St Clares

St Clares arose from a 13th-century division of the Nutbourne estate. An Aguillon granted the eastern half of Nutbourne (with a mill moiety) to William de Wyntereshull, who sold it in 1277 to Robert de St. Clare and Joan his wife as "a messuage, 1 carucate of land, and half a mill in Nutbourne."

Robert died shortly afterwards. In April 1278 William Aguillon claimed wardship of Robert's son John. In 1336 John de St. Clare died seised of the Nutbourne estate with manorial rights, held as half a knight's fee of Peter de Sperschute's manor. Sir Philip St. Clare died in 1422; his heir was his grandson Thomas. Thomas died in May 1434 leaving three infant daughters. Elizabeth, one of the daughters, married William Lovell and inherited the manor. In 1506 their son Henry Lovell died seised of the manor.

Henry's daughter Elizabeth married Sir Anthony Windsor. In 1547 Henry Windsor and Eleanor sold the manor to Edmund Forde, who probably conveyed it to George Stoughton. In 1592 John Stoughton conveyed the manor to Ralph Cooper, probably on mortgage. In 1603 Cooper and Adrian Stoughton sold it to John Moorey. At Moorey's death in 1606, the manor of St Cleres "was held of Richard Berwick as of his manor of Nutbourne in socage by 18d. rent." Moorey's son John left lands to his brother-in-law Richard Langrish for 21 years in 1613. Richard's son John Langrish died in 1628, leaving two infant daughters.

In 1809 James Sait and Fanny his wife sold to Dr. Samuel Pett "what was called, probably wrongly, the manor of St. Cleres and tenements in Nutbourne." The VCH is sceptical that the manor survived past 1628.