Firle Place

The manor house was first built in the late 15th century by Sir John Gage, who made Firle Place his principal home.

The house has an extensive collection of paintings, porcelain and furniture, including works by Gainsborough, Reynolds, Van Dyck, Raphael, Puligo, Zoffany and Teniers.

Open to the public during the summer months, the house and grounds area also used as a film and television location, it has featured in shows, including the BBC's Jonathan Creek, the three-part miniseries The Line of Beauty and the 2020 adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma.

(The Bolneys held the lordship of Firle briefly after acquiring it from the bankrupt lord of the manor Thomas Levett.)

His son, also called Thomas Gage (1781–1820), following what was now a family tradition, was a botanist and traveller and had the flower genus Gagea named after him.

The North Front of Firle Place, Firle, East Sussex, England. September 2024.
The North Front of Firle Place, Firle, East Sussex, England. September 2024.
Rear view of Firle Place
Sir John Gage (1479–1557)