Catalogue description THE DANNY ARCHIVES

Since deeds of title form a large part of the Danny MSS., it has been thought advisable to adopt a summary form of descriptive catalogue. For each bundle of deeds the covering dates together with a detailed description of the premises and a summary of the descent of the property giving the dates and the names of owners has been given. Exceptions to this are the title deeds of Danny itself which it was thought warranted detailed treatment, and those deeds which on account of their diversity could not be catalogued in a more summary form.

FAMILY ARCHIVES

Genealogical Papers (MSS. 1-6). This includes the fine Campion pedigrees of 1640.

Family Honours and Royal Grants (MSS. 7-13). Among these are the richly decorated grant of arms to Harbert Springett in 1612. Harbert's grandson married Barbara, daughter of Sir William Campion.

Shrievalty and Other Offices (MSS. 14-34). These consist mainly of papers relating to the appointment of Campions to the office of sheriff of Kent in the 17th century and Sussex in the 19th century.

Civil War Papers (MSS. 35-140). A fine series of some 85 letters dating between 1644 and 1648, to Sir William Campion while he was governor of the garrison at Boarstall, in Buckinghamshire, mainly from King Charles but also from Prince Rupert, Sir Thomas Fairfax and others. The series also includes some copies of Sir William's replies.

Settlements (MSS. 141-156). These mainly relate to the Courthope and Campion families (1630-1796), and show the extent of their estates.

Testamentary and Trusteeship (MSS 157-271). This includes the will, proved in 1617, of Nathaniel Courthope, the East India merchant. The Campion wills and trusteeship papers (1582-1854) relate also to several related families, including the Stones of London, and the Austens of Kippington, Kent.

Inventories (MSS. 272-5). There are two inventories of special interest: one, dated 1557, is a long and detailed list of the goods of James Courthope, Dean of Peterborough and Prebendary of Christ Church, Oxford, and the other, dated 1616, is a list of the goods lost by Nathaniel Courthope when his ship the Swan was taken by the Dutch.

Personal Papers (MSS. 276-490, 2174-2196). The Goring papers include correspondence (1638-1654), of George Goring, 1st Earl of Norwich, mainly concerning his attempts to raise money to pay debts, including the sale of Danny. Amongst the Courthope papers, is the correspondence (1658-74) of John Ray, the naturalist, with Peter Courthope his friend and patron. The Campion papers include a series of letters from and concerning Henry Campion while in the service of the East India Company (1739-48). Those from his father give news of politics at home and foreign affairs. Further correspondence from India is that of William Henry Campion who was on active service at the time of the Indian Mutiny (1855-58).

Personal Accounts (MSS. 491-626, 2197, 2198). These are of the 18th and 19th centuries and concern the Campion family and related persons.

PAPERS OF RELATED FAMILIES

Clopton Family (MSS. 627-631). This group is composed of the marriage settlement of Edward Clopton, son of Sir John Clopton, dated 1679, and a few 18th century deeds relating to the Clopton estate in Warwickshire and Gloucestershire.

Partheriche Family (MSS. 632-949). This consists of settlements, wills and various family and estate papers, as well as the title deeds of Partheriche properties in Littleport, Cambridgeshire, and Alderminster, Worcestershire, mainly 17th and 18th centuries.

Gratwicke Family (MSS. 950-1033). This includes wills, estate papers and title deeds of properties in Henfield, Nutbourne, Tottington, Bramber, Beeding and New Shoreham, 1608-1864. (Henry Campion was appointed guardian of Mary Gratwicke, the daughter of John Gratwicke of Arundel and Amy Barwick (see MS. 956). She was living at Danny from 1751 (see MS. 1033) and when she died in 1809 she left most of her money to members of the Campion family, William Campion of Lewes acting as her executor (see her will, P.C.C. 820 Loveday).)

ESTATE ARCHIVES

Manorial Records (MSS. 1034-1125). The court rolls of the Manor of Hurstpierpoint (1391-1480, and 1630) and rentals (1659-1719) complement the court books (1656-1925), and rentals (1759 and 1843) in Adams MSS. in the E.S.R.O.

Cartulary (MS. 1126). This contains title deeds of properties belonging to the Fiennes family, Lords Dacre, in some sixteen counties (1514-1595). Also included is the will of Gregory, 10th Lord Dacre and the long and detailed will of his wife, Lady Dacre. There are title deeds, too, of Goring properties (1581-98), and detailed surveys of the manors of Hurstpierpoint, Newick, Streat and of parts of Westmeston, Keymer and Houndean, these being acquired by George Goring of Ovingdean and Lewes.

Title Deeds (MSS. 1127-1600). The title deeds of Danny and the Manor of Hurstpierpoint only cover the period 1582-1688, but there are title deeds of properties in Hustpierpoint, Clayton, Keymer, Pevensey and Westmeston. The Kent title deeds include those for the Manor of Chingley in Goudhurst, as well as for other properties in Goudhurst, Hawkhurst and Cranbrook. There are also title deeds of properties in Bishopsgate, London (1514-1662).

Leases (MSS. 1601-1766). This includes leases of properties in Hurstpierpoint (1649-1882), Pyecombe (1726-1876), and Clayton (1729-1881). The Kent leases include property in Goudhurst (1617-1781), and Hawkhurst (1616-1757). The leases of property in Bishopsgate, London cover the period 1624-1792.

Correspondence (MSS. 1767-1810). This includes a few 17th century letters but the bulk of the correspondence, which relates to Sussex, Kent, Essex, London, Norfolk and Salop properties is 19th century.

Estate Papers (MSS. 1811-1913). These relate to Sussex estates (mainly 19th cent.) and to London property (mainly 18th cent.).

Estate Accounts (MSS. 1914-2059, 2199-2202). These include two detailed farming account books dating from the time when Henry Campion took over the Danny Estate on the death of his father-in-law, Peter Courthope, and one volume of estate account, (1728-1761), arranged under headings of individual properties in Sussex, Norfolk, Essex, London and Kent. The remainder of the accounts consist mainly of 19th century vouchers relating to Sussex, Essex and Kent estates.

Insurance (MSS 2060-2070). This consists mainly of insurance policies for Sussex and Kent properties.

Rights of Way (MSS. 2071-2086). This includes papers relating to a case of a disputed highway near Danny (1674-75).

Turnpikes (MSS. 2087-2094). These are assignments of tolls, correspondence and accounts of various Sussex turnpikes (18th and 19th centuries).

Maps and Plans (MSS. 2095-2109, 2203). This includes a map of the copyhold lands of the Manor of Hurstpierpoint dated 1658, which is complemented by a map of the demesne of the manor in 1666. There are also 17th and 18th century maps of farms in Clayton and Hurstpierpoint.

Legal Papers (MSS. 2110-2167). This contains papers relating to two cases in which Campion property in London was involved. The first case, covering the period 1601 to 1604, concerns property in Bishopsgate and Tottenham and the other, property in Newgate Street (1757-1800).

Ecclesiastical Papers (MSS. 2168-2173). This group is mainly comprised of miscellaneous papers relating to Hurstpierpoint Church, including the building of the new parish church in the 1840s.

ABBREVIATIONS AND CONVENTIONS

D.N.B. Dictionary of National Biography

G.E.C. G. E. Cockayne, The Complete Peerage

P.C.C. Prerogative Court of Canterbury

S.A.C. Sussex Archaeological Collections

S.R.S. Sussex Record Society

V.C.H. Victoria County History

OTHER ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE TEXT

a. acre(s)

als. alias

bro. brother

bt. baronet

c. circa

cent. century

co. county

d. daughter

d. [with date] died

dec'd deceased

doc. document

esq. esquire

E.S.R.O. East Sussex Record Office

exor. executor

fo.(s) folio(s)

gent. gentleman

husb. husbandman

in. inch

jun. junior

kt. knight

m., mm. membrane(s) of parchment

MS.(S) manuscript(s)

N.d. no date

occ. occupation

p., pp. page(s)

r recto of a folio

sen. senior

s. son

v. versus in lawsuits

v. verso of a folio

vol. volume

w. wife

wid. widow

yeo. yeoman

Parishes and major place names have been given modern spelling but unusual forms are noted. Names of properties and field names have been transcribed exactly as in the document even if this leads to inconsistencies within one entry. Unless otherwise stated all places may be assumed to be in Sussex.

Christian names have been modernised unless any special interest arises from the original, as for example 17th century 'Harbert' for Herbert. Surnames have been left as they appear in the document even where this leads to inconsistencies within one entry.

The old style date has been given, followed by the new style in brackets, except for documents dated by the regnal year only, in which case the new style alone has been given.

Dacre family of Danny Park, Hurstpierpoint, Sussex

Goring family of Wiston, Sussex

Campion family of Danny Park, Hurstpierpoint, Sussex

Courthope family of Danny Park, Hurstpierpoint, Sussex

• Danny, Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex
• Hurstpierpoint, Sussex
• Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex

Danny is situated in its own park at the foot of Wolstonbury Hill, about one mile south of the small market town of Hurstpierpoint. The present house which is of E-shaped plan. has an Elizabethan aspect on the east with later additions at the back. Since the early 15th century four families, the Dacres, Gorings, Courthopes and Campions, have been associated with the house and these are represented in the archives listed in this volume. A brief account follows of the early history of Danny together with notes and a pedigree for each of the families.

THE EARLY HISTORY OF DANNY

The earliest known documentary evidence for the name 'Danny' is a 13th century licence granted by William de, Warenne to Simon de Pierpoint to enclose 'the wood at Daneghithe'(Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1354-8, p. 18.) In 1343 another licence was granted by John de Warenne, 4th Earl of Surrey, to Sir Simon de Pierpoint to enclose 'the wood at Danye and the demesne lands bounding the wood'.(Calender of Patent Rolls, 1354-8 p.18) The name probably applied to the whole area now covered by Danny Park and, at that stage, it formed part of the Manor of Hurstpierpoint which had been held by the De Pierpoints since the time of the Domesday Inquest.(For a full account of the descent of the Manor of Hurstpierpoint, see V.C.H. Sussex, Vol. VII. pp. 175-6 and William Smith Ellis, 'The Descent of the Manor of Hurstpierpoint and of its lords', in S.A.C., Vol. XI, pp. 50-72.) The manor and park continued in the family until the 14th century, when on the death of John de Pierpoint without issue, they descended through Sybil, his sister, who was the wife of Sir Edmund de Ufford, to her two grand-daughters, Ela and Joan. They married, respectively, Richard and William Bowett, and as Ela died without issue the whole manor was in the hands of Sir William Bowett by 1412. The manor then passed into the Dacre family when Sir William Bowett's daughter, Elizabeth, married Sir Thomas Dacre.

THE DACRE(Only members of the Dacre family concerned in Danny MSS. are noted here. For a detailed account of the family, see G.E. C[okayne], The Complete Peerage, Vol. IV, p. 1; see also William Smith Ellis. loc. cit., pp. 63, 64, and Revd. Edmund Venabies, 'The Castle of Herstmonceux and its lords', in S.A.C., Vol. IV, pp. 125-202.)

Sir Thomas Dacre who married the heiress of Sir William Bowett and Joan Ufford was the son of Thomas, 6th Baron Dacre of Gillesland (1387-1458). Sir Thomas, however, died in the life time of his father and both the Dacre and Bowett estates, estimated at some sixty manors, passed to Joan his daughter in 1458. Joan married Sir Richard Fiennes, the son of Sir Roger Fiennes and in 1458 Sir Richard was accepted as Baron Dacre of the South by the right of his wife. It was not until 1473, however, that the King made a final award of the lands of the late Baron Dacre, between the heir male (Joan's uncle, Humphrey Baron Dacre of Gillesland) and the heir general (Joan herself). By this award the estates in Cumberland and Westmorland were secured to the heir male and Holbeach in Lincolnshire and Fishwick and Eccleston in Lancashire were granted to Joan.

Sir Richard's father, Sir Roger Fiennes, was the builder of Herstmonceux Castle, and it seems likely that Sir Richard and his immediate successors lived there rather than at Hurstpierpoint. The original manor house, which would probably have been inhabited by the Pierpoints, is though to have been in Hurst Park, immediately north of the church and nearer to the village than the later house in Danny Park.(See William Smith Ellis, loc. cit., p. 64.) It would seem that it was allowed to fall into decay by the Dacres, for by 1581 all that was left on the site was 'a little house with a chimney theirin, sometyme a lodge, moted about'.(Survey of the Manor of Hurstpierpoint, Danny MS. 1126, fo. 193.)

Sir Richard who was sheriff of Surrey and Sussex in 1452, was also one of the chamberlains to Elizabeth the Queen Consort, and Privy Councillor in 1475. He was succeeded on his death in 1483 by his grandson Thomas, the son of Sir John Fiennes and Alice, daughter of Henry 6th Lord Fitzhugh.

Thomas, 8th Baron Dacre (c. 1472-1533) was only twelve when his grandfather died in 1483 and it was not until 1492 that special livery and licence of entry without proof of age was granted to him. In the same year he was admitted to Gray's Inn, being apparently the first nobleman on the roll of that society. He was made Knight of the Bath in 1494 and took part in the defeat of the Cornish rebels at Blackheath in 1497. Thomas married Anne, daughter of Sir Humphrey Bourchier, by whom he had two sons, both of whom died in the life time of their father and one daughter who married Henry Norris.

The elder of the two sons, Sir Thomas, had married Jane daughter of Edward Sutton, 2nd Lord Dudley and it was their son, another Thomas(See D.N.B.) who succeeded his grandfather in 1533. The new baron who was only eighteen when he inherited the estate, was summoned to Parliament from 1536-1539. He was a member of the jury at the trial of Anne Boleyn in 1536 and bore the canopy at the funeral of Jane Seymour in 1538. In 1540 he was one of the escort of Anne of Cleves. The next year, however, saw the untimely termination of his life: he was found guilty of murdering a park keeper, while taking part in a deer hunt in Laughton Park and was hanged on 29 June 1541 at the age of 26, all his honours being forfeited.(How far he was guilty will probably never be established: it seems probable that the law was strained in order to convert him into an accomplice. Camden remarked 'his great estate, which the greedy courtiers gaped after, caused them to hasten his destruction'. See Revd. Edmund Venables, loc. cit., pp. 155-158 and D.N.B.)

Thomas had married in 1536, Mary, daughter of George Nevill, 5th Lord Abergavenny, by his third wife, Mary, the daughter of the 3rd Duke of Buckingham. He left two sons, Thomas (c. 1538-53) and Gregory (1539-1594)(See D.N.B.), and a daughter Margaret. The eldest son, Thomas, though deprived of his title, was not deprived of his large estates, valued at £1,180 18s. 7¾d., since these were preserved from forfeiture by his grandfather's entails. Since he was only three at his father's death, he was made a ward of the Queen, but he died in 1553 at the age of fifteen. The estates then passed to Gregory his brother, also under age. In 1558 Gregory was restored in blood and honours by Act of Parliament and in 1561 granted special livery(Danny MS. 1126, fo. 81r.) of his father's estates, which amounted to some fifty manors and lands in some sixteen counties.

Gregory was probably the first member of the Dacre family to take and interest in Danny and it seems likely that he was responsible for converting what was merely a hunting seat in the park into a considerable manor house. The extent of his alterations can be seen by comparing two very detailed surveys of 1571 and 1581. (The original survey of 1571 which covers all the manors belonging to Gregory, 10th Baron, has not been located. It was stated by William Burrell, who transcribed it, to be in the possession of the Revd. Mr. Hare of Herstmonceux. Burrell's transcript of the section relating to the Manor of Hurstpierpoint can be found in the British Museum, Add. MS. 5683, fo. 397. This transcript is also quoted by William Smith Ellis, loc. cit., pp. 65, 66. The survey of 1581 is in a cartulary, Danny MS. 1126, fo. 192.) The former describes the house as 'a fair mansion-house of timber, where the keeper lieth, who hath custody thereof, the same being moated, two parts with water the other part dry. Each room is noted in the survey, and the measurements often given. The survey of 1581 is equally detailed and although some rooms are undoubtedly the same, the whole is considerably larger. The house is now described as 'a convenyente house meete for a gentleman of reasonable callinge after the old Mannor of buildinge, Builte with Brick and tymber and covered with a large and thick stone called Horsham Slatte Moted with good sweete water on three sides'.

It was this house which Gregory sold to George Goring in 1582, much more than the humble manor house which it was thought Goring razed to the ground to build his grander mansion. (William Smith Ellis, loc. cit., p. 66.) In fact the evidence suggests that Goring did not demolish the house of the Dacres but that he, like Gregory, altered and enlarged the existing building. Architecturally some of the present house dates from before Goring's occupation: the north chimney-piece of oak in the east bedroom of the north wing has the date 1571 (presumably 1571) on it. (See V.H.C. Sussex, Vol. VII, p. 172 for an architectural description of the house.) Moreover, a plan of Danny in 1725(Danny MS. 2098.) corresponds substantially with the description of the rooms in the 1581 survey except for the addition of the south wing which was built by Goring about 1593.(See below, p. xii.)

Sometime before November 1558 Gregory had married Anne(See D.N.B.) sister of Thomas, 1st Earl of Dorset, and the daughter of Richard Sackville, treasurer of the exchequer to Elizabeth and steward of the royal manors in Kent and Sussex. Anne has been described as a woman of strong mind and imperious disposition and was apparently often at variance with her sister-in-law Margaret Lennard. Gregory, she complained, was kept in undue subjection by his mother.

Gregory and his wife probably spent many of their later years in Chelsea and it was here that Gregory died in 1594. He left no male heir and all his estates passed to his wife whom he appointed executrix with Sir William Cecil, and Robert Earl of Leicester as overseers.(For a copy of his will, see Danny MS. 1126, fo. 121.) Anne herself died within a year, however, (For a copy of Lady Dacre's long and detailed will, see Danny MS. 1126, fo. 122.) and Gregory's estate passed to Margaret, his sister, who had married Sampson Lennard of Chevening. Kent. She was recognized as Baroness Dacre by a commission in 1604 and her heirs carried on the title of Baron Dacre of the South

THE GORING FAMILY

Gorings were living at Goring in West Sussex during the reign of Edward II(See M. A. Lower, The Worthies of Sussex, p. 196.) and a John Goring was resident at Lancing in the time of Richard II. His great-grandson, John, was the owner of Bodecton now Burton near Petworth in the time of Henry VI and Henry VII and during the 16th and more particularly the 17th century the family steadily rose in wealth and importance. It was a cadet branch of the Goring's of Burton that settled at Danny in the late 16th century.

George Goring (d. 1594) was the younger son of Sir William Goring of Burton(Records of the Gorings of Burton and Wiston are deposited in the West Sussex County Record Office, at Chichester.) who was gentleman of the Privy Chamber to Edward VI, and sheriff of Surrey and Sussex. George himself was Member of Parliament for Lewes in 1562-63, sheriff of Sussex and Surrey in 1572 and Justice for Lewes rape in 1587. From 1584 until his death in 1595 he was Receiver General of the Court of Wards. However, he so mismanaged the Crown's money passing through his hands that it was estimated when he died that he owned the Crown £19,777 2s. 3½d.(See W. H. Godfrey, 'The Estate of George Goring, 1595', in S.N.Q. I, pp. 21, 22; J. E. Mousley, 'The Fortunes of Some Gentry Families of Elizabethan Sussex', in Economic History Review, 2nd series, Vol. XI (1959), pp. 467-483. For an exemplification of the decree providing for the mortgage of lands to pay off this debt see Danny MS. 1126, fo. 161. For copies of correspondence and extracts concerning George Goring from Calendars of Patent Rolls, State Papers Domestic and other documents in the Public Record Office, British Museum and elsewhere, see notes compiled by Captain Francis Goring, deposited in the West Sussex County Record Office, Chichester.)

A valuation(See W. H. Godfrey, loc. cit., pp. 21, 22.) made of his estate at this time shows the extent of the property he had accumulated. It includes the Manor of Tarring Camoyes and lands in Fletching, purchased in 1568, one eighth part of the Manors of Keymer and Houndean purchased in 1575 as well as the large estate purchased from Gregory Fiennes, 10th Baron Dacre in 1582.(See Danny MS. 1127 and 1126 fo. 150.) This consisted of the Manors of Hurstpierpoint, Westmeston, Streat, Newick, and Novington, Danny Park and Herst Park, the hundred of Buttinghill, together with lands in Hurstpierpoint, Westmeston, Streat, Newick, Chailey, Lindfield, Ardingly, West Hoathly and Slaugham, and was acquired in part exchange for the Manors of Cowley Peachey and Hayse Parkehall in Middlesex and Buckinghamshire which George Goring had acquired from his nephew, William Goring.(See Danny MS. 1126, fo. 158, and V.C.H. Middlesex, Vol. III, p. 173.)

The Dacre estates included the house in Danny Park and this, George Goring converted and enlarged about 1593(See above, p. xi, for a description of the house when he purchased it. For details of alterations carried out by Goring, see V.C.H. Sussex, Vol. VII, pp. 172, 173.) this date appearing together with his and his wife's initials on a ceiling of the north wing. The valuation made of his estate in 1595 mentions 'a house at Danny not fullye finished built of brick which cost as may appear £4,000'.(See W. H. Godfrey, loc. cit., pp. 21, 22.) George had previously, in about 1579 had a house built in Lewes on the site of Pelham House in St. Andrews Lane, at a cost of £2,000.(See ibid and Danny MS. 1126, fo. 119.)

George Goring's wife was Mary, the eldest daughter and co-heir of William Everard of Albourne, and widow of Richard Bellingham of Hangleton and Newtimber. There were two sons and two daughters of the marriage. The eldest son, George (d. 1602) had some difficulty in paying off the enormous debts inherited from his father (See Historical MSS. Commission, Hatfield MSS. IV, pp. 501, 515 and passim, V and VI passim. For extracts from these, see Captain Francis Goring, op. cit.) and he tried unsuccessfully to purchase his father's office from Sir Robert Cecil. His property was valued by the sheriff and most of the revenue appropriated to the Queen's use throughout his life time, though he retained a small allowance and was provided for as a Gentleman Pensioner. He was one of the executors of Lady Dacre from whose husband he had purchased Danny and in her will(Danny MS. 1126, fo. 122.) she bequeathed to him household goods and furniture at Danny. By his marriage to Anne, the daughter of Henry Denny of Waltham Abbey in Essex and of Cheshunt in Hertfordshire. he had five sons and four daughters. Of his four daughters, Anne married Anthony Stapley the regicide, Sibell married Laurence Ashburnham of Guestling and Mary Sir William Elliott. George died in 1602, leaving his property to his wife until his son, George, came of age. (Will of George Goring P.C.C. 44 Montague.)

His eldest son, another George (? 1583-1663), (For a detailed account of his life, see D.N.B.; G.E.C., The Complete Peerage, Vol. IX, pp. 769-772.) like his grandfather represented Lewes in Parliament in 1620-22, 1624-26 and in 1628. He held an important position at court and was gentleman of the privy chamber to Henry, Prince of Wales in 1610 and to the King in 1611. He accompanied Prince Charles to Spain in 1623 and negotiated his marriage with Henrietta Maria of France. In 1628 he was created Baron Goring and he received numerous offices and grants, being Secretary, Clerk of the Signet, Clerk of the Council for the Principality of Wales, Vice-chamberlain of the Household and Privy Councillor. In 1644 he was created Earl of Norwich. During the Civil War he commanded Royalist Forces in Kent and Essex and after the surrender of Colchester in 1648 was sentenced to death, but respited by the casting vote of the Speaker Lenthall. He was with Charles II on the continent in 1649 as captain of the guards and was pensioned in 1661.

In 1641-42 his income was estimated at £26,800, this comprising partly pensions and partly property. The latter included Dacre estates purchased by his grandfather, the Mulberry House in Middlesex and Goring House in Westminster, and land in Steyning, Ditchling, West Blatchington. Rodmell and Rottingdean by lease from Henry, 9th Lord Abergavenny.(See William Durrant Cooper, 'Royalist Compositions in Sussex during the Common-wealth', in S.A.C., Vol. XIX, p. 100 n.; and Danny MS. 1131.) George spent money freely for the Royal cause however, having lent the King £15,000 by 1635.

His financial difficulties which are evident in his letters among the Danny MSS.(Danny MSS. 276-310.) were aggravated by the extravagence of his son, George. From 1642 onwards his Sussex estate was in the hands of trustees who were instructed to use the profits for the repayment of his son's debts. However, it seems likely that two of them, William Hippisley and Timothy Butts, described by George Goring the younger in a letter to his father as 'those greedy and unfaithful stewards', (See William Durrant Cooper, loc. cit., pp. 97-101.) were appropriating the profits to their own use. A sequestration order was placed on his estates in 1650 but this was discharged in 1651 when it was decided that he was not delinquent within the ordinances of parliament. His financial position became so bad that he was forced to mortgage and finally to sell Danny and his property in Lewes in 1652. When he died in 1663 his estate was reduced to £450 per annum.

Shortly before 1608 Lord Goring had married Mary, the second daughter of Edward Neville, 8th Baron Abergavenny and by her had nine children. The eldest son, George, the notorious General Goring (1608-1657), played an important part in the Civil War. Of him Miss Wedgewood has said 'if his moral character will bear little justification yet his military genius, the admiration of his own age, should not go entirely unremembered in ours'(C. V. Wedgewood, 'George Goring: Soldier and Rake', in S.C.M., Vol. IX, March 1935, pp. 164-169.) Governor of Portsmouth between 1639 and 1642, he represented this city in Parliament from 1640 to 1642 and was Colonel of the Horse in 1639 and Lieutenant General in 1641. He betrayed the army plot but was acquitted of any part in it. His fortification of Portsmouth officially for Parliament and unofficially for the King was an act of double treason and he surrendered to Parliament in return for permission to proceed to Holland where he raised troops for the King. On his return he took part in a series of campaigns and led the charge at Marston Moor in 1644. His forces were routed by Sir Thomas Fairfax at Langport in the following year and he fled from England. In 1650 he secured a commission in the Spanish army and was at the siege of Barcelona in 1652. Five years later he died in poverty in Madrid.

George had married, in 1630, Lettice Boyle, the second daughter of Richard, 1st Earl of Cork, her marriage portion amounting to £10,000.(See Danny MSS. 141, 142.) This was not sufficient for his extravagences, however, and by 1633 he had used all this and was appealing to his father-in-law for a loan of £5,000 which was not unnaturally refused.

Since General Goring died before his father, what was left of the Goring property and the title passed to Charles, the second son of the Earl of Norwich (Will of George Goring, senior, P.C.C. 7 Juxon.) Charles too fought on the King's side in the Civil War and was Colonel of his brother's Regiment of Horse at the Battle of Langport. He married Alice, the eldest daughter of Robert Leman of Brightwell Hall. Suffolk and widow of Thomas Baker of Fressingfield, Suffolk. Charles died without issue in 1671 (Will of Charles Goring, P.C.C. 39 Duke.) and all his honours thus became extinct.

THE COURTHOPE FAMILY

A branch of the Courthope family (The material for this section has been derived mainly from J. Comber, Sussex Genealogies, Lewes Centre, pp. 83-85; and M. A. Lower, The Worthies of Sussex, pp. 72-76.) as living in Sussex in 1296, when Adam de Courthope, William de Courthope and Peter de Courthope were recorded at Wadhurst, (Subsidy of 1296, see S.R.S. Vol. X, p. 36.) and Courthopes have continued in this area, and particularly at Whiligh in Ticehurst down to the present day. (The records of this branch of the family are deposited with the Sussex Archaeological Trust. Barbican House, Lewes.) However, it was from Cranbrook in Kent that the Courthopes of Danny came originally. John Courthope of Cranbrook, whose will, dated 1527 (Danny MS. 157.) has been preserved among the Danny archives, was a clothier as was Alexander Courthope, who was the father of Peter Courthope who settled in Sussex. Alexander held considerable property in Kent, at Horsmonden, Lamberhurst, Cranbrook, Frittenden, Biddenden and Hawkhurst. One of his seven sons, Nathaniel, (See D.N.B., M. A. Lower, 'The Journal of Master Nathaniel Courthope, in S.A.C., Vol. XXVII, pp. 184-211, and Danny MSS. 158, 273.) was among the first Europeans to go to India. He entered the East India Company's service in 1609, and in 1616 left England as commander of two ships, the Swan and the Defence. He established a factory in the Banda Islands and gallantly held his position there against the Dutch, being killed in battle in October 1620.

Nathaniel's elder brother, Peter, inherited most of the Kent property from his father, Alexander, in 1608 (See Alexander's will, P.C.C. 80 Windebank.) and to this he added by purchasing an iron mill and forge in Hawkhurst in 1615. (Danny MS. 1560.) He also owned property in Isfield and in St. Michael's parish, Lewes, the latter having been sold to him by George Goring in about 1650, (See Danny MS. 1150.) and he acquired more of the Goring estate by his mortgage in 1650 and final purchase in 1652 of Danny. (See Danny MSS.1157-1166.)

Peter Courthope was high sheriff of Sussex in 1650 and took part in the Civil War on the side of Parliament, (C. Thomas Stanford, Sussex in the Great Civil War and Interregnum, p. 5.) the account of some if not all the money he spent on the cause having survived among the Danny MSS(Danny MS. 140.) Peter married firstly Elizabeth, daughter of John Sharpey of Staplehurst, by whom he had ten children, and secondly, Jane, the daughter of Henry Smith of Peper Harow in Surrey and widow of Ninian Burrell of Cuckfield.

Peter's eldest son, Henry, who married his step sister Anne the daughter of Ninian Burrell, (Marriage settlement, Danny MS. 143.) died in 1642 in the life time of his father. The Sussex property and some of the Kent estate thus passed on Peter's death, (Peter Courthope's will, P.C.C. 386 Ruthen.) in 1657 to Henry's son, also called Peter (1639-1725), the remainder of the Kent estate going to Alexander, Henry's younger brother. Peter Courthope was elected to the Royal Society in 1668 being one of its earliest fellows and he was also patron and friend of John Ray, the natural philosopher. (For Ray's correspondence with Peter Courthope, see Danny MSS. 344-364.) In 1667 he married Philadelphia, the daughter of Sir John Stapley of Patcham (Marriage settlement. Danny MS. 146.) by whom he had two sons who predeceased him and two daughters. At his death in 1725 he left property in Hurstpierpoint, Clayton, Keymer, Westmeston, Streat and Pevensey and in Cranbrook, Hawkhurst, Frittenden and Biddenden, Kent, to his only surviving child, Barbara, and her husband Henry Campion, to the use of their eldest surviving son, William.

THE CAMPION FAMILY

The Campions (The material for this section has been derived mainly from John Comber. Sussex Genealogies. Lewes Centre, pp. 33-41, and Everard Green, Pedigree of the Family of Campion (Danny MS. 6).) who came to Sussex in the 18th century were a junior branch of the Campions of Campions Hall, Epping, in Essex, and had settled in London in the late 16th century. Henry Campion (d. 1588), the grandson of Edward Campion of Essex was citizen and mercer of London and owned property in the Bishopsgate area of the city (See Danny MSS. 1576-1581. These deeds also mention Christopher Campion and Agnes his wife, whose relationship with the main line is not revealed in the documents.) William Campion his son (d. 1615), who was at Lincoln's Inn in 1581 inherited this estate (See the will of Henry Campion, P.C.C. 13 Leicester.) and added to it by the purchase of Combwell Manor in Goudhurst. Kent and Lambourne Hall in Canewdon, Essex. In 1600 he was assigned the wardship of his widowed sister's son, Francis Albany which involved the administration of the Albany properties in Shropshire. (See Danny MSS. 169 and 1807-1809.) Between 1601 and 1604 he was engaged in a lengthy but successful law suit over property in Bishopsgate and Tottenham. (See Danny MSS. 2110-2122.) By his marriage to Rachel, daughter of Richard Duffield of London, there were nine children, including three sons to whom he left property in Kent, Essex, Hertfordshire and London on his death in 1615. (Will of William Campion, P.C.C. 5 Cope.)

William (1585-1640), the oldest surviving son received the largest share of the estate. Admitted to Lincoln's Inn in 1604, he was knighted in 1618, and appointed sheriff of Kent in 1628. (See Danny MSS. 15-29.) In 1619 he increased his property by purchasing the site of the late dissolved monastery of nuns at Thetford, together with lands in Norfolk and Suffolk. (See recital in Danny MS. 1596.) Like his father he married into a London family, his wife being Elizabeth, the eldest daughter and co-heir of Sir William Stone and there were three sons and three daughters of the marriage.

The eldest son, another William (1613-48), inherited his father's estate in 1640 (Will of William Campion, P.C.C. 9 Lee.) and was knighted in 1644. In the following year he became Colonel in the Royal Army and Governor of the Garrison at Boarstall House in Buckinghamshire. The latter he gallantly defended to the last, refusing to surrender till Oxford had capitulated and the fortunes of the King were desperate (See his correspondence, Danny MSS. 35-139. For a full account of the siege, see G. Lipscomb,History and Antiquities of the County of Bucks., Vol. I, 1847, pp. 76-89; Clarendon, History of the Great Rebellion, 1706, Vol. II, pt. 2, pp. 493-94, and J. J. Sheahan, History of Bucks., 1802, pp. 334, 335.) Honourable terms were granted and Sir William probably took advantage of the pass granted to him and left England in 1646. He was fined £1,354 for delinquency, this being one-tenth of his estate. He seems to have returned to England as soon as a chance for the royalist cause appeared and in 1648 he was killed at Colchester serving under George Goring, 1st Earl of Norwich.

In 1639 William had married Grace, the eldest daughter of Sir Thomas Parker of Ratton in Willingdon, and there were three sons and a daughter. William (1639-1702), the eldest son, was only nine when his father died in 1648. He took an active part in politics, representing Seaford in Parliament in 1688-89 and again in 1695. His wife was Frances, fifth daughter of Sir John Glynn of Henley Park, Ash, in Surrey, a serjeant-at-law to King Charles II.

Of William's nine children, Katherine, one of his daughters, married George Courthope of Whiligh and Henry, his eldest son, and heir married Barbara Courthope (Marriage settlement, Danny MS. 148.) the heiress to Danny. Henry was admitted to Lincoln's Inn in 1698 and inherited his father's estate in 1702, (See William Campion's will, P.C.C. 159 Hern.) the same year as his marriage. He was Member of Parliament for East Grinstead in 1708 and for the County in 1713. His father-in-law, Peter Courthope died in 1725 (Peter Courthope's will, P.C.C. 81 Romney.) and his estates in Sussex and Kent were settled on Henry, his wife and their heirs. Henry and Barbara made Danny their home and carried out extensive alterations to the house in 1728, giving the south side a completely new facade and making additions to the west. (See plan of Danny as it was in 1725, Danny MS. 2098, and V.H.C. Sussex, Vol. VII, p. 173. Accounts for these building operations are included in Danny MS. 2199.) Most of Henry's ten children died in infancy but a daughter Katherine married her cousin George Courthope of Whiligh and a son, Henry, was in India between 1739 and 1743 in the service of the East India Company and died there in 1743 (See his correspondence and papers, Danny MSS. 400-420.)

Henry's eldest son, William (1707-1778) married, in 1727, Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Partheriche of Ely, in Cambridgeshire. The Partheriche family came originally from Kent, and Sir Edward Partheriche acquired the Worcestershire property of Alderminster Manor through his marriage to Catherine Throckmorton in 1627. (See V.H.C. Worcs., Vol. IV, p.8.) It was in 1639 that Sir Edward purchased the Manor of Littleport in Ely, (See V.H.C. Cambs., Vol. IV, p.98, and Danny MS. 878.) and his great-grandson, John Partheriche, added to the family estate by his marriage to Frances Clopton in 1754 which brought the Clopton estate in Warwickshire. (See V.H.C. Warwick., Vol. III. p. 263.) These properties never came into the Campion family though Henry Courthope Campion, son of William Campion and Elizabeth Partheriche, was executor of the will of John Partheriche who died without issue in 1783, and a large number of deeds and family papers have survived among the Danny MSS.

In 1761 on the death of his father. (Will of Henry Campion, P.C.C. 163 Cheslyn.) William inherited the Courthope and Campion properties, consisting of lands in Sussex, Kent, London, Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk. By his marriage he had three surviving sons and a daughter, the two younger sons, William (1738-1818) of Lewes and Oporto, Portugal, and Edward (1740-1803) of London, both becoming merchants.

His eldest son, Henry Courthope Campion (1734-1811) matriculated at Oxford in 1751 and inherited the estate in 1778. (Will of William Campion, P.C.C. 313 Hay.) He took an active part in local affairs being justice of the peace for Sussex in 1781. His wife whom he married in 1768 was Henrietta the fourth daughter of Sir John Heathcote of Normanton, in Rutland.

Henry's only son, William John (1770-1855) married, in 1797, (Marriage settlement, Danny MSS. 153-55.) Jane the eldest daughter of Francis Motley Austen of Kippington in Kent and succeeded to the estate in 1811. (Will of Henry Courthope Campion, P.C.C. 366 Aug. 1811.) Like his father he took an interest in local affairs and was high sheriff of Sussex in 1820. (See Danny MS. 30.) He died in 1855(Will of William John Campion, P.C.C. 195 March 1855.) leaving nine children.

The eldest surviving son, another William John Campion (1804-1869) inherited the estate on his father's death. He served with the 15th Hussars and was justice of the peace and deputy lieutenant for Sussex. (See Danny MS. 32.) In 1829 he married Harriet, daughter of Thomas Read Kemp, Member of Parliament for Lewes and noted for his development of the eastern part of Brighton, since known as Kemp Town.

William John's eldest son, William Henry (1836-1923) pursued a military career, serving in the Crimea and in India at the time of the Indian Mutiny. Some of the letters which he wrote to his sister Fanny and her husband, John George Blencowe, from India between 1855 and 1858 describe conditions and campaigns. (Danny MSS. 476-485.) William John left the army as captain in the 53rd regiment. Like his father he took an interest in local affairs and was a justice of the peace. In 1869 he inherited his father's estate (Will of William John Campion, P.C.C. 522 Aug. 1869.) and in the same year married Gertrude, second daughter of Henry Bouverie William Brand, 1st Viscount Hampden and Baron Dacre of Gillesland.

William Henry's son, William Robert (1870- ) distinguished himself in the armed forces, serving in World War I as Lieutenant-Colonel in the 4th batallion Royal Sussex Regiment and being awarded the D.S.O. At home he was a justice of the peace, and deputy lieutenant for Sussex. His term of office as Member of Parliament for the Lewes Division of Sussex between 1910 and 1924, was followed by his appointment as Governor of Western Australia in which he continued until 1931.

In 1894 William Robert had married Katherine Mary, daughter of the Reverend William Byron and their eldest son, William Simon Campion is the present owner of Danny.

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