In 1226 Hubert de Burgh held the Manor of Portslade while he was Justiciar of England and Earl of Kent, Hubert was to be immortalised years later in William Shakespear's play "King John". Under the reign of Henry III, Hubert commanded the English fleet in their victory over the French at Sandwich 1217, for this victory he was hailed "the saviour of the national cause", Hubert died in 1234 at Banstead and is remembered as the last of the great Justiciars of England.

In 1312, the Lord of the Manor of Portslade, John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, was granted a charter by King Edward II to hold a Fair at Portslade annually on the 6th December, "The Feast Day of Saint Nicolas"

Portslade Manor House was in use until 1807 when the new manor house was built. It was then used as an Almshouse for the poor. In the Victorian era it was partly demolished to provide building material for a garden folly in the manor grounds.
Guided visits to the Old Manor can be arranged through staff at the
Foredown Tower Countryside Centre, Foredown Road, Portslade.
 

The new Manor House was built in 1807, which replaced the Old Manor. John Borrer who was a churchwarden at St.Nicolas, owned all the lands from the north of Easthill including all of Mile Oak, these lands were devoted to farming.
In later years the Manor House was bought by Kathleen Nelson who gave it to the Roman Catholic Church. In 1904 the Manor House became the Convent for the Sisters of the Order of Poor Servants.
Today the Manor House and its grounds are in the care of "Emmaus Brighton & Hove", who are a community dedicated to helping the homeless. There are 400 Emmaus Communities world-wide
 

Manor Lodge was formally known as Portslade Lodge, is opposite the village green. It was built at the end of the 18th century. The house was owned in 1866 by Sarah and Kate the daughters of John Borrer of Portslade Manor.
Sarah Borrer served as a School Manager of St Nicolas School. When Sarah died in 1908 the house was passed onto Arthur Blaker, a relative of the Borrers.

Sellaby House was built in the mid 19th for Hannah Brakenbury a wealthy resident of Portslade. She donated the land and provided the funds for the building of a new Church School in 1872. The house was later owned by members of the Blaker Family. In 1936 the house was bought by Sussex Education Authority who used the remaining gardens to build Portslade County Infants School. The house became a school dentist and lately a Further Education Centre.

Kemps is the oldest habitable house in Portslade dating from the 16th century and is a Grade II listed building. Many alterations have been made to its fascia during its history. The house was owned by the Blaker Family who may have commissioned the original building. The earliest record in the Church shows that the Family was living in the village in 1485. During the Blaker’s 400-year association with the Parish the Family have taken prominent positions in public life. Edward Blaker was MP for Shoreham in the 17th century; Three members of the family became Churchwardens of St Nicolas Church in the 19th century. Harry Blaker became a surgeon in Brighton. Harry Blaker attended Queen Victoria when she was in residence at the Royal Pavilion; he vaccinated the Prince of Wales later to become Edward VII and Princess Victoria who became the Empress of Germany and mother of Kaiser Wilhelm II
Many of the Blaker Family are buried in the family vault at St Nicolas Church.
 

The former Oast House in Drove Road was originally a part of the Southdown Brewery

Whychcote is a Victorian house next to the Parish Centre. It was owned by Herbert Mews, the brother of Walter who lived at Loxdale House. They were joint owners of Southdown Brewery
 

Loxdale is an imposing Victorian house situated next to St Nicolas School. The house was built by Walter Mews in 1899, its high red brick garden wall dominates one side of Locks Hill.
The Mews Brothers, Walter and Herbert, had previously purchased the Southdown Brewery in the Old Village in 1887 from John Dudney. The Mews Family were involved in the work of the Church, they made their extensive grounds available for fetes and jumble sales. The house was in the Mews Family until 1928.
In subsequent years the house was used as a “Boys Home”, an Approved School for Girls, a Senior Citizen Holiday Home and is now the Swedish Folk High School which operates as an adult education and conference centre.


The base of the chimney of the former Southdown Brewery now Le Carbone's factory shows the initials:- D & S   (Dudney & Sons).
 

Portslade Forge
The building dates from the 18th c.
and was a working forge until the 1980’s
 

The former Southdown Brewery built in 1881 by John Dudney dominates the Old Village.
The building is now a factory owned by
Le Carbone (Great Britain) Ltd., the UK base of Groupe Carbone Lorraine. The Company manufactures carbon graphite components.
 

Robin's Row  c.1740,
off South Street.
 

   The High Street looking east to
St Nicolas Church on the far hill

The High Street, looking west to Portslade Community College at the top of the hill

The Foredown Tower
in Foredown Road is the former Edwardian water tower built in 1909, to supply water to Foredown Isolation Hospital built in 1885. In 1913 the hospital was renamed the "Hove Borough Sanatorium, Portslade" The hospital was demolished in 1972. The former water tower is now a Countryside Centre and houses the only working "camera obscura" in the South East of England, and is open to the public at various times.

This small stone statue of a boy reading a book in the grounds of Foredown Tower, once stood above the main entrance of the former Industrial School in the Mile Oak Road. The residential school was built in 1902 by London County Council as an Approved School for London boys. The names of the 'Old Boys' of the Industrial School who lost their lives in the Great War 1914-1918 are commemorated in St Nicolas Church on the Roll of Honour.
In later years the school was renamed as the Mile Oak Approved School and accepted boys from other parts of the country until its closure and demolition in 1977. Locally the school was known as the "Naughty Boys School" .
The Latin inscription carved on the statue reads, lex dei lux viae, (the word of God lights the way)
 

Easthill House was built in 1848 by the Blaker Family. In the 1890’s the house was sold to John Dudney a churchwarden and the original owner of Southdown Brewery in the Old Village. The house was owned by successive owners until 1947, when the house and grounds were sold to Portslade District Council for a community centre and public park.
The Easthill Park contains a beautiful walled garden with mature shrubs and herbaceous borders, a wildflower area in the south of the park, as well as a children's playground. The Portslade War Memorial is situated in the west of the park. In 2008 the park received the Green Flag Award. (a national award scheme for green spaces)
 

This ancient road is above Portslade Old Village, the names of the hills on this trackway are
Foredown Hill and Mount Zion.
 It is not known why one of these local hills was given a biblical name. In the distance are the South Downs.

Portslade War Memorial (Easthill Park)
 There are also War Memorials within St Nicolas Church and the Hillman Room of the South Portslade Community Centre 
(St Andrew Church) . The names listed in both Churches also appear on the Portslade War Memorial.

Bibliography
There are many excellent books dealing with Portslade's Local History at both Portslade Library and the P.C.C. Library (Mile Oak). Some of which, are available from local bookshops for purchase.
“The History of Portslade by Portslade History Group, 1977 & 1989”
“A Brief History of Portslade by Banks, B”.
 “Portslade, A Pictorial History by Green, C.”.
“The following titles are by Middleton, J. , A History of St Nicolas School, Memories of Old Portslade 1 & 2,
Portslade (Britain in Old Photographs series), A History of St Nicolas Church”.