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Firle Place is a Manor house in
Firle
Firle (; Sussex dialect: ''Furrel'' ) is a village and civil parish in the Lewes district of East Sussex, England. Firle refers to an old-English/Anglo-Saxon word ''fierol'' meaning overgrown with oak. Although the original division of East ...
,
Sussex,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. The Gage family have owned the land at Firle since acquiring it from the
Levett
Levett is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from eLivet, which is held particularly by families and individuals resident in England and British Commonwealth territories.
Origins
This surname comes from the village of Livet-en-Ouche, no ...
family in the 15th century. The manor house was first built in the late 15th century by Sir John Gage, who made Firle Place his principal home. He held many high offices, including Constable of the Tower and was an executor of
Henry VIII's will.
The external cladding of the building is Georgian, using
Caen Stone
Caen stone (french: Pierre de Caen) is a light creamy-yellow Jurassic limestone quarried in north-western France near the city of Caen. The limestone is a fine grained oolitic limestone formed in shallow water lagoons in the Bathonian Age about ...
to make it look like a classical
French Chateau. This work was completed by
Sir William Gage, 7th Baronet
Sir William Gage (1695 – 23 April 1744) of Firle Place was a British landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1727 to 1744. He was an early patron of cricket, in association with his friend Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Ri ...
who inherited the house in 1713 and the house is set in typically open parkland. The interior of the house however is
Tudor in style and circulates around a central courtyard. The house has an extensive collection of paintings,
porcelain
Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises main ...
and furniture, including works by
Gainsborough Gainsborough or Gainsboro may refer to:
Places
* Gainsborough, Ipswich, Suffolk, England
** Gainsborough Ward, Ipswich
* Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, a town in England
** Gainsborough (UK Parliament constituency)
* Gainsborough, New South Wales, ...
,
Reynolds Reynolds may refer to:
Places Australia
*Hundred of Reynolds, a cadastral unit in South Australia
*Hundred of Reynolds (Northern Territory), a cadastral unit in the Northern Territory of Australia
United States
* Reynolds, Mendocino County, Calif ...
,
Van Dyck
Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy.
The seventh ...
,
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual a ...
,
Puligo,
Zoffany
Johan Joseph Zoffany (born Johannes Josephus Zaufallij; 13 March 1733 – 11 November 1810) was a German neoclassical painter who was active mainly in England, Italy and India. His works appear in many prominent British collections, includin ...
and
Teniers Teniers is a Dutch language surname. It may refer to:
*Abraham Teniers (1629–1670), Flemish painter
*David Teniers the Elder
David Teniers the Elder (158229 July 1649), Flemish painter, was born at Antwerp.
Biography
Having received his fi ...
.
During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, students from the nearby
Southover Manor School
Southover Manor School was a private boarding school for girls at Lewes, East Sussex, with a preparatory department.
History
The school was founded in 1924 at Lewes by Winifred Ponsonby. Initially a convent school, it was based at Southover Ma ...
in
Lewes were housed here, and during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
,
Canadian soldiers
}
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force.
...
were quartered here.
Open to the public during the summer months, the house and grounds area also used as a film and television location, it has featured in shows, including the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
's ''
Jonathan Creek
''Jonathan Creek'' is a long-running British mystery crime drama series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. It stars Alan Davies as the titular character, who works as a creative consultant to a stage magician while also solvi ...
'' and the three-part miniseries ''
The Line of Beauty
''The Line of Beauty'' is a 2004 Man Booker Prize-winning novel by Alan Hollinghurst.
Plot
The novel is set in Britain in three parts, taking place in 1983, 1986 and 1987. The story surrounds the young gay protagonist, Nick Guest. Nick is mid ...
''. BBC's Bake Off Creme de la Creme Series 2 which aired in 2017, and the 2020 adaptation of
Jane Austen's Emma.
The Gage Family
![Thomas Gage John Singleton Copley](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Thomas_Gage_John_Singleton_Copley.jpeg)
Since the 15th century the Gages have lived at Firle, following the marriage of William Gage to Agnes Bolney whose family had previously owned the seat at Firle. (The Bolneys held the lordship of Firle briefly after acquiring it from the bankrupt lord of the manor Thomas Levett.) This holding was further expanded by their son Sir John Gage who inherited land belonging to his father-in-law, Sir Thomas St Clere. In 1479 a second John Gage was born and it was he who became the ward to the
Duke of Buckingham
Duke of Buckingham held with Duke of Chandos, referring to Buckingham, is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There have also been earls and marquesses of Buckingham.
...
when his father died in 1496.
Sir John became quite prominent at the court of King Henry VIII and even accompanied the king on an expedition to
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. Following such campaigns and his competence in battle he was appointed
Vice-Chamberlain to the King. Sir John also served as a key figure in the
dissolution of the monasteries in
Sussex, despite the fact that he remained a
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
.
Sir John's son, Edward, later became a
Knight of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as on ...
and the
Sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
of Sussex and in 1556 oversaw the execution of the 17 "Sussex Martyrs" during the
Marian Persecutions
Protestants were executed in England under heresy laws during the reigns of Henry VIII (1509–1547) and Mary I (1553–1558). Radical Christians also were executed, though in much smaller numbers, during the reigns of Edward VI (1547–155 ...
of 1555–57.
The Gage Baronetcy was created for John Gage (d. 1633) in 1622. The 7th Baronet,
Sir William Gage (1695–1744), was notable for his interest in
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
, particularly in Sussex. It is often thought that beginnings of what is now Firle Cricket Club started with Sir William. In 1754 this title of
Baronet
A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...
was raised for Irish-born
Thomas Gage
General Thomas Gage (10 March 1718/192 April 1787) was a British Army general officer and colonial official best known for his many years of service in North America, including his role as British commander-in-chief in the early days of th ...
to the Peerage of
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
as Baron Gage and
Viscount Gage
Viscount Gage, of Castle Island in the County of Kerry of the Kingdom of Ireland, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1720 for Thomas Gage, along with the subsidiary title of Baron Gage, of Castlebar in the County of Mayo ...
.
Another notable Gage was
General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
Thomas Gage
General Thomas Gage (10 March 1718/192 April 1787) was a British Army general officer and colonial official best known for his many years of service in North America, including his role as British commander-in-chief in the early days of th ...
, who was made Commander in Chief of the British forces in North America. Following the outbreak of the
American War of Independence he was relatively successful, but after disastrous losses at the
Battle of Bunker Hill he was replaced. His son, also called
Thomas Gage
General Thomas Gage (10 March 1718/192 April 1787) was a British Army general officer and colonial official best known for his many years of service in North America, including his role as British commander-in-chief in the early days of th ...
(1781–1820), following what was now a family tradition was a
botanist
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
and traveller and had the flower genus ''
Gagea
''Gagea'' is a large genus of spring flowers in the lily family. It is found primarily in Eurasia with a few species extending into North Africa and one species (''Gagea serotina'') in North America.
The genus is named after the English natur ...
'' named after him.
The current Viscount Gage, Henry Nicholas Gage, lives at Firle with his wife,
Alexandra Murray Templeton.
References
{{reflist
External links
Firle Place website
Grade I listed buildings in East Sussex
Country houses in East Sussex
Gardens in East Sussex
Historic house museums in East Sussex
Grade I listed houses
Place
Place may refer to:
Geography
* Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population
** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government
* "Place", a type of street or road name
** Often ...