Ancient Priors
Encyclopedia
The Ancient Priors is a medieval timber-framed
hall-house
on the High Street in Crawley
, a town and borough
in West Sussex
, England
. It was built in approximately 1450, partly replacing an older (probably 14th-century) structure—although part of this survives behind the present street frontage. It has been expanded, altered and renovated many times since, and fell into such disrepair by the 1930s that demolition was considered. It has since been refurbished and is now a restaurant, although it has been put to various uses during its existence. Secret rooms, whose purpose has never been confirmed for certain, were discovered in the 19th century. English Heritage
has listed the building at Grade II* for its architectural and historical importance, and it has been described as Crawley's "most prestigious medieval building" and "the finest timber-framed house between London and Brighton".
was founded by 1267. The area, on the edge of the High Weald
, probably gained its name—referring to a crow-infested forest clearing—by the 10th century. Some sources assert that a building stood on the site of the Ancient Priors by this time, claiming that it was built between 1150 and 1250 and was used as a chantry-house
or priest's house associated with St John the Baptist's Church. Extensive archaeological investigation in the 1990s determined that although the possibility of an older building on the site could not be ruled out, the oldest part of the present structure is 14th-century and the main part (fronting the east side of the High Street) dates from about 1450 and incorporates no older fabric.
Crawley's oldest buildings surrounded the High Street, a north–south route which straddled the boundary of Crawley and Ifield parishes and formed part of the main route from London
to Brighton
and Shoreham
on the English Channel
coast. Burgage
plots—medieval land divisions with houses or other buildings which were rented from the Lord of the Manor
—were particularly clearly defined on the east side of the High Street; the buildings within them usually faced the High Street, but plots were sometimes subdivided. This is believed to have happened at the site of the Ancient Priors, where the main (15th-century) part of the building faces west on to the High Street, and the older section faces south and is hidden from view. The latter is known to be the oldest structure remaining on Crawley High Street.
The building was originally used as a house, and the accompanying burgage plot was used for small-scale agriculture. The first confirmed owners were a family of colliers
, who acquired it in 1608. It passed through many owners throughout the 17th century, some of whom rented the building to others; furthermore, in many cases the two parts of the building were occupied by different families or tenants. By 1668, when it was owned by a resident of Worth
, the whole building had become an inn. Known at first as The Whyte Harte, its spelling was later standardised to The White Hart. Around this time, the entire messuage
consisted of the inn itself, some barns, an orchard
and a garden. In the early 18th century, the prominent local ironmaster
Leonard Gale—holder of much property in the Crawley area—owned the building, and is believed to have lived there. By 1753, when the Brett family (who had held the property for 26 years) sold the messuage for £473 (£ as of ), it also had stables, and covered about 2 acre (0.809372 ha).
Within a decade of this sale, the building was no longer used as an inn and was renamed Old White Hart Farm. (A new, larger White Hart Inn
was built nearby and opened in 1790.) By the 19th century it became two separate entities again: according to the United Kingdom Census 1841
, two families lived in the main building and a woman and seven children occupied the older section. They were tenants, and the owner had added large amounts of farmland to the estate
: as well as the original 2 acre (0.809372 ha), another 64 acres (25.9 ha) lay outside the old burgage boundaries.
In 1881, the building was converted into a single entity again and became a Temperance Hotel for a few years. During the renovation work, hidden rooms were discovered. Visitors to the hotel included Lord Kitchener
, but the venture failed and a shop unit with residential accommodation above was established instead. Various shopkeepers passed through until an antiques dealer, Mr Parkhurst, took the tenancy in 1911. He changed the name to The Ancient Priest's House (and later The Ancient Prior's House, which evolved into Ancient Priors) and used it as a showroom for his antique furniture, further enhancing the ancient appearance by removing plaster to reveal the internal timberwork and replacing modern windows with medieval-style diamond-mullion
ed equivalents. During this period, the owner tried unsuccessfully to auction the property, and the associated landholding reverted to the original 2 acre (0.809372 ha) because the rest of the estate had been acquired by the railway, the local council and other parties who wanted to build on it.
After Parkhurst's death, the Ancient Priors stood empty and went into decline. By the late 1930s, the local council wanted to demolish it to allow for redevelopment of the High Street. Harry Charman, who owned a clothing shop nearby, bought it in 1937 and renovated it, converting it into three self-contained units. The main part of the façade became a tearoom; the old southern section was used as a sweet shop; and the northernmost part of the main building had various uses, including for many years a hairdressing salon. During the 1940s John George Haigh
the acid-bath murderer, used on the occasion of their visits to his workshop in nearby Leopold Road to entertain his victim Mrs Olive Durand-Deacon to tea at the Ancient Priors. By the 1970s, the tearoom was upgraded to a fully licensed restaurant.
Crawley-born boxer
Alan Minter
, who won a bronze medal at the 1972 Olympic Games
and became Middleweight
champion of the world in 1979, bought the restaurant in 1977 together with his manager. It was renamed "Minter's Restaurant & Wine Bar" and had an inn sign depicting a bare-knuckle prizefighter
outside it. Minter ran it himself until 1980, when new management took over. They bought the premises in 1983 and renamed it "Solomon's Restaurant", but stopped trading on 27 February 1988 and sold the building to an estate agency
. The owners said they could not compete with the popularity of fast-food outlets, and claimed that a poor atmosphere in the town at night discouraged people from eating out. Since then, it has become a restaurant again, operating as the Crawley outlet of the ASK restaurant chain
.
The Ancient Priors was listed at Grade II* by English Heritage
on 21 June 1948; this defines it as a "particularly important building of more than special interest" and of national importance. As of February 2001, it was one of 12 Grade II* structures, and 100 listed buildings and structures of all grades, in the Borough of Crawley.
, and is more elaborate than most of the other hall-houses in the north of Sussex. It has a roughly L-shaped plan, formed by the south-facing 14th-century section and the west-facing structure built in about 1450. In the late 19th century, a small eastward-projecting extension was built at the rear of the northern side, making the building more U-shaped; this part is of brick, but the rest of the structure is timber-framed
with some plasterwork. The roof uses "Horsham slab" tiles made of locally dug clay.
Earlier sources asserted that the southern wing of the building was a later addition to the main part: the early 16th century was suggested as the likely construction date. The work undertaken in 1993 disproved this, and instead found that this part, with two bays
, was older and originally had three bays. Although it is now joined to the main part of the building, it was a separate hall-house with a two-bay open hall (one bay of which survives) and discrete bays at the west and east ends. The internal timber work includes crown posts
, arch-braces and some decorative panelling. There is also a chimney-stack and fireplace at the east end.
The main frontage, facing the High Street, is about 23 feet (7 m) long from north to south. An open hall, formed of two bays of about 10 feet (3 m) each, forms the main part of the interior. The exterior has gable
d cross-wings at the north and south ends flanking a recessed central section. The cross-wings were jettied
, but this has been partly filled in. The northern wing, forming the northwest corner of the present building, shares the same roofline and framing as the main hall, but the southern wing (adjacent to the 14th-century part of the building) is framed separately. Crown posts
, arched braces, purlin
s, open truss
es and tie-beams
can be seen inside; their quality has been described as "very superior" and "remarkable", and the roof structure as a whole is described as unusual for the area.
No original windows remain, but traces of an oriel window
have been found; another is believed to have existed near the present window in the eastern face. A large chimney-stack was added in the 16th century when the upper storey was added and the building ceased to be an open hall-house. Cellars existed until the 1960s, when they were filled in after they flooded.
—either as a safe hiding place or as a venue for secret services during the time when public Roman Catholic worship was banned. The locally popular allegation that the building was also used by smugglers
is also believed to be true: smugglers from nearby Copthorne
—a notorious centre of such activity—are thought to have based themselves there in the 18th and early 19th centuries.
There were three secret rooms: one on the upper storey between two of the bedrooms, another behind a fireplace in the kitchen of the 14th-century part of the building, and a third under the floor by another fireplace. The first of these rooms, which measured 36 square foot, was accessed through a trapdoor in the floor. A meat hook
hanging from the ceiling of a passageway near the main kitchen had to be pulled in a certain direction to unlock the trapdoor. The room under the floor was reached in a similarly awkward way: if a carving above the mantelpiece was twisted in a certain way, the fireplace would move outwards to reveal a set of steps leading down to the hiding place. All of the hidden rooms have now been removed or filled in.
Timber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
hall-house
Wealden hall house
The Wealden hall house is a type of vernacular medieval timber-framed yeoman's house traditional in the south east of England. It is most common in Kent and the east of Sussex but has also been built elsewhere...
on the High Street in Crawley
Crawley
Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...
, a town and borough
Borough status in the United Kingdom
Borough status in the United Kingdom is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district...
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...
, 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...
. It was built in approximately 1450, partly replacing an older (probably 14th-century) structure—although part of this survives behind the present street frontage. It has been expanded, altered and renovated many times since, and fell into such disrepair by the 1930s that demolition was considered. It has since been refurbished and is now a restaurant, although it has been put to various uses during its existence. Secret rooms, whose purpose has never been confirmed for certain, were discovered in the 19th century. 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 the building at Grade II* for its architectural and historical importance, and it has been described as Crawley's "most prestigious medieval building" and "the finest timber-framed house between London and Brighton".
History
Crawley's development as a permanent settlement dates from the early 13th century, when a charter was granted for a market to be held; a churchSt John the Baptist's Church, Crawley
St John the Baptist's Church is an Anglican church in Crawley, a town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is the parish church of Crawley, and is the oldest building in the town centre, dating from the 13th century—although many alterations have been made since, and only one wall remains of...
was founded by 1267. The area, on the edge of the High Weald
Weald
The Weald is the name given to an area in South East England situated between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It should be regarded as three separate parts: the sandstone "High Weald" in the centre; the clay "Low Weald" periphery; and the Greensand Ridge which...
, probably gained its name—referring to a crow-infested forest clearing—by the 10th century. Some sources assert that a building stood on the site of the Ancient Priors by this time, claiming that it was built between 1150 and 1250 and was used as a chantry-house
Chantry
Chantry is the English term for a fund established to pay for a priest to celebrate sung Masses for a specified purpose, generally for the soul of the deceased donor. Chantries were endowed with lands given by donors, the income from which maintained the chantry priest...
or priest's house associated with St John the Baptist's Church. Extensive archaeological investigation in the 1990s determined that although the possibility of an older building on the site could not be ruled out, the oldest part of the present structure is 14th-century and the main part (fronting the east side of the High Street) dates from about 1450 and incorporates no older fabric.
Crawley's oldest buildings surrounded the High Street, a north–south route which straddled the boundary of Crawley and Ifield parishes and formed part of the main route from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to 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...
and Shoreham
Shoreham-by-Sea
Shoreham-by-Sea is a small town, port and seaside resort in West Sussex, England. Shoreham-by-Sea railway station is located less than a mile from the town centre and London Gatwick Airport is away...
on 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...
coast. Burgage
Burgage
Burgage is a medieval land term used in England and Scotland, well established by the 13th century. A burgage was a town rental property , owned by a king or lord. The property usually, and distinctly, consisted of a house on a long and narrow plot of land, with the narrow end facing the street...
plots—medieval land divisions with houses or other buildings which were rented from the Lord of the Manor
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
—were particularly clearly defined on the east side of the High Street; the buildings within them usually faced the High Street, but plots were sometimes subdivided. This is believed to have happened at the site of the Ancient Priors, where the main (15th-century) part of the building faces west on to the High Street, and the older section faces south and is hidden from view. The latter is known to be the oldest structure remaining on Crawley High Street.
The building was originally used as a house, and the accompanying burgage plot was used for small-scale agriculture. The first confirmed owners were a family of colliers
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
, who acquired it in 1608. It passed through many owners throughout the 17th century, some of whom rented the building to others; furthermore, in many cases the two parts of the building were occupied by different families or tenants. By 1668, when it was owned by a resident of Worth
Worth village, West Sussex
Worth is an area within the neighbourhood of Pound Hill, Crawley. It was a separate village and is still a civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex.-Worth village:...
, the whole building had become an inn. Known at first as The Whyte Harte, its spelling was later standardised to The White Hart. Around this time, the entire messuage
Messuage
In law, the term messuage equates to a dwelling-house and includes outbuildings, orchard, curtilage or court-yard and garden. At one time messuage supposedly had a more extensive meaning than that conveyed by the words house or site, but such distinction no longer survives.A capital messuage is the...
consisted of the inn itself, some barns, an orchard
Orchard
An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit or nut-producing trees which are grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive...
and a garden. In the early 18th century, the prominent local ironmaster
Ironmaster
An ironmaster is the manager – and usually owner – of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain....
Leonard Gale—holder of much property in the Crawley area—owned the building, and is believed to have lived there. By 1753, when the Brett family (who had held the property for 26 years) sold the messuage for £473 (£ as of ), it also had stables, and covered about 2 acre (0.809372 ha).
Within a decade of this sale, the building was no longer used as an inn and was renamed Old White Hart Farm. (A new, larger White Hart Inn
White Hart Inn, Crawley
The White Hart Inn, also known as the White Hart Hotel, is a coaching inn on the High Street in Crawley, a town and borough in West Sussex, England. Built in the late 18th century to replace an older inn also under the sign of the White Hart, it also served as Crawley's main post office for most of...
was built nearby and opened in 1790.) By the 19th century it became two separate entities again: according to the United Kingdom Census 1841
United Kingdom Census 1841
The United Kingdom Census of 1841 recorded the occupants of every UK household on the night of 6 June, 1841. It was described as the "first modern census" in that it was the first to record information about every member of the household and because it was administered as a single event, under...
, two families lived in the main building and a woman and seven children occupied the older section. They were tenants, and the owner had added large amounts of farmland to the estate
Estate (law)
An estate is the net worth of a person at any point in time. It is the sum of a person's assets - legal rights, interests and entitlements to property of any kind - less all liabilities at that time. The issue is of special legal significance on a question of bankruptcy and death of the person...
: as well as the original 2 acre (0.809372 ha), another 64 acres (25.9 ha) lay outside the old burgage boundaries.
In 1881, the building was converted into a single entity again and became a Temperance Hotel for a few years. During the renovation work, hidden rooms were discovered. Visitors to the hotel included Lord Kitchener
Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener
Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener KG, KP, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, ADC, PC , was an Irish-born British Field Marshal and proconsul who won fame for his imperial campaigns and later played a central role in the early part of the First World War, although he died halfway...
, but the venture failed and a shop unit with residential accommodation above was established instead. Various shopkeepers passed through until an antiques dealer, Mr Parkhurst, took the tenancy in 1911. He changed the name to The Ancient Priest's House (and later The Ancient Prior's House, which evolved into Ancient Priors) and used it as a showroom for his antique furniture, further enhancing the ancient appearance by removing plaster to reveal the internal timberwork and replacing modern windows with medieval-style diamond-mullion
Mullion
A mullion is a vertical structural element which divides adjacent window units. The primary purpose of the mullion is as a structural support to an arch or lintel above the window opening. Its secondary purpose may be as a rigid support to the glazing of the window...
ed equivalents. During this period, the owner tried unsuccessfully to auction the property, and the associated landholding reverted to the original 2 acre (0.809372 ha) because the rest of the estate had been acquired by the railway, the local council and other parties who wanted to build on it.
After Parkhurst's death, the Ancient Priors stood empty and went into decline. By the late 1930s, the local council wanted to demolish it to allow for redevelopment of the High Street. Harry Charman, who owned a clothing shop nearby, bought it in 1937 and renovated it, converting it into three self-contained units. The main part of the façade became a tearoom; the old southern section was used as a sweet shop; and the northernmost part of the main building had various uses, including for many years a hairdressing salon. During the 1940s John George Haigh
John George Haigh
John George Haigh , commonly known as the "Acid Bath Murderer" , was an English serial killer during the 1940s. He was convicted of the murders of six people, although he claimed to have killed nine...
the acid-bath murderer, used on the occasion of their visits to his workshop in nearby Leopold Road to entertain his victim Mrs Olive Durand-Deacon to tea at the Ancient Priors. By the 1970s, the tearoom was upgraded to a fully licensed restaurant.
Crawley-born boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
Alan Minter
Alan Minter
Alan Minter is a former middleweight world champion boxer.-Amateur career:Minter was the 1971 ABA Middleweight Champion. He won the bronze medal at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games...
, who won a bronze medal at the 1972 Olympic Games
Boxing at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Final results for the Boxing competition at the 1972 Summer Olympics:It was held August 27 to September 10, with the participation of 357 fighters from 81 countries.-Medal table:-Light Flyweight :-First Round:...
and became Middleweight
Middleweight
Middleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
champion of the world in 1979, bought the restaurant in 1977 together with his manager. It was renamed "Minter's Restaurant & Wine Bar" and had an inn sign depicting a bare-knuckle prizefighter
Bare-knuckle boxing
Bare-knuckle boxing is the original form of boxing, closely related to ancient combat sports...
outside it. Minter ran it himself until 1980, when new management took over. They bought the premises in 1983 and renamed it "Solomon's Restaurant", but stopped trading on 27 February 1988 and sold the building to an estate agency
Estate agent
An estate agent is a person or business that arranges the selling, renting or management of properties, and other buildings, in the United Kingdom and Ireland. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a letting or management agent...
. The owners said they could not compete with the popularity of fast-food outlets, and claimed that a poor atmosphere in the town at night discouraged people from eating out. Since then, it has become a restaurant again, operating as the Crawley outlet of the ASK restaurant chain
Ask (restaurant)
ASK, also known as ASK ITALIAN is a British casual dining restaurant chain that serves Italian cuisine. It operates in 120 locations in the UK. It is operated as part of the Gondola Group....
.
The Ancient Priors was listed at Grade II* by 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...
on 21 June 1948; this defines it as a "particularly important building of more than special interest" and of national importance. As of February 2001, it was one of 12 Grade II* structures, and 100 listed buildings and structures of all grades, in the Borough of Crawley.
Architecture
The Ancient Priors is a "complete and well-preserved example" of a Wealden hall-houseWealden hall house
The Wealden hall house is a type of vernacular medieval timber-framed yeoman's house traditional in the south east of England. It is most common in Kent and the east of Sussex but has also been built elsewhere...
, and is more elaborate than most of the other hall-houses in the north of Sussex. It has a roughly L-shaped plan, formed by the south-facing 14th-century section and the west-facing structure built in about 1450. In the late 19th century, a small eastward-projecting extension was built at the rear of the northern side, making the building more U-shaped; this part is of brick, but the rest of the structure is timber-framed
Timber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
with some plasterwork. The roof uses "Horsham slab" tiles made of locally dug clay.
Earlier sources asserted that the southern wing of the building was a later addition to the main part: the early 16th century was suggested as the likely construction date. The work undertaken in 1993 disproved this, and instead found that this part, with two 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:...
, was older and originally had three bays. Although it is now joined to the main part of the building, it was a separate hall-house with a two-bay open hall (one bay of which survives) and discrete bays at the west and east ends. The internal timber work includes crown posts
King post
A king post is a central vertical supporting post used in architectural, bridge, or aircraft design applications.-Architecture:...
, arch-braces and some decorative panelling. There is also a chimney-stack and fireplace at the east end.
The main frontage, facing the High Street, is about 23 feet (7 m) long from north to south. An open hall, formed of two bays of about 10 feet (3 m) each, forms the main part of the interior. The exterior has gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d cross-wings at the north and south ends flanking a recessed central section. The cross-wings were jettied
Jettying
Jettying is a building technique used in medieval timber frame buildings in which an upper floor projects beyond the dimensions of the floor below. This has the advantage of increasing the available space in the building without obstructing the street...
, but this has been partly filled in. The northern wing, forming the northwest corner of the present building, shares the same roofline and framing as the main hall, but the southern wing (adjacent to the 14th-century part of the building) is framed separately. Crown posts
King post
A king post is a central vertical supporting post used in architectural, bridge, or aircraft design applications.-Architecture:...
, arched braces, purlin
Purlin
In architecture or structural engineering or building, a purlin is a horizontal structural member in a roof. Purlins support the loads from the roof deck or sheathing and are supported by the principal rafters and/or the building walls, steel beams etc...
s, open truss
Truss
In architecture and structural engineering, a truss is a structure comprising one or more triangular units constructed with straight members whose ends are connected at joints referred to as nodes. External forces and reactions to those forces are considered to act only at the nodes and result in...
es and tie-beams
Tie (engineering)
A tie, structural tie, connector, or structural connector is a structural component designed to resist tension. It is the opposite of a strut, which is designed to resist compression. Ties are generally made of galvanized steel...
can be seen inside; their quality has been described as "very superior" and "remarkable", and the roof structure as a whole is described as unusual for the area.
No original windows remain, but traces of an oriel window
Oriel window
Oriel windows are a form of bay window commonly found in Gothic architecture, which project from the main wall of the building but do not reach to the ground. Corbels or brackets are often used to support this kind of window. They are seen in combination with the Tudor arch. This type of window was...
have been found; another is believed to have existed near the present window in the eastern face. A large chimney-stack was added in the 16th century when the upper storey was added and the building ceased to be an open hall-house. Cellars existed until the 1960s, when they were filled in after they flooded.
Hidden rooms
The discovery of secret rooms during the renovations of 1881 led to much speculation. Evidence suggests that they were used first by Roman Catholic priests during the ReformationEnglish Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
—either as a safe hiding place or as a venue for secret services during the time when public Roman Catholic worship was banned. The locally popular allegation that the building was also used by smugglers
Smuggling
Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...
is also believed to be true: smugglers from nearby Copthorne
Copthorne, West Sussex
Copthorne is a village in the Mid Sussex district of West Sussex, England. It lies close to Gatwick Airport, south of London, north of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Nearby towns include Crawley to the southwest and East Grinstead to the east...
—a notorious centre of such activity—are thought to have based themselves there in the 18th and early 19th centuries.
There were three secret rooms: one on the upper storey between two of the bedrooms, another behind a fireplace in the kitchen of the 14th-century part of the building, and a third under the floor by another fireplace. The first of these rooms, which measured 36 square foot, was accessed through a trapdoor in the floor. A meat hook
Meat hook
A meat hook is a two-sided hook normally used in butcheries to hang up meat or the carcasses of animals such as pigs and cattle on a moving conveyor line. There are many types of hooks, but meat hooks are the only ones used in butchering....
hanging from the ceiling of a passageway near the main kitchen had to be pulled in a certain direction to unlock the trapdoor. The room under the floor was reached in a similarly awkward way: if a carving above the mantelpiece was twisted in a certain way, the fireplace would move outwards to reveal a set of steps leading down to the hiding place. All of the hidden rooms have now been removed or filled in.