after 1786 by Mr Richardson, who added a west wing. In 1787 it was noted that the church was for the private use of the family (Dallaway). The oldest part of the house is the east range which is 17th century. Probably in the early-19th-century a ballroom of one storey was added further west, with a third storey to the 17th-century part of the house. In 1965, a 19th-century servants' wing was demolished.
In 1835 William Richardson, as Lord of the Manor, was allowing the increasingly important Findon Sheep Fair to be held there. The site was sold in 1872 to Colonel William Margesson.
An estate map around 1786 (the time of the sale to Mr Richardson), held in the West Sussex Record Office, shows an estate of 100 acres, with 72 acres of parkland, encroaching on the small village of Findon. The church is shown in the centre of the park, near the house. There is also an orchard, fences, footpaths and a pond. The 1875 Ordnance Survey map shows an icehouse in ‘The Paddock', a later addition to the estate. The gardens are not extensive but show a kitchen garden with glasshouse, pond and extensive outbuildings. The house is clearly intended to sit in its parkland setting.
- Features & Designations
Designations
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
The National Heritage List for England: Listed Building
- Grade: II*
Features
- Kitchen Garden
- Description: Substantial flint walls to the kitchen garden are still extant.
- Tree Avenue
- Description: Lime avenue.
- Latest Date:
- House (featured building)
- Description: The oldest part of the house is the east range which is 17th century. The house was enlarged after 1786.
- Earliest Date:
- Latest Date:
- Church
- Parkland
- Orchard
- Fence
- Path
- Icehouse
- Kitchen Garden
- Glasshouse
- Pond
- Key Information
Type
Garden
Purpose
Ornamental
Principal Building
Domestic / Residential
Survival
Part: standing remains
Open to the public
Yes
Civil Parish
Findon
- References
References
- Dudley, George Cary Elwes {A History of the Castles, Mansions and Manors of Western Sussex} (London, 1876) A History of the Castles, Mansions and Manors of Western Sussex
- Hudson, T.P. {Victoria History of the County of Sussex, Volume 6} (Oxford: Oxford University Press (for the Institute of Historical Research), 1986) 20 Victoria County History: Sussex, Volume 6 (Part 1)
- Horsfield, Thomas Walker {The History, Antiquities, and Topography of the County of Sussex. [With plates and maps.] Volume 2} (Lewes: Sussex Press, 1835) 203 The History, Antiquities, and Topography of the County of Sussex. [With plates and maps.] Volume 2