Folkington Manor - History

History

Folkington Manor was built in 1843 by the architect W.J Donthorne, near the site of a manor that was recorded in the Domesday Book,. The previous manor was home to Viscount Monckton in the 14th century, advisor to King Edward III. The Place, as it was formerly called, is a site of some antiquity, having been the seat of the Culpepers in James I’s reign and later of the Dobell family, from whom it was bought in about 1650 by Sir William Thomas, of West Dean with the adjoining manor of Wootton.

The old house was largely demolished circa 1820. In 1838, Folkington together with the manor at nearby Wootton were bought by Thomas Sheppard, M.P for Frome, who thereupon built the present manor at a new site slightly to the north. Folkington Place, situated on the original manorial site, retains some architectural elements of the pre-1820 manor. After the death of Thomas Sheppard’s son in 1875 both properties were sold to Mr J.E.A Gwynne and in 1915 passed to the latter’s son, Col. Rupert Gwynne, M.P for Eastbourne 1910-24. Rupert Gwynne was father of Elizabeth David, the pre-eminent British cookery writer of the mid 20th century, and brother of Violet Gordon Woodhouse, the influential and highly acclaimed musician. On his death the house passed into the hands of his younger brother Roland Gwynne, Mayor of Eastbourne 1928-31. As noted in a Country Life editorial in 1958, Folkington has had a close connection with art for some time – a tradition which continues to this day with the Manor containing a number of galleries suitable for displaying large amounts of fine art. Indeed the well known Long Man of Wilmington stands in the distance on Windover Hill. The Stacy-Marks family bought the property in the late 1960s and the Flint Rooms are the core of the well-respected art business that has flourished for many years.

The herbalist Nicholas Culpeper lived in the village in the 17th century.