Michelham Priory

Michelham Priory is the site of a former Augustine Priory in Upper Dicker , East Sussex, England, United Kingdom. The surviving buildings are owned and administered by the Sussex Archaeological Society and are Grade I and Grade II listed.

A T-shaped stone-built structure, the east and north wings date from the 13th century and the west wing from the 16th century. The north wing, originally the Priors Lodging, comprises three storeys with an attic and the other two wings two storeys. The roof is tiled. The whole is surrounded by a moat, enclosing an area of almost 8 acres (3.2 ha).

A watermill in the grounds of the priory has been restored to working order and is open to the public.

History

The medieval priory

The Augustinian Priory of the Holy Trinity was founded at Michelham in 1229 by Gilbert de Aquila, whose father had been a benefactor of Bayham Abbey in Kent and also had connections to Otham Abbey in East Sussex. Michelham was a daughter house of Hastings Priory.

All Gilbert's lands and honours were forfeited in 1235 as punishment for his going to Normandy without licence from King Henry III.

In 1278 and again in 1287, the prior was fined for exercising illegal privileges. On 26 June 1283, John de Kyrkeby renounced his election as Bishop of Rochester at Michelham Priory before John Peckham, Archbishop of Canterbury.

King Edward I stayed overnight at the priory on 14 September 1302. In 1353, the prior was fined 40d because a bridge at Rickney was broken and blocking the river. By 1398, the priory was reported to be in a ruinous condition. Robert Reade, bishop of Chichester, granted the advowsons of Alfriston and Fletching to Michelham Priory in that year.

Dissolution and later use

The Priory was seized in 1537 under Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the monasteries. The priory and its possessions was then granted to Thomas Cromwell. Following Cromwell's execution in 1540, it was granted to Anne of Cleves. Part of it was leased to Thomas Culpeper, with the greater part of the site passing to William, Earl of Arundel. In 1544, Henry, Earl of Arundel exchanged Michelham Priory with Queen Mary for other property. In 1556, the priory was sold to John Foote and John Roberts for £1,249 16s 10d. Foote alienated the manor and hundred of Michelham Parkegate to Ambrose Smythe in 1574. In 1584, Smythe granted it to John Morely and Elizabeth, his wife. Morley granted the priory to Herbert Pelham in 1587.

The church and some of the buildings were demolished between 1599 and 1601. In the former year, the priory was made over in trust to Thomas Peirse, Thomas Pelham and James Thatcher to be sold to provide an annuity of £400 and pay off his debts. In 1601, the priory was sold to Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset (Lord Buckhurst) for the sum of £4,700. On his death in 1608, the property passed to his son Robert Sackville, 2nd Earl of Dorset. In 1609, it passed to Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset. On Richard's death in 1630, the priory passed to his wife, Lady Anne Clifford. On her death in 1675, the property remained in the Sackville family, passing down the Earls (later Dukes) of Dorset until the death of John Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset in 1799, then passing to his daughter Mary, Countess of Plymouth. She married William Amherst, 1st Earl Amherst in 1839.

It was sold to James Gwynne in 1896 and was where his children Rupert, Roland and Violet grew up. The property remained in private hands into the 20th century, when it was restored by the Sussex architect and antiquarian, Walter Godfrey. It was used as a base for Canadian troops during the winter of 1941-42 while they prepared for the Dieppe Raid. Later it was the East Sussex headquarters of the Auxiliary Territorial Service.

In 1958 Mrs R.H. Hotblack purchased the property with the aim of preserving it for posterity. With an endowment from Kenneth, Earl of Inchcape as a memorial to his friend John Fletcher Boughey who was killed during the Second World War, Mrs Hotblack gave the property in trust to the Sussex Archaeological Society on 1 November 1959.