The Priest House, West Hoathly

The Priest House was built for the Priory of St Pancras in Lewes as an estate office to manage the land they owned around West Hoathly but was seized by Henry VIII following the dissolution of the monasteries.

Subsequently, it belonged to Anne of Cleves, Thomas Cromwell, Mary I and Elizabeth I although there is no evidence that any of them visited the property.

The cottage garden features large herbaceous borders containing over 170 herbs and perennials and is open to the public from March to October.

The roof weighs approximately 16 tons[4] The inglenook fireplaces are made of local stone and have curves on the side where knives have been sharpened.

This is all held in place by curved braces next truss to the north was the closed frame of the end of the hall bays and it has a visible king post strutted from the tie beam.

[6] Its link to the village of West Hoathly is not clear (although John Godwin King's daughter Ursula was a member of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies[7]) and research is ongoing.

[9] There are witch marks scratched into wood in several places in the house including the front door and on the beam above the main fireplace.