The Priest House

The Priest House

Standing in the beautiful surroundings of a traditional cottage garden on the edge of Ashdown Forest, the Priest House is an early 15th century timber-framed hall-house built as an estate office for the Priory of St. Pancras in Lewes to improve the administration of the Manor of the Rectory of West Hoathly.
 
In 1524 the Priory leased the Rectory Manor to John Browne, a “husbandman” of the parish & The Priest House became a family home.
 
When Henry VIII seized Lewes Priory’s property the Browne’s Manor was given to Thomas Cromwell. After his disgrace & execution the Manor formed part of the settlement of Anne of Cleves. Following her death, the Brownes paid rent to Queen Mary & then to Elizabeth I. In 1560 the Queen sold the property that had once belonged to Lewes Priory. The Brownes bought the Manor lands & The Priest House & set about modernising the building.
 
The house was originally an open hall, with a living room & upper chamber on the north end & a service end, with a buttery, pantry & solar, to the south. Large stone chimneys were built to replace the medieval open hearth, which enabled two new rooms to be created upstairs, each with their own fireplace. The original thatched roof was also replaced with Horsham stone.
 
The house remained in the hands of the Browne family for another hundred years but their fortunes were in decline & in 1695 the house & Manor had to be sold to pay off their debts. The new owner, Mrs. Anna Hooper of Barbados, split the building into two cottages for tenant farmers. For 200 years the house remained in the hands of absentee landlords who did little to maintain it.
 
In 1905 it was bought by John Godwin King, of Stonelands, West Hoathly. He carefully restored the building & in 1908 opened it to the public, to display his collection of locally gathered artefacts. In 1935 John Godwin King presented The Priest House & its contents to the Sussex Archaeological Society.
 
The House now contains a varied collection of 17th & 18th century country furniture, ironwork, embroidery & other domestic bygones, displayed in furnished rooms. It is complemented by a colourful cottage garden & small formal herb garden, which contain over 170 culinary, medicinal & household herbs.
 
Family History
The Priest House has transcribed & indexed copies of West Hoathly's parish records from 1606-1999 & a large number of other documents & local post cards/photographs, which are available to visitors at no extra charge. We also have close links to the West Hoathly Local History Archive, with its vast collection of local photographs, maps & documents.
 
Disabled Access. All visitors are welcome; however, due to the historic nature of the building there are changes of level and wheelchair access to the house is limited. Written guides to the upper parts of the house are available. There is ramped access to much of the garden.
Much of our collection is open to tactile handling. Assistance dogs are welcome.
 
Refreshments. Visitors are welcome to picnic in the garden. Refreshments (including teas for groups visiting The Priest House) are available at The Cat Inn, 100 yards from The Priest House

VISITORS INFORMATION:

The Priest House
Opening Times - 2010
Open 2nd March - 31st October
Tuesday - Saturday (plus Mondays during August and Bank Holidays), 10.30am - 5.30pm
Sundays, 12 noon - 5.30pm

The Priest House

The Priest House is situated within the triangle formed by Crawley (six miles), East Grinstead (five miles) and Haywards Heath (five miles), 1 1/2 miles south east of the Selsfield Common turning on the B2028, four miles west of Wych Cross on the A22 and six miles south east of junction 10 on the M23.  Motorists are courteously requested to drive carefully and park considerately in the village.  Local bus routes are: No. 81 (East Grinstead to Haywards Heath) and No. 84 (East Grinstead to Crawley).
 
Selsfield Road between the B2028 and West Hoathly will be closed for major roadworks from July 26th for five weeks. The Priest House is open as usual during this period.
Access from the east via the Ashdown Forest and Sharpthorne, from the north via East Grinstead and Saint Hill and from the south via Horsted Keynes is unaffected. It is not advisable to use Cob Lane and Hook Lane from Ardingly.

Address:
The Priest House
North Lane, West Hoathly,
West Sussex,
RH19 4PP