Located in the heart of the South Downs on the E side of the River Rother and near the road from Chichester to London, the
Tudor house incorporated some remains of a late medieval fortified house. Built of sandstone ashlar facing over brick and decorated with lighter stone dressings, Cowdray had a quadrangular plan, entered from the W through a handsome gatehouse with 4 crenellated octagonal towers.
The E range, including the 2-storey great hall, is mostly ruinous. The 3-storey S end service rooms and a hexagonal corner tower survive, as well as the 3-storey N and W wings.
Probable performance venue. Prominent members of the Fitzwilliam and Browne families patronized entertainers who performed elsewhere in the 16th c. It is likely that they also performed for their patrons at their principal residences.
Now a substantial ruin leased by the Cowdray Heritage Trust but still owned by the Pearson family. Open to the public at specified times.
ca. 1160 Estate granted to Geldwin FitzSavaric and fortified manor house built on St Ann's Hill.
1284 John de Bohun moved from St Ann's Hill to a new moated site to the N on the edge of Le Coudreye wood.
1496 Inherited by Sir David Owen on the death of his wife, Mary, heiress of John de Bohun.
ca. 1520--9 Medieval house gradually demolished and replaced by a new fortified residence around a central courtyard, starting with the E and N ranges.
1529 Estate illegally sold to Sir William Fitzwilliam (later 1st Earl of Southampton). Owen continued to live at Cowdray until his death in 1535.
1533 Fitzwilliam granted a licence to enlarge the park and crenellate Cowdray. He built the S and W ranges, with the gatehouse, and added the hall porch in the E wing.
1542 Fitzwilliam's half-brother, Sir Anthony Browne, inherited the estate and completed the main building.
ca. 1643 Looted and garrisoned by parliamentary forces.
18th c. Buck Hall divided into 2 storeys.
1708--13 Buck Hall and staircase painted by Pellegrini.
1770 Grounds redesigned by Capability Brown.
1793 House gutted by fire starting in the N range.
1794 Inherited by Elizabeth Mary Browne, sister of the 8th Viscount Montagu and wife of Colonel William Poyntz of Berkshire. Abandoned as a residence.
1843 Sold by the Poyntz heiresses to the 6th Earl of Egmont.
1878 Keeper's lodge rebuilt to become the present Cowdray Park.
1908 Purchased by Sir Weetman Pearson, later 1st Viscount Cowdray.
1913--19 Excavation and preservation work done by the archaeologist William St John Hope. N range levelled and capped.
1996 Cowdray Heritage Trust created and granted extended lease.
2006--7 Major conservation work completed. Remains of the medieval house of the de Bohun family found below the E range.
REED Coventry 343; Devon 244; Somerset 1.12, 54--5; York 1.269
| Name | Dates | Titles |
|---|---|---|
| Browne, Anthony | 1500-1548 | Knight , Knight of the |
| Browne, Anthony | 1528-1592 | Knight of the , 1st Viscount |
| Browne, Anthony Maria | 1574-1629 | 2nd Viscount |
| Fitzwilliam, William | 1490-1542 | Knight , Knight of the , 1st Earl of |
