Cuckfield Park

Details

CUCKFIELD BRIGHTON ROAD TQ 22 SE 3/4 Cuckfield Park 10.9.51 GV II+ Mansion. c1574. E-plan house with some early C18 refurbishment, refronted and turned into 2 courtyard plan in 1859-51. Brick and stone, mainly refronted in cement render in Mid C19 with Horsham stone slab roof and clustered brick chimney stack. South East front: Late C16 refronted in Mid C19 in cement with incised lines. 2 storeys, basement and attics. Roof has Horsham stone slabs and 5 dormers with very elaborate pediments with wooden finials, pendants with shields below and deep cornices covered in lead sheeting. Eaves cornice and plinth. 7 bays and two ½ bays. C19 cross windows with pintle hinges. Ground floor windows have hood- mouldings. Central projecting 2 storey entrance porch with octagonal turrets and crenellations. 4 centre arched door with 2 stone steps. South West front: Refronted and part added in Mid C19. 2 storeys and basement cement rendered. 7 bays, including 2 projecting end and 1 projecting centre gable with octagonal finials and kneelers with full height 4-light canted bays. Cross-shaped casements with hood moulding to ground floor windows. Attached to left is a Mid C19 conserv- atory or orangery of one storey of sandstone with 4 sandstone pillars supporting 3 arches, now glazed, and one storey attached building of 1 bay and Horsham stone slab roof. North West front: Left hand part has end of Elizabethan brick range with infilling of C18 date. Brick mainly rendered except for extreme left end, 2 storeys, attic and basement. End gables of 1 window each, having stone coping with kneelers and octagonal finials and 16-pane sashes with wide glazing bars and cambered heads. 3 tall brick chimney stacks, the centre one twisted. Roof reveals gables of original Elizabethan building behind. Interior: Hall contains late C16 plank and muntin panelling with some inlay work towards the top and scroll-work frieze, a fine plaster ceiling with squares, quatrefoil motifs and pendants and a stone fireplace with oak carved overmantel with mutule frieze, strapwork motifs and console brackets. Morning Room has magnificent carved oak screen dated 1581. It has 6 Composite columns with grotesque animal masks above. Mutule frieze and terms supporting cornice. The top panel has 2 panels with lion rampant and the motto 'Guardez la Foy', 2 shields and central date panel in an ornamental surround with figures of Justice and angels. The 3 panels between the columns have pilasters and round-headed doors have been inserted in the original entries. The room is panelled throughout with plank and muntin panelling and has a late C16 stone fire- place with slender spandrels and oak overmantel with pilasters, round-headed arches and raised diamond motif friezes with marquetry inlay. Music Room has C19 decorative plaster ceiling imitating the late C16 Hall ceiling and a deep cornice with Tudor roses and large birds, probably mythical. Dining Room has a magnificent stone fireplace dated 1574 with the initials H B (for Henry Bowyer) & H E. It bears the designs of musical instruments, snakes on shaft, snails and floral swags. Old cast-iron fireback. Oak overmantel with 2 large square panels with marquetry inlay and shields with motto 'Gardez la Foy'. Strapwork plaster ceilings, probably a C17 copy. Oak plank and muntin panelling with mutule frieze at top. Main Staircase is a late C16 oak open well staircase with large moulded balusters, moulded string and elaborate knops, massive wooden pendants below the flights and panelling to dado height. There are 3 flights of 5 treads to each floor. At the bottom of the staircase is a C16 archway with plank door. Windows to the staircase have heraldic stained glass and old glass with diamond leaded cases. The top floor has a series of original oak plank doors. First floor has a series of panelled rooms leading off the main staircase. First a panelled lobby with pilasters and strapwork design, leading onto a panelled room with overmantel dated 1579 and initials 'H B'. This has 2 tiers of columns, the lower Ionic, the upper Corinthian, with central shield. Panelling is of strapwork type with elaborate panelled frieze, separated by console brackets and corner pilasters. C19 stone fireplace with oak design in spandrels lined with old Delft tiles. A panelled china cupboard with L-hinges leads off, followed by a panelled bedroom with plank and muntin panelling, pilastered over- mantel with mutule frieze and C19 stone fireplace with old Delft tiles. The house was the model for Harrison Ainsworth's novel 'Rookwood' though the location was Yorkshire in the novel. (See Country Life 15 March 1919, Pevsner Buildings of England, Sussex. p478 and Victoria County History Vol (VII p 149-151).

Listing NGR: TQ2975524416

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

302912

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Saltzman, L F, The Victoria History of the County of Sussex, (1940), 149-151
Pevsner, N, Nairn, I, The Buildings of England: Sussex, (1965), 478
Country Life in 15 March, (1919)

End of official list entry

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