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The Parish of
St Nicolas & St Andrew
Portslade |

















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Portslade Old Manor (north side of
St
Nicolas Church) is one of a very few examples of Norman manor houses
that still exist in this country. For this reason it has been deemed a
Scheduled Ancient Monument, and a Grade ll listed building.
In the Domesday Book there are two references to Portslade:-
"Oswald holds half a hide in Portslade he held it before 1066. It did
not pay tax, he could go where he would with the land,1 villager, value
6 s.".
"Albert held half a hide in Portslade. It did not pay tax. 1
villager with half plough. The value is and was 6 s."
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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.
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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
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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. |
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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. |
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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.
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The former Oast House
in Drove Road
was originally a
part of the
Southdown Brewery
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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
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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).
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Portslade
Forge
The building dates from the 18th c.
and was a working forge until the 1980’s
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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.
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Robin's Row
c.1740,
off South Street.
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The
High Street looking east to
St Nicolas Church on the far hill |
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The High Street,
looking west to Portslade Community College at the top of the hill |
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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. |
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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)
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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)
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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. |
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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. |
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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”. |
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