COW DRAY: \!be 1bfstor~ of a <.lireat JSnglfsb 1bouse. BY MRS. CHARLES ROUNDELL. 'UUlitb 31Iustratf ons FROM DRAWINGS IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM, AND FROM SKETCHES BY THE LATE ANTHONY SALVIN, ESQ., F.S.A. " , I f ".1. > \ ' , \ • f ,._ ":I' f ' " ,u:xg1 /J,6V 'r0U'1"0U O't"/; '1"i 61U'fJ iUJ,,/ "jVW11J,'f'J Xa/ la'TOgl'i'] Taura A6"jOU~a 61'rt. HERODOTUS, II. 99. "So far I have set forth the results of my own observation, judgment, and research." LONDON: BI·CKERS & SON, LEICESTER SQUARE. 1884. ..<-' '!'l, L .. i ; f I \;\1 ~>. I . t: -r :£ - ~ t)) _.,.- ;1 1~ • L THE t7 ·- To His ExcELLENCY THE RIGHT HONOURABLE 3obn Po\?nt3, JEarl Spencer, 1k.'5., 1k. ~., LORD-LIEUTENANT OF IRELAND. DEAR LORD SPENCER, IT IS WITH REAL PLEASURE THAT l AV AIL MYSELF OF YOUR PERMISSION TO DEDICATE THESE PAGES TO YOU. THEY RELATE TO COWDRAY, O~E OF THE STATELIEST OF ENGLISH HOUSES, AND THE HOME OF THE MONTAGUES. OF THAT GREAT FAMILY YOU ARE ONE OF THE CHIEF REPRESENTATIVES. FEW HISTORIES OF ONE HOU~E CAN OFFER SO VARIED A PICTURE OF FAMOUS AND DISTINGUISHED MEN. BELIEVE ME TO BE, YOURS SINCERELY, JULIA ANNE ELIZABETH ROUNDELL. 0EBORNE, FERNHURST, SUSSEX, October 1883. ~ :;_ - /} \, PREFACE. -o- i".~~~~~-~IIZ\HE principal authorities consulted for this history of CowJray have been Dallaway's History of the Western Division of the County of Sussex, Horsfield's History and Antiquities of Sussex, Lower's History of Sussex, the Sussex Archreological Collections, the Archreologia of the Society of Antiquaries, the Archreological Journals, Lower's Chronicle of Battle Abbey, Thorpe's Cata­ logue of the Muniments of Battle Abbey, the Gentleman's Magazine, the Annual Register, Co1lins' Peerage, Grose's Antiquities, the Vetusta Monu­ rnenta, Nichols' Progresses of Queen Elizabeth, Elwes' Castles, Mansions, and Manors of Western Sussex, and Foley's Records of the English Pro­ vince of the Society of Jesus. Much information has been obtained from the Burre11 Collection of Manuscripts and Drawings in the British Museum. Sir Willia1n Burrell, Bart., F.R.S., F.S.A., who in I 768 represented Haslemere in Parliament, contemplated writing a History of Sussex. At that time the only history of the county, besides the notice of it in Camden's Britannia, was a small volume written in 1730 by the Rev. T. Coxe. Sir William Burrell filled his copy of this history with marginal notes. He travelled over Sussex, taking transcripts from conveyances, settlements, court rolls, and family documents. He visited most of the Sussex churches, making long extracts from the registers, and copying the inscriptions on many of the monuments. b X PREFAGH. But before completing his task he \Vas struck with paralysis and became incapable of continuing his work. At his death in 1796 he left all his papers to the British Museum. Sir Willia1n employed Grimm, Lambert, and other artists, to make drawings for his work, and these drawings he also left to the British Museum. The Rev. James Dallaway, F.S.A., Rector of Slinfold, availed himself of the Burrell Manuscripts for hi~ History of Sussex. The second volume of this History, in which is contained the account of Cowdray, is extremely rare; for when this volui:ne was nearly ready for publication all but a very few copies perished in a fire at the printer's. Besides the information derived from books, I am indebted for much assistance in the preparation of this volume to the kindness of living persons. Amongst these my thanks are especially due to Mr. Alexander Brown, agent for the Cowdray estates from 1833 till 1867; to Mr. Richard Fisher of Hill Top near Mic.lhurst; to Mr. Maunde Thompson of the British Museum; to Sir Sibbald Scott, Bart., and to Sir Bernard. Burke, Ulster King-at-arms. Mr. Osbert Salvin has kindly allowed me to use the drawings of Cowdray which were taken by the late Mr._ Anthony Salvin, F.S.A., about the year 1844. The drawings for this book have been executed_ by Miss Beatrice Austin, Church Street, Midhurst. The Story of a Curse, extracts from which I have been allowed to reprint in the Appendix to this volume, was published in the n1agazine entitled The Lamp, and is now out of print. It was written by a member of an old Roman Catholic family in West Sussex. The omitted passages contained historical notices of Cowdray, which are more fully given in the previous portion of my book. CONTENTS. -o- CHAPTER I. PAGE THE FIRST LORDS OF COWDRAY • I CHAPTER II. SIR WILLIAM FITZWILLIAM, K.G., EARL OF SOUTHAMPTON • 7 CHAPTER III. SIR ANTHONY BROWNE, K.G., OF BATTLE ABBEY • II CHAPTER IV. SIR ANTHONY BROWNE, K.G., FIRST VISCOUNT MONTAGUE • 22 CHAPTER V. QUEEN ELIZABETH AT COWDRAY CHAPTER VI. ANTHONY MARIA BROWNE, SECOND VISCOUNT MONTAGUE . 45 CHAPTER VII. THE BOOK OF HOUSEHOLD RULES CHAPTER VIII. COWDRAY DURING THE CIVIL WAR . Xll CONTENTS . CHAPTER IX. PAGE COWDRAY IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY • • .. 87 CHAPTER X. GEORGE SAMUEL, EIGHTH VISCOUNT MONTAGUE . • • JOO CHAPTER XI. THE LAST OF THE BROWNE FAMILY AT COWDRAY • 106 CHAPTER XII. COWDRAY IN ITS GLORY • . l I I CHAPTER XIII. THE FIRE AT COWDRAY • • • 126 CHAPTER XIV. COWDRA Y IN RUINS • • • • • . • . 133 CHAPTER XV. THE CURSE OF COWDRAY • • . • 140 CHAPTER XVI. THE DOMAIN OF COWDRAY . • . 143 APPENDIX. THE STORY OF A CURSR t' :\ -:\ 1· Jd~~! ·= ~"-··· ... \'¥ / . l_. ;-1 , _.·· ~~~-~ ,\ , . / ~v(--. ~-:·~­ LIST OF ILLUS1'RATIONS. Grim11i Frontispiece DOOR AND ROOF OF THE PORCH Gn"mm . page 10 WEST FRONT OF COWDRAY . ,, 28 GARDEN FRONT 01• COWDRAY . Grimm THE CHAPEL .. ,, 73 FOUNTAIN FROM COWDRAY . B. Austin " 9-2 THE QUADRANGLE, EASTERN SIDE . Grinzm . " III Do., SHOWING THE GATEWAY AND TH~: SOUTH GALLERY . " 11 I WINDOWS OF THE BUCK HALL . A. Salvin ,, 12.3 CowDRAY 'I'wo MONTHS AFTER THE FIRE-From the Gentleman's Magazine ,, 131 GROUND PLAN . A. Salvin . ,, 131 THE KITCHEN 1''owER . A. Salvin ,, 136 THE GATEWAY . A. Salvin ,, 136 . i • . ., 1',.,. ..:.J _!) 1/ /_/-- / '-'"-- ------- - \\~ '. ,, '" .. ,;•~"• G I \ COW DRAY. -o- CHAPTER I. ~be JtitSt ILotllS of <lto\tltlttl!! ♦ ;N the rising ground above the little river Rother, and not far distant from the ruins of Cowdray House, may still be traced the site of the castle of the De Boh uns, first Lords of Midhurst and -of Cow<lray. The site of this castle was at least four hundred yards in circumference ; the dry fosse, the deep trench, ,and s1nall portions of the old walls may still be seen,* whilst the little field called the Court Green close by shows the spot to which the retainers of the De Bohuns might carry their goods and drive their cattle for safety under the shelter of their lord's stronghold. This plot of rising ground has always been called St. Anne's Hill (the name is now often corrupted into Tan Hill or Thane Hill), no doubt because the castle chapel was dedicated to St. Anne. A very ancient be11, possibly re1noved from this chapel, still * It is believed that the dungeon and other subterranean chambers still exist in St. Ann's Hill. In the hot summer of 1842 one of the surveyors employed by Mr. Alexander Brown (the stewaru of the Cowdray Estate) traced nearly all the old foundations by means of the dried-up grass • .A. 11IE FIRST LORDS OF COWDRAY. hangs in the be]fry of Easebourne church, on the confines of Cowdray Park. This bell, which measures 3 ft. 4 in. in diameter at the lip and 3 ft. 4 in. in height, and of which the tone is B flat, is inscribed Sancta Anna ora pro nobis. Daliaway is of opinion that when this old castle of the De Bohuns fell into decay its lords built another house nearer to the river, portions of which in later years were made the first beginning of Cowdray House. It has been thought that the two massive hexagonal towers flanking the main body of the house, which were less injured by the great fire than any other part of the building, were portions of the original structure. It is not certain at what period the De Bohuns removed from St. Anne's Hill to the lower ground, although several of their deeds are dated from Cowdray. The most probable date is the reign of Edward the Third. It is, however, certain that the De Bohuns were a most powerful family. They were the Hereditary Sealers of the King's Briefs, and this office, ,vith that of Serjeant of the Chapel Royal, was resigned by John de Bohun to the King so far back as during the reign of Ed ward the First. The importance of the De Bohun farr1ily will be seen frorn the following extract from Cain den's Britannia, edition of MDCVII.:-« Fluuius autem qui praeterfluit e Septentrionali agri parte scatens, pluri1nis hinc inde riuulis increscit, inter quos praecipnus est qui praeterlabitur Cowdrey Vicecomitis Montisacuti · aedes splendidissimas, et ad altera1n ripam Midherst, quae Bohunos Dominos suos jactat, qui pro insignibus crucem creruleam in aureo c1ypeo gestarunt, et ab Ingelrico de Bohun sub Henrico Primo, floruerunt ad ·Henrici VII. usque te1npora, qui filian1 et haeredem Joannis Bohuni Dauidi Owen Equiti aurato, filio naturali Oweni Theodori cutn opima haere­ ditate in uxore1n dedit. Fuerunt hi Bohuni, ut obiter adnotem, propter obsoletam verbi antiquitatem, aliquandiu Spigur[r ]nelli Regis, i. [i.e.] Sigil­ latores Breuium., jure hereditario; quod officium una cum Ser[v ]ientia Capellae Regiae Edwardo Primo re1nisit Joannes de Bohun filius Franconis, ut in Charta antiqua ea de re confecta legitur ." There is no doubt that the manor of Midhurst was granted to Savaric de Bohun by Henry the First, and the grant was confirmed by charters of four subsequent Kings, Richard the First, Henry the Third, Edward the Third, and Richard the Second.