Lordington

Lordington appears in Domesday Book as "Harditone." Before the Conquest Ulstan held it as an alod of King Edward. In 1086 William held it of Earl Roger de Montgomery, assessed at 4 hides with a mill. The overlordship descended with the honour of Arundel; in 1244 it formed part of Roger de Somery and Nicholaa's portion on the division among the co-heirs of Hugh d'Aubigny.

A mesne lordship was held by the Beauchamp family of Eaton Socon. In 1214 Eudes de Beauchamp claimed the advowson. In 1242 Robert de Beauchamp held a knight's fee. In 1303 Roger de Beauchamp disposed of property to Sir John Engayne. By 1369 the mesne lordship had disappeared.

The direct lordship may have been granted by Henry I to Hugh de Falaise. Hugh de Gundevill succeeded in the mid-12th century; on his death in 1181 the lands escheated to the Crown. In 1268 William de Tracy and wife Joan appeared in a suit. In 1282 John de Tracy sold the manor to Maud Estur and Walter de l'Isle. In 1349 Joan (widow of John de l'Isle), who had married Henry Romayn, died leaving grandson John (aged 6). In 1369 John de l'Isle died; his heir was his sister Elizabeth, who married John Bramshott.

In 1449 John Bramshott's daughter Margaret (co-heir) married John Pakenham. In 1528 Sir Edward Pakenham died; his daughter Constance married Geoffrey Pole, brother of Cardinal Reynold Pole. Geoffrey Pole was pardoned in 1539 for religious disputes and died in 1558, buried at Stoughton. His wife Constance lived until 1570 and left the manor to their son Thomas. In 1609 a later Geoffrey Pole sold to Hugh Speke. In 1623 Sir John Fenner acquired and sold in 1630 to Philip Jermyn.

Philip Jermyn died in 1654; his son Alexander died in 1665. In 1698-99 the manor was sold, probably to Richard Peckham. On Richard's death in 1718, it passed to great-nephew Richard Peckham, then to Thomas Phipps in 1734. Thomas Peckham Phipps left it by will in 1867 to his godson Admiral Sir Phipps Hornby. The Phipps Hornby family continued to hold it at the date of VCH publication.

Lordington House, the reputed birthplace of Cardinal Pole (c. 1500), is a Tudor building with an L-shaped plan. The lower storey contains ancient flintwork with ashlar dressings. The early 17th-century main staircase, of the Knole/Hatfield type, has carved heraldic finials of a lion, dragon, bear, unicorn, and griffin.