Location

The Pendean tenement of about 40 acres of land, was situated in the valley of the River Rother, south-east of Midhurst, where loamy soil was combined with layers of sandstone. At Pendean the soil also included hill gravel and flint rubble. This was not prime agricultural land and was suitable mainly for common grazing, or for rabbit warrens. However, the existence of Roman bricks, tiles and roofing slabs in the area may indicate that the site had been occupied at an early date.¹ In later years, owing to the unpromising nature of the site, Pendean was normally worked in conjunction with Costers or Costards mill, or with the neighbouring farm called Hurstlands.

Manor and parish

A small area of land surrounding Pendean was an outlier of the Manor and the Parish of Woolavington. The isolation of this outlier and its distance from the main portion of both manor and parish, which were sited at East Lavington where the manor house (now known as Seaford College) and the neighbouring church were built, caused problems. The occupants of Pendean often had difficulty in identifying the parish in which they lived, and parochial and manorial officers were similarly baffled. One possible bonus was that the outlying holding at Pendean may have benefited from weaker supervision than was the norm, and, as it lay right on the edge of the manorial common, its occupants may have expected and acquired unauthorized supplementary grazing there.

History - the 15th century: Pendens & Costars

The surviving records relating to Pendean, which was known at that time as Pendens, commence at the end of the 15th century, soon after the end of the Wars of the Roses, when Henry VII, the first Tudor monarch, had recently come to power. It was a time of change, marking the conclusion of the medieval period and, according to historians, the commencement of the modern era. It is probable, though, that in this rather isolated part of Sussex, medieval customs continued to operate for some time to come.

The early history of Pendean is not well documented. For some time before 1489 the holder of this 40-acre tenement was Thomas Carter.² He also possessed a second tenement not far from Pendean called Costars or Costards, which consisted of a cottage, eight acres of land and a watermill. It is here that Carter and his wife Johane must have lived, since there was no dwelling house on the Pendean tenement.

Thomas's possession of these two properties would probably have established him as a man of some substance. Although Pendean provided necessary agricultural land for subsistence for Carter and members of his family, abundant crops would not have been expected in the sandy soil. However the possession of a watermill would have created a steady source of income, since many tenants of the manor living in that locality would have been obliged to bring their corn to the mill to be ground. Millers often had a reputation for overcharging and giving short measure, and have nor always been kindly portrayed in literature - Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is an example.

Thomas Carter died in 1489. This event was recorded in the Court Roll of Woolavington Manor on 6 August. Death duties, claimed by the Lord of the Manor, were an ox (valued at seven shillings) in respect of his land, plus six pence for the cottage at the mill. No claimant appeared in court to demand the holdings, which remained in the hands of the lord of the manor for a year and a half. On 16 March 1491, Thomas's widow finally attended a manor court and claimed the right to inherit. The matter was deferred on the grounds that she had not provided sufficient evidence to substantiate this demand. On two other occasions Johane repeated her attempts to claim the property, but with no success.³ Unfortunately, the surviving Lavington Court Rolls contain no further reference to Thomas Carter or his heirs and after his death there is a considerable gap in documentation.

The 16th century

Fifty years later, in 1542, the 40 acres of copyhold land called Pendens in the parishes of Woolavington and Midhurst was granted to Robert Colebrook.⁴ When he died in 1554, Colebrook bequeathed Pendean to Joan, his wife, for her lifetime and added the proviso that on her death they were 'to remain to my son John Colebrook'.⁵ Colebrook identified the property as 'my lands towards the parish of Heyshott', thereby suggesting, that from an early date, the owners and occupiers of Pendean had difficulty in identifying which parish the property was in.
It is believed that Joan Colebrook, the widow of John, married Richard Coldham soon after 15546. By the 1560s a Richard Coldham, whose near gentry family was based in Midhurst, was upwardly mobile and increasing his holdings in that town. He leased more land from Viscount Montague of Cowdray, the magnate landlord who possessed large estates in both eastern and western Sussex.⁷ In the west of the county, Montague's estate was centred in the parishes of Midhurst and Easebourne.

In 1564 the lord of Woolavington manor, Henry, the last Fitzalan Earl of Arundel, together with his daughter Jane, and her husband Lord Lumley, granted Richard Coldham, yeoman of Midhurst, a 10,000 year lease of the copyhold lands, totalling 40 acres, known as Copards and Pendens. The grant recited that the two tenements had once been owned by Joan Colbrooke, the widow and former wife of Robert Colebrook and that both Robert and Joan Colebrooke had died before the lease was granted.⁸ This 10,000 year lease was one of several similar long lease properties in Woolavington Manor granted to copyholders by Fitzalan and the Lumleys.⁹

The Earl of Arundel was a godson of Henry VIII after whom he had been named. As a young man he had been placed in the king's household, and was received with affection by Henry VIII. During Henry's reign he served the crown loyally, and was appointed as Lord Chamberlain, holding this office until the death of the king in 1547. It was not easy to remain in royal favour at this period, but Fitzalan remained a devout Catholic. In later years this caused problems.

In 1551, while Edward VI was king and much influenced by Protestant advisers, the Earl of Arundel was arrested and taken to the Tower of London, where he remained for 12 months. On the accession of the Catholic Queen Mary, he was again in royal favour. He was retained in high office for a time by Elizabeth I, but by 1564 he had begun to lose favour at Court.¹⁰ He was still a devout Catholic, and had almost certainly been engaged in plots against the Queen. In 1564 Fitzalan resigned all his ceremonial offices and retired to his Sussex estate, where he embarked on a substantial and costly re-building programme at Arundel Castle.¹¹ Since the Earl and the Lumleys were Catholics, they may also have required some extra cash, in order to pay the fines levied for non-attendance at church. Many magnate landowners in western Sussex retained their affiliation to Catholicism. It was a costly loyalty, which must have rubbed off on their tenants. Another local Catholic magnate, whose family was later to purchase Pendean, was Lord Montague. He had inherited the Cowdray estate shortly before being created a viscount by Queen Mary in 1554.¹² When Elizabeth I ascended the throne, she held Lord Montague in high esteem for his talents and loyalty to the crown. She continued to do so, despite his continuing adherence to the Catholic faith.

The Elizabethan church settlement must have confused a great many people. A number of Sussex priests were displaced. Both town and country folk - tradesmen yeomen and farm workers - living in the vicinity of Midhurst might have looked to Montague for guidance or protection. The Protestants among them would have found little comfort, since Lord Montague deviated from the norm and continued to retain Catholic priests as his personal chaplains. ¹³ Protestantism was the state religion, but Cowdray became a haven for Catholics. Everyone was expected to attend the local Protestant church, and could be fined for not conforming, so this anomaly created and forged local divisions.

Henry, Earl of Arundel and his son-in-law, Lord Lumley continued to sell their Sussex properties. In 1578, they sold Woolavington, Graffham and Wonwerth manors to Giles and Frances Garton. Giles Garton was described at the time as an ironmonger and citizen of London.¹⁴ The term 'ironmonger' used to describe him, is not helpful, for he was not a tradesman. He was a successful London businessman with a considerable investment in the iron industry. Due to advances in technology and the local availability of the factors of production, this was a thriving industry in Sussex at this time. Giles Garton's son, who became Sir Peter Garton, had had legal training. Since Pendens and Copards were held of Woolavington Manor, the tenant of the property now owed fealty to the Gartons.

When he retired to Arundel from London, Henry Fitzalan had expended money on rebuilding his Sussex house. At Woolavington, the new lords of the manor, soon followed a similar course. In 1568 Giles Garton began to re-build and enlarge his Manor House.¹⁵ Possibly the Coldhams, as tenants of the manor, might have been expected to make a contribution to the cost. Different members of this family owned several properties in Graffl1am and Woolavington, and appeared to juggle ownership among themselves. In 1579 John Coldham sold a substantial holding called Mansers and Calloways to William Coldham.¹⁶ On the 9th July 1589 Richard Coldham, who had received Pendens and Copards from his brother William, was ordered to pay fealty at Woolavington Manor Court and show his charters.¹⁷ In 1597 John Coldham attended a manor court and paid fealty for Pendens and Costards.¹⁸

During the last year the Museum completed a project to furnish Pendean
 as it would have been in the year 1609 when it was built by Richard Clare.
The project was funded by the Designation Challenge Fund. 
Click here for more details.

The 17th century: A house is built at Pendean

At a court held on the 17th June 1603, shortly after the death of Queen Elizabeth I and in the first year of the reign of James I, John Coldham sold Costards Mill to Thomas Hodges. From this time the two properties Pendean and Costards had separate descents.¹⁹
Early in 1609 Pendean was sold to Richard Clare by John Coldham of Midhurst, gent., executor of the will of Richard Coldham. Immediately before the sale the property was occupied by John Clare (who was probably Richard Clare's father) and Richard Figge, who may have worked in partnership with John Clare. Although some time and effort has been spent in an attempt to trace Richard Figge, he has proved to be elusive. A possible connection may have been Robert Figg who lived in Upmarden and applied for a marriage licence in 1632.²⁰ It appears that the Figge family had early ties with Horsham. At the time of the sale Pendean contained 40 acres of land, and a barn and a grant of herbage and pasture for 100 sheep and 14 bullocks or other beasts on the common land of Woolavington manor. This was for the residue of the 10,000 years lease, which had been granted in 1564. The charge was a yearly rent of seven shillings and fourpence.

Richard Clare, the new owner of Pendean, must have purchased the property with the intention of building a house there, and he set about doing so immediately. A report on the dendrochonology of Pendean, sets the date of building as 1609, the date of the sale to Richard Clare.²¹
John Clare, the former occupant of Pendean, was living at Hurstlands when he died. This property, which belonged to the Cowdray estate, was on the opposite side of Dunford Lane to Pendean, and later became known as Haulkers or Aulkers Farm. A mid-17th century Cowdray estate map shows the exact site of the farmhouse and the names of the fields.²² Unfortunately it does not show Pendean, as it had not yet become part of the Cowdray estate.

John Clare made his will, stating that he was 'weak in body' on 12 June 1615. The will was proved on 8 July in the same year. He described himself as 'John Clare of Hurstlands in the parish of Wollavington, yeoman.'²³ His bequests included the gift of 'a table with a frame in the parlour' to his son Richard, which was presumably transferred from Hurstlands to Pendean in due course. Although he had been a man of some substance, for the description 'yeoman' indicates that he was considered to be higher on the social scale than a husbandman, but not quite the equal of a gentleman, John Clare was certainly not wealthy and owed money to two of his sons, and he could not sign his name - the will was signed with a cross.²⁴

On 20 January 1627 the baptism of Anne, daughter of Richard Clare was recorded in the Midhurst parish register.²⁵ This suggests that Richard Clare, in the same way as his father, regarded the church at Midhurst as his parish church.

Museum carpenter Roger Champion working on the back
of an oak chair, which now sits by the fire at Pendean.

Pendean purchased by Lord Montague of Cowdray

On 24 July 1639 Richard Clare assigned a 9,000 year lease of Pendean to Lord Montague of Cowdray for the sum of £410, and an annual payment of seven shillings and four pence. From this time, Pendean ceased to be mentioned in Woolavington Manor Court Rolls. It became a copyhold tenement of the manor of Cowdray, and by the following year, it appears to have been let to Henry Clare. Henry attended a Cowdray manor court held on 3 April 1640.²⁶ Subsequent entries in the court books indicate that Henry continued to hold Pendean.
In February 1642 Richard, Henry and William Clare signed the Protestation Oath, before the minister of Woolavington parish. All males over the age of 15 were required by law to do this.²⁷ Richard Clare, although he had sold Pendean, was still alive and living in Woolavington. Henry continued to pay homage at manor courts quite frequently during the 1640s and 1650s.

Henry Clare's death was presented at a Manor Court on 7 September 1658.²⁸ The property he had held was described as a messuage, barns and lands called Hurstlands, the rent for which was twenty-six shillings and eight pence yearly. The heriot of a horse, valued at five shillings was demanded. The estate was divided between John, who was his elder son, and Henry his younger son.

The names of the fields allotted to each son were entered in the court book and indicate that the property called Hurstlands also included the Pendean tenement. Henry was granted the messuage, barn, tenement and several fields called: the Seven Acres, the Four Acres, the Three Acres, the South Field, the Long Field, the Herring Hedge, the Moor and the Clearhole.²⁹ John's inheritance included the Alder, the Two Marsh Fields, the Middlewood, the four Old Fields, the Upper Old Fields, the Furzes Fields and the Meads Plot. Both sons were granted these lands for the remainder of their lives, at a yearly rent of thirteen shillings and fourpence each. A Cowdray map, dated c. 1650 indicates the names of the fields which belonged to the farm called Hurstlands.³⁰
Perhaps it was the acquisition of part of Hurstlands, which provided John Clare with the means to marry, for on 10 July 1661 John Clare of Woolavington, yeoman, applied for a marriage licence. His intended bride was Martha Ide, a maiden from Singleton. It was usual for a wedding to take place in the bride's parish, but this marriage was solemnised at Cocking, probably because the parson at Singleton had died in 1656 and his successor had not been appointed.³¹

At a Cowdray court, held on 16 September 1662, both John and Henry Clare appeared as homagers, and for several years thereafter both brothers attended court fairly regularly.

Nicholas Austen at Pendean

It appears that Henry Clare had sublet Pendean by 1680 and Nicholas Austen was living there.³² Austen may have settled at Pendean, as a retirement home. He had previously lived in Heyshott, with which his family had been connected for several years. He had been a churchwarden in that parish in the 1670s, when he had occupied Dunford and 42 acres of land.³³ He owned another small cottage, with two acres of land in Easebourne, which one of his sons inherited. Nicholas Austen died in 1697. His will makes no mention of Pendean, probably because he was leasing it and did not own it. He described himself, rather modestly, as a husbandman. He made bequests to his three sons Thomas, William and Nicholas and to his daughter Margaret West. The poor of Heyshott and Woolavington were beneficiaries and were to receive twenty shillings. Nicholas bequeathed twenty shillings to his wife Susannah and also a half of all his household goods. His son William was to receive all his clothes.³⁴

Nicholas Austen's inventory was made on 22 October 1697, and on this document he was described as a yeoman.³⁵ At least four men undertook the task of listing his goods and chattels, but time has not dealt kindly with the badly decayed document, consisting of two sheets, on which the result of their labour was recorded. However, it is possible to tell that the house where he was living when he died contained a kitchen, a hall, a brewhouse, a milk- house and a bakehouse, and that it had three upstairs rooms or chambers. Nicholas Austen had the use of three barns and he appears to have been engaged in mixed farming. He possessed fifty-six sheep, four hogs, ten cows and four oxen and a stock of barley, oats, peas and hay.

The death of the last of the Clare owners of Pendean

During Nicholas Austen's occupation of Pendean, Henry Clare decided to make sure that his own children Thomas and Elizabeth would have the right to be admitted as free tenants to the messuage called Hurstlands after his death. In October 1685 he attended a Manor Court to stake their claim to the following fields: the Seven Acres, the Four Acres, the Three Acres, the Southfield, the Picked Field, the Furzefield, the Brookfield, the Homing Hedge, the Moore and the Clayhole. Thomas and Elizabeth were granted the reversion of the messuage and Thomas was admitted to the property.³⁶

On 18 August 1696 John Clare was admitted to a tenement and a virgate of land called Hurstland. Field names were given in the Court Book. They were The Two Marshcroft, The Middle Wood, The Lower Field, The Upper Field, The Furzy Field and The Mead Plot. However, the Court ruled that John's admission was to be delayed and was not to take place until after the death of his mother Martha Clare.³⁷ On 12 November 1697 Henry Clare and Martha Clare were recorded as copyhold tenants, but it appears that it was Martha who held Hurstlands.

The death of Thomas Clare was recorded in the Court Book on 5 April 1701. John Clare must have predeceased his mother, as Widow Martha Clare continued as tenant until her death was presented on 8 April 1708. She does not appear to have had any heirs and the Court Book recorded that the land was later re-claimed by the lord of the manor.38 It was no longer a copyhold tenement. The owner of the Cowdray estate now had sole control of Pendean.

The second half of this paper; which continues the story of Pendean up to 1968, can
be seen in the Museum library.

Pendean today