Shillinglee is a 18th-century house and estate in 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...

, near the Surrey

Surrey

Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

 border, in between the villages of Chiddingfold

Chiddingfold

Chiddingfold is a village and civil parish in the heart of The Weald in the Waverley district of Surrey, England. It lies on the A283 between Milford and Petworth...

 and Plaistow

Plaistow, West Sussex

Plaistow is a village in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It lies within the civil parish of Plaistow and Ifold. There is a village green with a pond, a shop overlooking it, a pub, The Sun Inn and an Anglican Church, all in the centre of the village. There are over thirty graded ...

.

Built in 1785, Shillinglee was the home of the Earl Winterton

Earl Winterton

Earl Winterton, in the County of Galway, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1766 for Edward Turnour, 1st Baron Winterton, who represented Bramber in the House of Commons...

 and was originally a Manor of the Arundel

Arundel Castle

Arundel Castle in Arundel, West Sussex, England is a restored medieval castle. It was founded by Roger de Montgomery on Christmas Day 1067. Roger became the first to hold the earldom of Arundel by the graces of William the Conqueror...

 Estate, which belonged to the Norfolk

Duke of Norfolk

The Duke of Norfolk is the premier duke in the peerage of England, and also, as Earl of Arundel, the premier earl. The Duke of Norfolk is, moreover, the Earl Marshal and hereditary Marshal of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the...

 Family.

Records exist of 19th century cricket matches played in the grounds, against neighbouring villages. Both Edward Turnour, 4th Earl Winterton

Edward Turnour, 4th Earl Winterton

Edward Turnour, 4th Earl Winterton was a first-class cricketer who played 25 times for Sussex CCC, without much success.-Notes:...

 and Edward Turnour, 5th Earl Winterton

Edward Turnour, 5th Earl Winterton

Edward Turnour, 5th Earl Winterton was an Irish peer and cricketer.He married Lady Georgiana Susan Hamilton , daughter of James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn, by whom he had one son:*Edward Turnour, 6th Earl Winterton...

 were first-class cricketers. Around the start of the 20th century, Shillinglee was the summer residence of the Indian Prince Ranjitsinhji, reckoned to be one of the greatest cricketer

Cricketer

A cricketer is a person who plays the sport of cricket. Official and long-established cricket publications prefer the traditional word "cricketer" over the rarely used term "cricket player"....

s of all time. He was presumably a guest of the Earl, who at various times was President and Chairman of Sussex CCC.

During the Second World War, the house was occupied by Canadian forces, who accidentally burnt the house down! This was around January 1943 according to a report by a Canadian Soldier

The shell of Shillinglee House has been rebuilt and now consists of private residences. The former grounds once included a public golf course but this has now closed.