Chesworth House south of Horsham (geograph 1792078)

Chesworth House is a former Tudor manor house, located a mile south of

Horsham Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

, England. The original Manor house became a farmhouse and has been extended several times. Part of the building is constructed of brick-clad timber framing, part of brick and part of stone rubble. It is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, so designated on account of its architectural interest and its historical association with three queens of England.

History

The manor of Chesworth originally belonged an English family, probably killed at Hastings. It was then taken over by the de Braose family.

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...

apparently stayed at Chesworth in 1324. After this it was held by the Mowbray and the

Howard Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...

(later Fitzalan-Howard) families, including the Dukes of Norfolk and Earls of Arundel.

Catherine Howard Catherine Howard ( – 13 February 1542), also spelled Katheryn Howard, was Queen of England from 1540 until 1542 as the fifth wife of Henry VIII. She was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper, a cousin to Anne Boleyn (the s ...

spent her childhood at Chesworth.

Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, (Kenninghall, Norfolk, 10 March 1536Tower Hill, London, 2 June 1572) was an English nobleman and politician. Although from a family with strong Roman Catholic leanings, he was raised a Protestant. He was a ...

, was arrested at Chesworth; he was executed for high treason in 1572 after which the Crown took ownership of the estate. Chesworth House was then occupied by various tenants, including the

Bishop of Chichester The Bishop of Chichester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East and West Sussex. The see is based in the City of Chichester where the bishop's seat ...

(1577–82) and the Caryll family (c. 1586–1660). Queen

Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She wa ...

lived there from 1660 to 1661 and

Catherine of Braganza Catherine of Braganza ( pt, Catarina de Bragança; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to Charles II of England, ...

from 1674 until 1699. The manor was later owned by the

Eversfield Eversfield is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * John Eversfield ( 1624–1678), English politician * Edward Eversfield ( 1618– 1676), English courtier and politician * Eversfield baronets The Fermor, later Eversfield Baron ...

family. In 1928 the house was bought by a Captain C. R. Cook who extended it and relaid the moated gardens, incorporating part of the river Arun which runs through the grounds. Subsequent owners included the theatrical agent Laurence Evans and the barrister Eben Hamilton. In 2012, Chesworth House was put on sale for offers over £7 million. In 2018, the house was again offered for sale at an offer price of £6 million.

References

External links

{{coord, 51.05257, N, 0.32340, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Grade II* listed buildings in West Sussex Grade II* listed houses