The Priest House and Gardens

Medieval hall

Built in the 1420s by Lewes Priory as an estate office, this Grade II listed medieval hall house features classic Wealden design: a central hall, timber frame with wattle-and-daub infill, and original king-post roof structure. Later alterations around 1580 added a fireplace, chimney, first floor and a durable Horsham stone roof.

History and transformation

Seized during the dissolution of monasteries, the house passed through royal hands including Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell, Anne of Cleves, Mary I and Elizabeth I. In 1560 it was sold into private hands, remaining a farmhouse until restoration began in 1908 by John Godwin-King, who opened it as a museum and later gifted it to the Sussex Archaeological Society in 1935.

Fascinating objects

Discover 17th–19th-century country furniture, the compelling Suffragette Handkerchief signed by imprisoned activists, and with marks carved into doorways to ward off evil. Outside, a cottage garden, influenced by William Robinson’s vision, features over 170 herbs and perennials.