Manor Profile
North Mundham, West Sussex· Box and Stockbridge Hundred· 1524 – 1807
Bishop Sherborne acquired the estate and in 1524 conveyed it to the Dean and Chapter of Chichester, charging it with 10 pounds annually toward Rolleston grammar school and bread distribution to the poor. William Shelley remitted claims to the Dean and Chapter in 1536.
The Dean and Chapter leased Leythorne to Philip Carpynder and Thomas his son for 61 years in 1531, but this lease was surrendered and a fresh lease for 40 years was granted to William Bowyer in 1540. Leythorne became the seat of the Bowyer family. Thomas Bowyer of Leythorne succeeded in 1579 and the family remained until 1675, when Leythorne was included in the sale of the main North Mundham manor to Charles Ballett.
In 1700 the Dean and Chapter leased the manor to the Rev. Shadrack Taylor. Benjamin Taylor held the property in 1774. John Newland, then mayor of Chichester, had a lease from 1785 and purchased the fee simple from the Dean and Chapter in 1807. The house had been destroyed in 1798 after being used as a broadcloth manufactory.
No separate Domesday entry. Part of the wider Bishop of Selsey holdings or Aldingbourne.
| # | Name | From | To | Acquired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bishop Sherborne | 1524 | Acquired the estate before 1524. | ||
| 2 | Dean and Chapter of Chichester | 1524 | 1807 | conveyance from Bishop Sherborne | Charged with 10 pounds annual payment to Rolleston grammar school. Formal conveyance 1528 by Richard Whetham. |
| 3 | William Bowyer (lessee) | 1540 | 1579 | lease for 40 years | Leythorne became seat of the Bowyer family. |
| 4 | Thomas Bowyer of Leythorne (lessee) | 1579 | 1675 | inheritance | Family remained until 1675. |
| 5 | John Newland | 1785 | 1807 | lease, then fee simple 1807 | Mayor of Chichester. Used house as broadcloth manufactory. House destroyed 1798. |
Dean and Chapter of Chichester
diocese · held · 1524 – 1807
Held from 1524 to sale to John Newland 1807.
The house at Leythorne was destroyed in 1798, after being used for some years by John Newland of Chichester as a manufactory for broadcloth. A 1645 inventory described "a hall, parlour, chapel, a long room with ten lodgings over it, kitchen &c." Nothing survives above ground.
VCH Closing Statement
“John Newland purchased the fee simple from the Dean and Chapter in 1807.”
VCH Sussex, Vol. 4, pp. 160-165
