Sackville College is a Jacobean

Jacobean architecture

The Jacobean style is the second phase of Renaissance architecture in England, following the Elizabethan style. It is named after King James I of England, with whose reign it is associated.-Characteristics:...

 almshouse

Almshouse

Almshouses are charitable housing provided to enable people to live in a particular community...

 in town of East Grinstead

East Grinstead

East Grinstead is a town and civil parish in the northeastern corner of Mid Sussex, West Sussex in England near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders. It lies south of London, north northeast of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester...

, 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...

, England.

It was founded in 1609 with money left by Robert Sackville, 2nd Earl of Dorset

Robert Sackville, 2nd Earl of Dorset

Robert Sackville, 2nd Earl of Dorset was an English aristocrat and politician, with humanist and commercial interests.-Life:He was the eldest son of Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset, by Cecily, daughter of Sir John Baker...

. Throughout its history it has provided sheltered accommodation for the elderly.

Foundation

Robert Sackville left £1,000 for the building and a rent charge of £330, for the endowment of a 'hospital or college' for twenty-one poor men and ten poor women, to be under the patronage and government of his heirs. This may have been an imitation of Emmanuel College, Westminster

Emanuel School

Emanuel School is a co-educational independent school in Battersea, south-west London. The school was founded by Lady Dacre and Elizabeth I in 1594. Today it has some 710 pupils, aged between ten and eighteen.-History:...

, founded by his aunt, Anne Fiennes, Lady Dacre. The building of the almshouse known as 'Sackville College for the Poor' at East Grinstead was commenced about 1616 by the executors, his brother-in-law, Lord William Howard

Lord William Howard

Lord William Howard was an English nobleman and antiquary, sometimes known as "Belted or Bauld Will".-Life:...

, and Sir George Rivers of Chafford. It was occupied before 1622.

Most of the Sackville lands were soon alienated by the founder's son, and the buyers refused to acknowledge the estate's liability to the college. On 6 July 1631 the poor inmates received a charter of incorporation, but their revenues were still irregularly paid. But in 1700, after long litigation, a reduced rent charge was imposed on the Sackville estates on behalf of the college, and the number of inmates reduced to twelve, with a warden. The college buildings were restored in the nineteenth century by the Countess Amherst and the Countess De la Warr.

Present charity

The College is run as a charity, operating under an Act of Parliament

Act of Parliament

An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...

 from 1624 and a Royal Charter

Royal Charter

A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...

 from 1631. The College continues to receive patronage from William Herbrand Thomas Sackville, 11th Earl De La Warr

Earl De La Warr

Earl De La Warr is a title created in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1761.In the United States, Thomas West, 3rd baron is often named in history books simply as Lord Delaware. He served as governor of the Jamestown Colony, and the Delaware Bay was named after him...

. The building is located at the end of the High Street close to St. Swithun's Church

St. Swithun's Church, East Grinstead

St. Swithun's is a church in East Grinstead, West Sussex, England. A Grade II* listed building.The site had a church since the 11th century. It was struck by lightning in 1772 and after it was rebuilt by James Wyatt it was opened in 1789. It is situated on a hill-top site near entrance to town,...

.

It is built from local sandstone

Sandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

. The main building was completed in 1619, and remains exceptionally well preserved. The original lock is still used on the Chapel door and much furniture from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is preserved inside. It is a Grade I listed building. The building surrounds a courtyard which contains a well. The internal walls have large mullioned windows. The Great Hall features the original hammer-beam roof. Inside, the residences for the elderly have been modernized.

The College is run by a warden, who lives in part of the building that was originally used by the Sackville family on visits to their Sussex estates. The warden's office has not changed substantially since it was used by the Revd. Dr. John Mason Neale

John Mason Neale

John Mason Neale was an Anglican priest, scholar and hymn-writer.-Life:Neale was born in London, his parents being the Revd Cornelius Neale and Susanna Neale, daughter of John Mason Good...

, who was warden from 1846 until his death in 1866. The Revd. Dr. Neale was a hymn

Hymn

A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...

 writer notable as the author of Good King Wenceslas

Good King Wenceslas

"Good King Wenceslas" is a popular Christmas carol about a king who goes out to give alms to a poor peasant on the Feast of Stephen . During the journey, his page is about to give up the struggle against the cold weather, but is enabled to continue by following the king's footprints, step for step,...

. The warden's office is a good example of a Victorian study.

The College is open Wednesday to Sunday during the summer.