Sackville College - Present Charity

Present Charity

The College is run as a charity, operating under an Act of Parliament from 1624 and a Royal Charter from 1631. The College continues to receive patronage from William Sackville, 11th Earl De La Warr. The building is located at the end of the High Street close to St Swithun's Church.

It is built from local sandstone. The main building was completed in 1619, and remains exceptionally well preserved. The original lock is still used on the Chapel door and much furniture from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is preserved inside. It is a Grade I listed building. The building surrounds a courtyard which contains a well. The internal walls have large mullioned windows. The Great Hall features the original hammer-beam roof. Inside, the residences for the elderly have been modernized.

The College is run by a warden, who lives in part of the building that was originally used by the Sackville family on visits to their Sussex estates. The warden's office has not changed substantially since it was used by the Revd Dr John Mason Neale, who was warden from 1846 until his death in 1866. J.M. Neale was a hymn writer notable as the author of Good King Wenceslas. The warden's office is a good example of a Victorian study. The chapel was restored 1846-1866, in early C14 style by William Butterfield under the direction of Dr Neale.

The College is open Wednesday to Sunday during the summer.