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Ovingdean Grange is a Grade II listed
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 ...
situated on the south coast of England in the village of
Ovingdean Ovingdean is a small, formerly agricultural, village in the east of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. Overview It was absorbed into the administrative borough of Brighton, East Sussex, England in 1928, and now forms part of the city of ...
, east of Brighton. One of the oldest and most historical residences in Brighton, it gave its name to the novel ''Ovingdean Grange'' by the popular 19th-century writer
William Harrison Ainsworth William Harrison Ainsworth (4 February 18053 January 1882) was an English historical novelist born at King Street in Manchester. He trained as a lawyer, but the legal profession held no attraction for him. While completing his legal studies in ...
.


History

Ovingdean Ovingdean is a small, formerly agricultural, village in the east of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. Overview It was absorbed into the administrative borough of Brighton, East Sussex, England in 1928, and now forms part of the city of ...
is a small village just outside Brighton, where Ovingdean Grange is the oldest residence. The oldest building is the 11th-century parish church of St. Wulfran's opposite Ovingdean Grange. Saxon farmhouses were first built in Ovingdean in the 11th century, and no firm evidence exists of when the Grange was built. Over much of its history, the Grange's occupants have acted as
churchwarden A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion or Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ''ex officio'' members of the parish b ...
for St. Wulfran's opposite. The north side, which was the original entrance, is the oldest part of the house, with flint walls and stone quoins like those of the church. The first recorded occupier is Thomas Geere. He was baptized 1559 at Wivelsfield and is first recorded as living in Ovingdean in 1608 when his daughter's baptism was recorded in the church records though he may have moved to the Grange in around 1597 as baptisms for children are recorded at Rottingdean between 1586 and 1596. Ovingdean's registers do not start until 1704 but bishops transcripts for some years are available from 1606. A Conveyance (lease and release) dated 30 January 1691 from Harbert Springett to John Spence the younger of South Malling deposited at East Sussex Record Office refers to the manor or farm of Ovingdean being late Geere. Over the years the house has seen many changes architecturally. As a Tudor
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 ...
, the Grange had servants' quarters and a cellar below ground. Since then it has been altered, the most noticeable addition being the false
Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
façade in 1824. The house was used as a family home in the 1900s. From 1945 the Grange was occupied by former Mayor of Brighton and local farmer Frank Masefield Baker, although, owing to the ill health of one of its inhabitants, it eventually fell into disrepair. Brighton Council eventually auctioned it off in 1987. After it had remained empty for eight years, the new owners, Dr
Harry Brünjes Dr. Henry (Harry) Otto Brünjes Royal Society of Medicine, FRSocMed (born 15 October 1954), is a physician and founder of the Premier Medical Group. He has been a fellow and governor of the Expert Witness Institute since 2002, a Fellow of the L ...
and wife Jacquie, undertook extensive renovations in 1993 to restore it to its former state. In 2011, the actor and comedian Steve Coogan bought it for £2.45 million. Ovingdean Grange was
listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...
at Grade II by
English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...
on 20 August 1971. This defines it as a "nationally important" building of "special interest". As of February 2001, it was one of 1,124 Grade II-listed buildings and structures, and 1,218 listed buildings of all grades, in the city of
Brighton and Hove Brighton and Hove () is a city and unitary authority in East Sussex, England. It consists primarily of the settlements of Brighton and Hove, alongside neighbouring villages. Often referred to synonymously as Brighton, the City of Brighton and H ...
.


Lords of the Manor

It is unusual in that from approximately 1170 until 1987 the
Lord of the Manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...
who owned the Grange and its farmlands did not live in the village. Instead, the farm and the Grange were leased to tenants, who then farmed the land. The ownership of the manor estate from 1066 until today is known from legal conveyances and church documents, but knowledge of the identities of the tenant farmers is patchy.


Namesakes


The novel ''Ovingdean Grange''

The Grange is the subject of legend. In 1857, the popular novelist W. Harrison Ainsworth wrote ''Ovingdean Grange: A Tale of the South Downs'', in which he described how the future King Charles II stayed there for less than 24 hours before escaping to France in 1651, fathering a child in the process. King Charles is reported to have sheltered in the chimney breast of the master bedroom.


SS ''Ovingdean Grange''

The was a Houlder Bros steamship in service under that name between 1946 and 1959.


See also

* Grade II listed buildings in Brighton and Hove: N–O *


Footnotes


References

* Carder, Timothy. ''The Encyclopedia of Brighton'', East Sussex County Council (Nov 1990) * Ainsworth, William Harrison, ''Ovingdean Grange : a tale of the South Downs,'' London : Routledge, .d.BRN0323239 {{Brighton and Hove buildings Grade II listed buildings in Brighton and Hove Country houses in Brighton and Hove