Patcham Place
Encyclopedia
Patcham Place is a mansion
in the ancient village of Patcham
, now part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. Built in 1558 as part of the Patcham Place estate, it was owned for many years by Anthony Stapley
, one of the signatories
of King Charles I's
death warrant. It was extended and completely rebuilt in 1764, and no trace of the older building remains behind the Classical
façade with its expanses of black glazed mathematical tile
s—a feature typical of Brighton buildings of the era. Contemporary uses have included a youth hostel, but the house is currently occupied by live-in security. English Heritage
has listed it at Grade II* for its architectural and historical importance.
north of Brighton
, has Saxon
origins, and the remains of farmsteads and intermittent settlements can still be discerned. The territory includes several north–south valleys with intermittent streams (winterbournes
). The River Wellesbourne, "Brighton's lost river", rises near the centre of the village and flows through the present city centre to the English Channel
. It was culvert
ed and built over in the late 18th century as Brighton began to develop as a fashionable resort.
At the time of the Domesday survey
in 1086, William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey
—who owned large areas of land in present-day Sussex
—held the manor
of Patcham. The predecessor of the present All Saints Church
existed, and there was a small village around it. These lay east of the old road to London. In the Middle Ages
, another estate developed within the parish. A house, Patcham Place, was built in an isolated position west of the road in 1558 for its first owner, William West, 1st Baron De La Warr
; but the estate soon passed to Richard Shelley, son of Sir John Shelley of Michelgrove and a member of the family which later became the first Shelley Baronetcy
. Richard Shelley is believed to have lived in Patcham from 1546; he was an important figure in Brighton's early history, because in 1579 he and three other local noblemen were appointed by the Privy Council to form a commission to record and regulate the "ancient customs" of the villagers and to mediate between the fishermen and the farmers, who often had conflicting needs. The commissioners produced a book, The Book of All The Auncient [Ancient] Customs heretofore used amonge the fishermen of the Toune of Brighthelmston, whose orders were enshrined in law
.
Later in the 16th century, the estate passed to Richard Shelley's sons, one of whom sold it to Anthony Stapley
in about 1620. The sale included Patcham Place, and Stapley made it his home for the next 35 years. During this time, he was the Governor of Chichester
(the county town
of West Sussex
) for three years, became one of the 59 signatories of King Charles I's
death warrant at his trial in 1649, and subsequently became a member of the English Council of State
.
Patcham Place stayed in the Stapley family until 1700, after which it passed through several owners (including George Nevill, 1st Earl of Abergavenny
). During this time it was also used as the venue for local law enforcement, where the parish constable
could take people suspected of crimes to be charged in the presence of a Justice of the Peace
. Stanmer House
in nearby Stanmer
was also used for this purpose. In 1764, Major John Payne (or Paine) bought the house, and immediately set about extending and rebuilding it, eliminating all traces of the 16th-century structure. (The house has sometimes been incorrectly described as newly built in 1764, such was the extent of the revamp.) Payne and his descendants lived in the house for many years, but in 1926, as suburban residential development began to reach the old village of Patcham, Brighton Corporation (predecessor of the present Brighton and Hove City Council) bought the house and its grounds for £6,000 (£ as of ). Two years later, Patcham was one of several parishes to be absorbed into the Borough of Brighton. In 1937 or 1939, the Corporation leased Patcham Place to the Youth Hostels Association
; it was used as the Brighton area's youth hostel from then until 2007, when the lease ran out.
Patcham Place was listed at Grade II* on 13 October 1952. Such buildings are defined as being "particularly important ... [and] of more than special interest". As of February 2001, it was one of 70 Grade II*-listed buildings and structures, and 1,218 listed buildings of all grades, in the city of Brighton and Hove.
, suggested by features such as its three-bay
pediment
and Tuscan-columned
entrance porch. The northwest and northeast walls are hung with the glazed black mathematical tile
s which were a signature feature of residential buildings Brighton between about 1760 and 1820. Elsewhere, stucco
is used, except for some flint
and brickwork at the rear. The roof is laid with slate
s and tiles.
The entrance is on the northwest face, which has seven bays
. The centre three are set forward slightly and are topped by a pediment
with an inset oculus
and a cornice
with dentil
elements. The panelled wood door is 18th-century, and sits below an arched fanlight
. The windows on this face are sashes
topped with stucco
ed architrave
s. On the other walls, the windows are irregularly spaced; some original sashes survive, and there are also two canted
bay window
s.
The interior has several large fireplaces and an ornate chimney-breast decorated with carved egg-and-dart
motifs and flanked by pilaster
s. A pilastered archway leads from the hall to the staircase, which has an elaborate stair-rail. Many of the internal doors and windows are topped with architraves.
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
in the ancient village of Patcham
Patcham
Patcham is an area of the city of Brighton and Hove. It is approximately north of the city centre, bounded by the A27 to the north, Hollingbury to the east and southeast, Withdean to the south and the Brighton Main Line to the west...
, now part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. Built in 1558 as part of the Patcham Place estate, it was owned for many years by Anthony Stapley
Anthony Stapley
Anthony Stapley was one of the regicides of King Charles I of England.Stapley was M.P. for New Shoreham , Lewes , Sussex . He was colonel and governor of Chichester and signed the death-warrant of Charles I...
, one of the signatories
High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I
The High Court of Justice is the name given to the court established by the Rump Parliament to try King Charles I of England. This was an ad hoc tribunal created specifically for the purpose of trying the king, although the same name was used again for subsequent courts.Neither the involvement of...
of King Charles I's
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
death warrant. It was extended and completely rebuilt in 1764, and no trace of the older building remains behind the Classical
Classical architecture
Classical architecture is a mode of architecture employing vocabulary derived in part from the Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, enriched by classicizing architectural practice in Europe since the Renaissance...
façade with its expanses of black glazed mathematical tile
Mathematical tile
Mathematical tiles are a building material used extensively in the southeastern counties of England—especially East Sussex and Kent—in the 18th and early 19th centuries. They were laid on the exterior of timber-framed buildings as an alternative to brickwork, which their appearance closely resembled...
s—a feature typical of Brighton buildings of the era. Contemporary uses have included a youth hostel, but the house is currently occupied by live-in security. English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
has listed it at Grade II* for its architectural and historical importance.
History
The parish of Patcham, covering 4325 acres (1,750.3 ha) of chalk downlandSouth 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...
north of Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, has Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
origins, and the remains of farmsteads and intermittent settlements can still be discerned. The territory includes several north–south valleys with intermittent streams (winterbournes
Winterbourne (stream)
A winterbourne is a stream or river that is dry through the summer months. A winterbourne is sometimes simply called a bourne, from the Anglo-Saxon for a stream flowing from a spring, although this term can also be used for all-year water courses....
). The River Wellesbourne, "Brighton's lost river", rises near the centre of the village and flows through the present city centre to the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
. It was culvert
Culvert
A culvert is a device used to channel water. It may be used to allow water to pass underneath a road, railway, or embankment. Culverts can be made of many different materials; steel, polyvinyl chloride and concrete are the most common...
ed and built over in the late 18th century as Brighton began to develop as a fashionable resort.
At the time of the Domesday survey
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...
in 1086, William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey
William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey
William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, Seigneur de Varennes is one of the very few proven Companions of William the Conqueror known to have fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066...
—who owned large areas of land in present-day Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
—held the manor
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
of Patcham. The predecessor of the present All Saints Church
All Saints Church, Patcham
All Saints Church is the Anglican parish church of Patcham, an ancient Sussex village which is now part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. A place of worship has existed on the hilltop site for about 1,000 years, but the present building has Norman internal features and a 13th-century...
existed, and there was a small village around it. These lay east of the old road to London. In the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, another estate developed within the parish. A house, Patcham Place, was built in an isolated position west of the road in 1558 for its first owner, William West, 1st Baron De La Warr
William West, 1st Baron De La Warr
William West, 1st Baron De La Warr, of the second creation was nephew and adopted heir of Thomas West, 9th Baron De La Warr. William West was the eldest son of Sir George West, the third of four brothers, and of Elizabeth Morton, daughter of Sir George Morton of Lechlade...
; but the estate soon passed to Richard Shelley, son of Sir John Shelley of Michelgrove and a member of the family which later became the first Shelley Baronetcy
Shelley Baronets
There have been three Baronetcies created for members of the Shelley family, one in the Baronetage of England and two in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. The three recipients of the titles represented two different branches of the family with a common ancestor in John Shelley of Michelgrove...
. Richard Shelley is believed to have lived in Patcham from 1546; he was an important figure in Brighton's early history, because in 1579 he and three other local noblemen were appointed by the Privy Council to form a commission to record and regulate the "ancient customs" of the villagers and to mediate between the fishermen and the farmers, who often had conflicting needs. The commissioners produced a book, The Book of All The Auncient [Ancient] Customs heretofore used amonge the fishermen of the Toune of Brighthelmston, whose orders were enshrined in law
Law of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has three legal systems. English law, which applies in England and Wales, and Northern Ireland law, which applies in Northern Ireland, are based on common-law principles. Scots law, which applies in Scotland, is a pluralistic system based on civil-law principles, with common law...
.
Later in the 16th century, the estate passed to Richard Shelley's sons, one of whom sold it to Anthony Stapley
Anthony Stapley
Anthony Stapley was one of the regicides of King Charles I of England.Stapley was M.P. for New Shoreham , Lewes , Sussex . He was colonel and governor of Chichester and signed the death-warrant of Charles I...
in about 1620. The sale included Patcham Place, and Stapley made it his home for the next 35 years. During this time, he was the Governor of Chichester
Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...
(the county town
County town
A county town is a county's administrative centre in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
of West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
) for three years, became one of the 59 signatories of King Charles I's
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
death warrant at his trial in 1649, and subsequently became a member of the English Council of State
English Council of State
The English Council of State, later also known as the Protector's Privy Council, was first appointed by the Rump Parliament on 14 February 1649 after the execution of King Charles I....
.
Patcham Place stayed in the Stapley family until 1700, after which it passed through several owners (including George Nevill, 1st Earl of Abergavenny
George Nevill, 1st Earl of Abergavenny
George Nevill, 1st Earl of Abergavenny was an English Peer.He was the oldest son of William Nevill, 16th Baron Bergavenny and Katharine Tatton....
). During this time it was also used as the venue for local law enforcement, where the parish constable
Parish constable
Parish constable was a law enforcement officer, usually unpaid and part-time, serving a parish. In some parishes, the position was known as "high constable", e.g. the High Constable of Holborn....
could take people suspected of crimes to be charged in the presence of a Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
. Stanmer House
Stanmer House
Stanmer House is a Grade I listed mansion west of the village of Falmer and north-east of the city of Brighton and Hove.It stands very close to Stanmer village and Church, within the Stanmer Park...
in nearby Stanmer
Stanmer
Stanmer is a small village on the eastern outskirts of Brighton, in East Sussex, England.-History:Stanmer village pond is surrounded by sarsen stones, which accounts for the place-name, Old English for 'stone pond'. The stones are not in their original situation, but have been gathered on the Downs...
was also used for this purpose. In 1764, Major John Payne (or Paine) bought the house, and immediately set about extending and rebuilding it, eliminating all traces of the 16th-century structure. (The house has sometimes been incorrectly described as newly built in 1764, such was the extent of the revamp.) Payne and his descendants lived in the house for many years, but in 1926, as suburban residential development began to reach the old village of Patcham, Brighton Corporation (predecessor of the present Brighton and Hove City Council) bought the house and its grounds for £6,000 (£ as of ). Two years later, Patcham was one of several parishes to be absorbed into the Borough of Brighton. In 1937 or 1939, the Corporation leased Patcham Place to the Youth Hostels Association
Youth Hostels Association (England & Wales)
The Youth Hostels Association is a charitable organisation, registered with the Charity Commission, providing youth hostel accommodation in England and Wales...
; it was used as the Brighton area's youth hostel from then until 2007, when the lease ran out.
Patcham Place was listed at Grade II* on 13 October 1952. Such buildings are defined as being "particularly important ... [and] of more than special interest". As of February 2001, it was one of 70 Grade II*-listed buildings and structures, and 1,218 listed buildings of all grades, in the city of Brighton and Hove.
Architecture
Patcham Place's present appearance is entirely 18th-century. Its style is ClassicalClassical architecture
Classical architecture is a mode of architecture employing vocabulary derived in part from the Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, enriched by classicizing architectural practice in Europe since the Renaissance...
, suggested by features such as its three-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
and Tuscan-columned
Tuscan order
Among canon of classical orders of classical architecture, the Tuscan order's place is due to the influence of the Italian Sebastiano Serlio, who meticulously described the five orders including a "Tuscan order", "the solidest and least ornate", in his fourth book of Regole generalii di...
entrance porch. The northwest and northeast walls are hung with the glazed black mathematical tile
Mathematical tile
Mathematical tiles are a building material used extensively in the southeastern counties of England—especially East Sussex and Kent—in the 18th and early 19th centuries. They were laid on the exterior of timber-framed buildings as an alternative to brickwork, which their appearance closely resembled...
s which were a signature feature of residential buildings Brighton between about 1760 and 1820. Elsewhere, stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
is used, except for some flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
and brickwork at the rear. The roof is laid with slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
s and tiles.
The entrance is on the northwest face, which has seven bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
. The centre three are set forward slightly and are topped by a pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
with an inset oculus
Oculus
An Oculus, circular window, or rain-hole is a feature of Classical architecture since the 16th century. They are often denoted by their French name, oeil de boeuf, or "bull's-eye". Such circular or oval windows express the presence of a mezzanine on a building's façade without competing for...
and a cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
with dentil
Dentil
In classical architecture a dentil is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice.The Roman architect Vitruvius In classical architecture a dentil (from Lat. dens, a tooth) is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice.The Roman architect...
elements. The panelled wood door is 18th-century, and sits below an arched fanlight
Fanlight
A fanlight is a window, semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan, It is placed over another window or a doorway. and is sometimes hinged to a transom. The bars in the fixed glazed window spread out in the manner a sunburst...
. The windows on this face are sashes
Sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...
topped with stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
ed architrave
Architrave
An architrave is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of the columns. It is an architectural element in Classical architecture.-Classical architecture:...
s. On the other walls, the windows are irregularly spaced; some original sashes survive, and there are also two canted
Cant (architecture)
Cant is the architectural term describing part, or segment, of a facade which is at an angle to another part of the same facade. The angle breaking the facade is less than a right angle thus enabling a canted facade to be viewed as, and remain, one composition.Canted facades are a typical of, but...
bay window
Bay window
A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room, either square or polygonal in plan. The angles most commonly used on the inside corners of the bay are 90, 135 and 150 degrees. Bay windows are often associated with Victorian architecture...
s.
The interior has several large fireplaces and an ornate chimney-breast decorated with carved egg-and-dart
Egg-and-dart
Egg-and-dart or Egg-and-tongue is an ornamental device often carved in wood, stone, or plaster quarter-round ovolo mouldings, consisting of an egg-shaped object alternating with an element shaped like an arrow, anchor or dart. Egg-and-dart enrichment of the ovolo molding of the Ionic capital is...
motifs and flanked by pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s. A pilastered archway leads from the hall to the staircase, which has an elaborate stair-rail. Many of the internal doors and windows are topped with architraves.