Folkington Manor
Encyclopedia
Folkington Manor is a grade II listed country house situated in the hamlet
of Folkington two miles (3.2 km) west of Polegate
, East Sussex
, England
.
, near the site of a manor that was recorded in the Domesday Book
,. The previous manor was home to Viscount Monckton in the 14th century, advisor to King Edward III. The Place, as it was formerly called, is a site of some antiquity, having been the seat of the Culpeper
s in James I’s
reign and later of the Dobell family, from whom it was bought in about 1650 by Sir William Thomas
, of West Dean with the adjoining manor of Wootton
.
The old house was largely demolished circa 1820. In 1838, Folkington together with the manor at nearby Wootton were bought by Thomas Sheppard
, M.P for Frome, who thereupon built the present manor at a new site slightly to the north. Folkington Place, situated on the original manorial site, retains some architectural elements of the pre-1820 manor. After the death of Thomas Sheppard’s son in 1875 both properties were sold to Mr J.E.A Gwynne and in 1915 passed to the latter’s son, Col. Rupert Gwynne
, M.P for Eastbourne
1910-24. Rupert Gwynne was father of Elizabeth David
, the pre-eminent British cookery writer of the mid 20th century, and brother of Violet Gordon Woodhouse
, the influential and highly acclaimed musician. On his death the house passed into the hands of his younger brother Roland Gwynne
, Mayor of Eastbourne 1928-31. As noted in a Country Life
editorial in 1958, Folkington has had a close connection with art for some time – a tradition which continues to this day with the Manor containing a number of galleries suitable for displaying large amounts of fine art. Indeed the well known Long Man of Wilmington
stands in the distance on Windover Hill. The Stacy-Marks family bought the property in the late 1960s and the Flint Rooms are the core of the well-respected art business that has flourished for many years.
The herbalist Nicholas Culpeper
lived in the village in the 17th century.
in 85 acres of parkland. The main grounds lie principally to the north and east of the house, with sweeping lawns surrounding an ornamental pond with many spring bulbs, specimen trees including cedar, yew, horse chestnut and lime leading out to a large informal area of parkland fringed with semi-mature trees and flanked on the southern side by the gravelled drive. To the south of the drive are 3 large railed paddocks with parkland trees including pine and chestnut, as well as a grass gallop that extends for approximately 1.5 miles.
To the south of the house are yew hedges, shrub borders and steps leading up to a further area of mature wooded garden with two greenhouses and a sunken dell. There are 3 more paddocks and further woodland to the west.
A fine stone paved terrace runs along the east facade of Folkington Manor, overlooking a neatly clipped knot garden
with flint paths surrounded by trimmed yew hedges, garden ornaments and a bank of spring bulbs.
measuring approximately lies to the west of the stable yard, suitable for 3 day eventing.
, MP for Eastbourne 1910–24 and father of food writer, Elizabeth David
, who inherited the house from his father. On his death the house passed into the hands of his younger brother Roland Gwynne
, Mayor of Eastbourne 1928–31, and the possible lover of suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams
.
novel Esther Waters
. The film directed by Ian Dalrymple
and Peter Proud starred Kathleen Ryan
(in the title role), Dirk Bogarde
(as William Latch), Cyril Cusack
, Ivor Barnard
and Fay Compton
. The story of an unmarried housemaid who becomes pregnant and is abandoned by her footman lover, the subject-matter of Esther Waters was the most "English" of his novels. Moore had just returned to England after abandoning his brief interest in the Irish Renaissance theatre movement
in 1911, in which he was a founder of the Irish Literary Theatre
, a precursor to the Abbey Theatre
Dublin.
Accounts of life at Folkington Manor appear in the book Violet: The Life and Loves of Violet Gordon Woodhouse by
Jessica Douglas-Home. Violet Gordon Woodhouse
was the sister of Rupert Gwynne
and one of the century's most gifted musicians, her salon at Wooton Manor was a rural match for London's Bloomsbury
gatherings. The first chapter of the book details the long and stormy engagement between Violet's parents, James Gwynne and the musical May Purvis, there was strong opposition from the Gwynnes to James marrying someone of "questionable" descent. James and May set up house in Harley Street
in London and at Folkington Manor in Sussex giving birth to Violet and her six brothers and sisters.
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
of Folkington two miles (3.2 km) west of Polegate
Polegate
Polegate is a town and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England, United Kingdom. It is located five miles north of the seaside resort of Eastbourne, and is part of the greater area of that town. Although once a railway settlement, its importance as such has now waned with...
, East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
History
Folkington Manor was built in 1843 by the architect W.J DonthorneWilliam Donthorne
William John Donthorne was a notable English architect of the early 19th century and one of the founders of what became the Royal Institute of British Architects .Donthorn was born in Norfolk and was a pupil of Sir Jeffry Wyattville...
, near the site of a manor that was recorded in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
,. The previous manor was home to Viscount Monckton in the 14th century, advisor to King Edward III. The Place, as it was formerly called, is a site of some antiquity, having been the seat of the Culpeper
Culpeper
Culpeper, Colepeper, or Culpepper are varying forms of the last name of several people:*John Culpeper , knight in the court of Henry V*Thomas Culpeper , courtier of Henry VIII...
s in James I’s
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
reign and later of the Dobell family, from whom it was bought in about 1650 by Sir William Thomas
Sir William Thomas, 1st Baronet
Sir William Thomas, 1st Baronet was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1661 to 1681.Thomas was created Baronet of Folkington in the County of Sussex, created in the Baronetage of England on 23 July 1660. He was Member of Parliament for Seaford from 1661 to 1681...
, of West Dean with the adjoining manor of Wootton
Wootton
Wootton is an English place name meaning place by the wood. The standard pronunciation rhymes the first syllable with foot.-Places:Places in England called Wootton:*Wootton, Bedfordshire*Wootton, Dorset*Wootton, Hampshire, village near Basingstoke...
.
The old house was largely demolished circa 1820. In 1838, Folkington together with the manor at nearby Wootton were bought by Thomas Sheppard
Thomas Sheppard (MP)
Thomas Sheppard was a politician in England.He was elected at the 1832 general election as the Member of Parliament for the newly-enfranchised borough of Frome in Somerset, standing as a Whig. He was re-elected in 1835 as a Conservative, and held the seat until he stood down from the House of...
, M.P for Frome, who thereupon built the present manor at a new site slightly to the north. Folkington Place, situated on the original manorial site, retains some architectural elements of the pre-1820 manor. After the death of Thomas Sheppard’s son in 1875 both properties were sold to Mr J.E.A Gwynne and in 1915 passed to the latter’s son, Col. Rupert Gwynne
Rupert Gwynne
Rupert Sackville Gwynne , was a British Conservative politician. He was Member of Parliament for Eastbourne from 1910 to 1924.-Early years:...
, M.P for Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
1910-24. Rupert Gwynne was father of Elizabeth David
Elizabeth David
Elizabeth David CBE was a British cookery writer who, in the mid-20th century, strongly influenced the revitalisation of the art of home cookery with articles and books about European cuisines and traditional British dishes.Born to an upper-class family, David rebelled against social norms of the...
, the pre-eminent British cookery writer of the mid 20th century, and brother of Violet Gordon Woodhouse
Violet Gordon-Woodhouse
Violet Gordon-Woodhouse was an acclaimed British harpsichordist and clavichordist, highly influential in bringing both instruments back into fashion.-Family:...
, the influential and highly acclaimed musician. On his death the house passed into the hands of his younger brother Roland Gwynne
Roland Gwynne
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Roland Vaughan Gwynne, DSO, DL, JP was Mayor of Eastbourne, Sussex, from 1928 to 1931. He was also a patient and close friend of the suspected serial killer Dr John Bodkin Adams.-Childhood:...
, Mayor of Eastbourne 1928-31. As noted in a Country Life
Country Life (magazine)
Country Life is a British weekly magazine, based in London at 110 Southwark Street, and owned by IPC Media, a Time Warner subsidiary.- Topics :The magazine covers the pleasures and joys of rural life, as well as the concerns of rural people...
editorial in 1958, Folkington has had a close connection with art for some time – a tradition which continues to this day with the Manor containing a number of galleries suitable for displaying large amounts of fine art. Indeed the well known Long Man of Wilmington
Long Man of Wilmington
The Long Man of Wilmington is a hill figure located in Wilmington, East Sussex, England on the steep slopes of Windover Hill, northwest of Eastbourne. The Long Man is tall and designed to look in proportion when viewed from below....
stands in the distance on Windover Hill. The Stacy-Marks family bought the property in the late 1960s and the Flint Rooms are the core of the well-respected art business that has flourished for many years.
The herbalist Nicholas Culpeper
Nicholas Culpeper
Nicholas Culpeper was an English botanist, herbalist, physician, and astrologer. His published books include The English Physician and the Complete Herbal , which contain a rich store of pharmaceutical and herbal knowledge, and Astrological Judgement of Diseases from the Decumbiture of the Sick ,...
lived in the village in the 17th century.
Gardens and Grounds
Folkington Manor stands in a secluded position at the foot of the South DownsSouth Downs
The South Downs is a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen Valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, in the east. It is bounded on its northern side by a steep escarpment, from whose...
in 85 acres of parkland. The main grounds lie principally to the north and east of the house, with sweeping lawns surrounding an ornamental pond with many spring bulbs, specimen trees including cedar, yew, horse chestnut and lime leading out to a large informal area of parkland fringed with semi-mature trees and flanked on the southern side by the gravelled drive. To the south of the drive are 3 large railed paddocks with parkland trees including pine and chestnut, as well as a grass gallop that extends for approximately 1.5 miles.
To the south of the house are yew hedges, shrub borders and steps leading up to a further area of mature wooded garden with two greenhouses and a sunken dell. There are 3 more paddocks and further woodland to the west.
A fine stone paved terrace runs along the east facade of Folkington Manor, overlooking a neatly clipped knot garden
Knot garden
A knot garden is a garden of very formal design in a square frame, consisting of a variety of aromatic plants and culinary herbs including germander, marjoram, thyme, southernwood, lemon balm, hyssop, costmary, acanthus, mallow, chamomile, rosemary, Calendulas, Violas and Santolina...
with flint paths surrounded by trimmed yew hedges, garden ornaments and a bank of spring bulbs.
Folkington Manor Stables
The main stable yard has 17 boxes, tack rooms and feed rooms and lies immediately west of the house. Folkington Manor Stables was formerly a horse racing training establishment. Today Folkington Manor Stables operates a Horse Riding School offering horse-riding lessons and other equine facilities, stables, dressage or livery. An outdoor manegeManege
Manège is the French word for a riding academy. As a loanword in Russian it is Manezh .It may refer to any riding school, riding arena or exercise rectangle, or specifically to:* the Salle du Manège in Paris, France...
measuring approximately lies to the west of the stable yard, suitable for 3 day eventing.
Notable owners
Former owners include Rupert GwynneRupert Gwynne
Rupert Sackville Gwynne , was a British Conservative politician. He was Member of Parliament for Eastbourne from 1910 to 1924.-Early years:...
, MP for Eastbourne 1910–24 and father of food writer, Elizabeth David
Elizabeth David
Elizabeth David CBE was a British cookery writer who, in the mid-20th century, strongly influenced the revitalisation of the art of home cookery with articles and books about European cuisines and traditional British dishes.Born to an upper-class family, David rebelled against social norms of the...
, who inherited the house from his father. On his death the house passed into the hands of his younger brother Roland Gwynne
Roland Gwynne
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Roland Vaughan Gwynne, DSO, DL, JP was Mayor of Eastbourne, Sussex, from 1928 to 1931. He was also a patient and close friend of the suspected serial killer Dr John Bodkin Adams.-Childhood:...
, Mayor of Eastbourne 1928–31, and the possible lover of suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams was an Irish-born British general practitioner, convicted fraudster and suspected serial killer. Between the years 1946 and 1956, more than 160 of his patients died in suspicious circumstances. Of these, 132 left him money or items in their will. He was tried and acquitted for...
.
Popular culture
The house was used as a location for the 1948 film version of the George MooreGeorge Moore (novelist)
George Augustus Moore was an Irish novelist, short-story writer, poet, art critic, memoirist and dramatist. Moore came from a Roman Catholic landed family who lived at Moore Hall in Carra, County Mayo. He originally wanted to be a painter, and studied art in Paris during the 1870s...
novel Esther Waters
Esther Waters
Esther Waters is a novel by George Moore first published in 1894.-Introduction:Set in England from the early 1870s onward, the novel is about a young, pious woman from a poor working class family who, while working as a kitchen maid, is seduced by another employee, becomes pregnant, is deserted by...
. The film directed by Ian Dalrymple
Ian Dalrymple
Ian Dalrymple was a British screenwriter, film director and producer.- Biography :Born at Johannesburg, South Africa, he was educated at Cambridge University. Initially, he worked as an editor at Gaumont-British pictures and Gainsborough Pictures, later turning to screenwriting...
and Peter Proud starred Kathleen Ryan
Kathleen Ryan
Kathleen Ryan was an Irish actress.She was born in Dublin, Ireland of Tipperary parentage and was a spirited and heart warming Irish actress who appeared in British and Hollywood movies between 1947 and 1957.-Family:...
(in the title role), Dirk Bogarde
Dirk Bogarde
Sir Dirk Bogarde was an English actor and novelist. Initially a matinee idol in such films as Doctor in the House and other Rank Organisation pictures, Bogarde later acted in art-house films such as Death in Venice...
(as William Latch), Cyril Cusack
Cyril Cusack
Cyril James Cusack was an Irish actor, who appeared in more than 90 films.-Early life:Cusack was born in Durban, Natal, South Africa, the son of Alice Violet , an actress, and James Walter Cusack, a sergeant in the Natal mounted police. His parents separated when he was young and his mother took...
, Ivor Barnard
Ivor Barnard
Ivor Barnard was an English film actor. In 1929 he appeared on stage in "Bird In Hand" at the Morosco Theatre in New York City. He appeared in 84 films between 1921 and 1953. He appeared in the Alfred Hitchcock film The 39 Steps in 1935. In 1943, he played the stationmaster in the Ealing war movie...
and Fay Compton
Fay Compton
Fay Compton was an English actress from a notable acting lineage; her father was actor/manager Edward Compton; her mother, Virginia Bateman, was a distinguished member of the profession, as were her sister, the actress Viola Compton, and her uncles and aunts. Her grandfather was the 19th-century...
. The story of an unmarried housemaid who becomes pregnant and is abandoned by her footman lover, the subject-matter of Esther Waters was the most "English" of his novels. Moore had just returned to England after abandoning his brief interest in the Irish Renaissance theatre movement
Irish theatre
The history of Irish theatre begins with the Gaelic Irish tradition. Much of the literature in that Celtic language was destroyed by conquest, except for a few manuscripts and fragments, such as the Book of Fermoy...
in 1911, in which he was a founder of the Irish Literary Theatre
Irish Literary Theatre
The Irish Literary Theatre was a precursor to the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Founded by W. B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, George Moore and Edward Martyn in 1899, this theatre presented a number of plays by the founders and other writers, including Padraic Colum....
, a precursor to the Abbey Theatre
Abbey Theatre
The Abbey Theatre , also known as the National Theatre of Ireland , is a theatre located in Dublin, Ireland. The Abbey first opened its doors to the public on 27 December 1904. Despite losing its original building to a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the present day...
Dublin.
Accounts of life at Folkington Manor appear in the book Violet: The Life and Loves of Violet Gordon Woodhouse by
Jessica Douglas-Home. Violet Gordon Woodhouse
Violet Gordon-Woodhouse
Violet Gordon-Woodhouse was an acclaimed British harpsichordist and clavichordist, highly influential in bringing both instruments back into fashion.-Family:...
was the sister of Rupert Gwynne
Rupert Gwynne
Rupert Sackville Gwynne , was a British Conservative politician. He was Member of Parliament for Eastbourne from 1910 to 1924.-Early years:...
and one of the century's most gifted musicians, her salon at Wooton Manor was a rural match for London's Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury Group
The Bloomsbury Group or Bloomsbury Set was a group of writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists who held informal discussions in Bloomsbury throughout the 20th century. This English collective of friends and relatives lived, worked or studied near Bloomsbury in London during the first half...
gatherings. The first chapter of the book details the long and stormy engagement between Violet's parents, James Gwynne and the musical May Purvis, there was strong opposition from the Gwynnes to James marrying someone of "questionable" descent. James and May set up house in Harley Street
Harley Street
Harley Street is a street in the City of Westminster in London, England which has been noted since the 19th century for its large number of private specialists in medicine and surgery.- Overview :...
in London and at Folkington Manor in Sussex giving birth to Violet and her six brothers and sisters.