Ore Place are the ruins of a significant

late medieval The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Renai ...

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

in the northern outskirts of

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

, East Sussex, England. The remaining parts of the building consist of walls up to 3m high and 0.7m thick and below ground archaeological remains. It is a

Scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

History

Historian Thomas Walker Horsfield claimed in his ''History of Sussex'' that Ore Place was built by John of Gaunt. Based on a 1991 partial excavation, the building is thought to date from the late 16c or early 17c. Horsfield also states the building had been used as a religious home, the home of Sir Richard Steele, and subsequently the residence of the Crispe family. The house was rebuilt in 1874 and became the home of the Dowager Lady Elphinstone. Ore Place subsequently came under the ownership of the eccentric Farmer Atkinson who allowed it to fall into disrepair.Hastings & St. Leonards Observer 24 July 1926 p.9
via British Newspaper Archive French Jesuits extended and converted the building to become a theologate, which opened in 1906. Amongst the students there was

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin Pierre Teilhard de Chardin ( (); 1 May 1881 – 10 April 1955) was a French Jesuit priest, scientist, paleontologist, theologian, philosopher and teacher. He was Darwinian in outlook and the author of several influential theological and phil ...

from 1908-1912. The learning centre had 20,000 books and could accommodate 100 students and continued to be used until 1926. 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 opposing ...

the building was requisitioned for the Royal Army Service Corps for use as a records office. Military use continued after the war, with the

Army Catering Corps The Army Catering Corps (ACC) was a corps of the British Army, responsible for the feeding of all Army units. It was formed in 1941 and amalgamated into the Royal Logistic Corps in 1993. History In 1938 Leslie Hore-Belisha, the Secretary of ...

records department joining the RASC in April 1947.

Hastings and St Leonards Observer The ''Hastings & St. Leonards Observer'', commonly known as just the ''Hastings Observer'', is an English weekly tabloid newspaper, published every Friday since 1859 in Hastings, East Sussex. History First published in 1859, The Observer is the ...

- Saturday 26 April 1947 The Victorian house was demolished in 1987.

References

External links

Photographs of Ore Place
- 1066 Online {{Hastings Buildings and structures in Hastings Demolished buildings and structures in England Buildings and structures demolished in 1987 Scheduled monuments in East Sussex