Priest House West Hoathly

24/12/2024

Have a wonderful, peaceful Christmas everyone! We've dug into the archives for this beautiful photo from February 2018 .

21/12/2024

Today is Gooding Day! Observed on 21st December, St. Thomas’s Day, this tradition saw poorer parishioners visiting wealthier neighbours to receive ‘doles’ of food or money in exchange for sprigs of holly or mistletoe - a gesture that made the exchange feel more like a trade than charity.

Known as ‘going a-gooding,’ it was a vital custom rooted in real need, ensuring struggling families had provisions for Christmas. In some areas, this practice was called Mumping Day or Thomasing.

Did you know the tradition lasted in some villages until the early 1900s? Learn more about this heartwarming piece of Sussex folklore: https://sussexpast.co.uk/gooding-day/

29/11/2024

Kickstart 2025 as you mean to go on by attending our Twelfth Night Tudor Wassail at Michelham Priory House & Gardens on Saturday 25th January.

Dancing, drumming, fire and feasting will all form part of the proceedings as traditional experts transport you back 500 years to when Wassailing was common across Sussex.

Bring along a musical instrument, decorate yourself in foliage and feathers and join the torchlit procession to wake the apple trees from their slumber, scare away evil spirits and celebrate winter like the Tudors did.

A family event will take place from 3pm to 5pm in the afternoon, followed by an adults-only Wassail from 6pm.

Tickets and further info can be found here: https://sussexpast.co.uk/event/wassail/

24/11/2024

Whilst we’re hibernating for the winter up here in West Hoathly the Michelham team have so much planned over the next few weeks. There’s loads to enjoy in the run up to Christmas and on into 2025!

Here's a quick reminder about our fast-approaching magical line-up of Christmas events, with fun for all the family!🎄

Join us for our Christmas Fayre on 30th November with discounted admissions- enjoy carolers, wartime songs, festive treats and some of Sussex’s finest local produce! *Pre-booking is essential*🌟

On the 8th December we have two spectacular performances brought to us by This Is My Theatre:
❄️ The Snow Queen at 2:30pm
❄️ A Christmas Carol at 5:30pm
*Pre-booking is essential, there are very limited tickets still available*

We’ll also be hosting some Ghostly Yuletide Tales on the 14th and 15th December- join us in the historic Prior’s Chamber for a series of ghost stories that revive a long-standing Victorian tradition of telling eerie tales during the festive season! *Included in general admissions*🕯️

On 25th January 2025, join us for our Twelfth Night Tudor Wassail- a magical event of dancing, drumming, fire and feasting to bless the trees and wish them good health for the year ahead! *Pre-booking is essential*✨

Find out more about what’s on during the festive season by following the link below:
https://sussexpast.co.uk/whats-on/

20/11/2024

Step into the festive season at the Christmas Fayre at Michelham Priory near Hailsham on Saturday 30th November.

08/11/2024

Animated short from the AHRC-funded Fair Game project.You can visit our website here: https://sites.exeter.ac.uk/virtuousvenison/

27/10/2024

A lovely post from RuralHistorian and just wonderful to see the love for our beautiful building on the comments on the OP. 🥰

The Priest House, built in the 1420s by Lewes Priory as an estate office to manage local manor lands, passed through several notable owners in the following century, including Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell, Anne of Cleves, Mary I, and Elizabeth I.

In 1560, it was sold to Thomas Browne, who modernized the open hall house by adding fireplaces, a chimney, a first floor, and replacing the thatched roof with Horsham stone.

The property remained in the Browne family until 1695 before being rented out to agricultural workers by subsequent owners.

Address: The Priest House, North Lane, West Hoathly, West Sussex, RH19 4PP

https://ruralhistoria.com/2023/12/13/timber-framed-houses/

27/10/2024

Don’t miss your opportunity to visit The Priest House - we’re into our last week of the season and West Hoathly is looking gorgeous in today’s autumn sunshine. A beautiful house, home of the handkerchief, and this year’s cricket exhibition await you! 😊

15/10/2024

It’s definitely hot water bottle weather now! Come and discover how our ancestors survived cold nights by heating their beds with these (frankly terrifying) bed waggons. Some bright spark in the 16thC developed a variation on the Sussex trug and thought it’d be a good idea to put hot embers in the middle of the frame to warm the bed linen. By the 18th C these splendid fire hazards were mostly just being to air the linen without the enlivening embers.

15/10/2024

It’s nearly time for the last Coffee Stop Curator Talk of the 2024 season so why not join us at The Priest House this Friday for an exploration of The Priest House’s kitchen with coffee, cake (supplied by the museum friends and definitely not made in the museum’s bread oven 😊) and museum entry all included. £8.20 full price or discount price £3.20 for Friends of the PH and Sussex Past members.
All are welcome to join us at the Priest House at 11am.
Come and Discover Your Local Museum!

10/10/2024

A detail from Jane Comber’s beautiful sampler, completed in November 1830. But just look at her date of birth…

10/10/2024

It’d be great if you could help us out with this, it genuinely only takes a few clicks (there’s no boring follow up emails or anything) and you could help us win £1,000. We’d be v grateful. Thanks. 🙂

Nominate a charity for a Movement for Good award now.

10/10/2024

The Priest House, West Hoathly, open to the elements in a pre-restoration pic (taken pre 1908) and then restored to water-tight tidiness in the following pic. John Godwin King bought the house in 1907 from John Cotton Powell’s estate and had it fully restored from near dereliction in 1908 by Maurice Pocock before then opening it as a private museum housing his own collection of artefacts. In 1935 he donated it to The Sussex Archaeological Society who’ve been welcoming visitors to this beautiful building ever since.

09/10/2024

Join us at Michelham Priory for our festive Christmas Fayre! We’re inviting local, Sussex-based businesses to showcase their handmade crafts and unique wares in our beautiful, historic setting✨

This is a fantastic opportunity to connect with Christmas shoppers and share your creations with the community. Don’t miss your chance to be part of this wonderful event!🌲

Spaces are limited so don’t miss out! For more information and to secure your spot today, follow the link below:
https://sussexpast.co.uk/showcase-your-business-the-michelham-priory-christmas-fayre/

09/10/2024

And so to bed, surrounded by samplers from the Priest House’s collection displayed in the evocative setting. Bonus points if you can id the mugs in the cabinet. Clue: every West Hoathly child could receive one from a certain local gardener.

02/10/2024

Halloween is on the horizon and we’d like to think we’re well prepared to ward off those pesky old spirits. Our boundaries are well protected with shoes from a spiritual midden round the chimney, taper marks above the fire and an iron threshold. And we have more witchmarks than you can shake a broomstick at!

02/10/2024

Congratulations Team Fishbourne!

The largest roman home in the country has received an award for its learning services.

29/09/2024

We’ve had a bit of a restoration since this pic was taken 😊 (it’s pre 1907).

The Priest House, built in the 1420s by Lewes Priory as an estate office to manage local manor lands, passed through several notable owners in the following century, including Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell, Anne of Cleves, Mary I, and Elizabeth I.

In 1560, it was sold to Thomas Browne, who modernized the open hall house by adding fireplaces, a chimney, a first floor, and replacing the thatched roof with Horsham stone. The property remained in the Browne family until 1695 before being rented out to agricultural workers by subsequent owners.

Address: The Priest House, North Lane, West Hoathly, West Sussex, RH19 4PP

Admission: Entrance to the house costs £5.10 for adults and £2.50 for children.

History of Timber Framed Houses in England 👇
https://ruralhistoria.com/2023/12/13/timber-framed-houses/