Mayfield; The Old Palace (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
The Convent of the Holy Child Jesus, St Leonard's Mayfield School

In the civil parish of Mayfield.
In the historic county of Sussex.
Modern Authority of East Sussex.
1974 county of East Sussex.
Medieval County of Sussex (Rape of Pevensey).

OS Map Grid Reference: TQ587271
Latitude 51.02137° Longitude 0.26140°

Mayfield; The Old Palace has been described as a certain Palace.

There are masonry ruins/remnants remains.

This is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*.

Description

Remains of a medieval palace of the Archbishops of Canterbury converted into a school by E W Pugin in 1863-6. Some C13 work. But the main portion is the C14 hall, now the school chapel. Stone. Tiled roof. Three tall pointed windows of 2 tiers of trefoil-headed lights with triangles above, each trefoil-shaped. Buttresses flanking the windows. Vaulted entrance to south-west. Adjoining this is a C14 tower and C15 well-house. Additions of 1863-6 by E W Pugin to north-east. (Listing report)

Mayfield Palace of the Archbishops of Canterbury was one of the many manor houses of the south that helped to support the dignity and feed the retinue of the mediaeval archbishops; it may be compared with the similar palace at Croydon. It was in the hands of the Anglican church from the time of Dunstan to that of Cranmer and has seen its share of historical events. An important council was held here in 1332 under Archbishop Meopham, who died in Mayfield as did both Stratford and Islip, Cranmer treated with the king for the exchange of Mayfield for other lands and it passed through the hands of many owners. Sir Thomas Gresham held it for a time and here entertained Queen Elizabeth,
In 1740 it was dismantled and left to go to ruin. Its preservation is due to the Dowager Duchess of Leeds, who purchased it and connected it with a convent of the Roman Church. (Jackson 1927)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Listed Building number(s) 1353594
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 408943.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) MES4636.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- Wikipedia entry
  The Weald of Kent, Surrey and Sussex
Books
- Emery, Anthony, 2006, Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales Vol. 3 Southern England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) p. 320-25, 373-6
  Thompson, M.W., 1998, Medieval bishops' houses in England and Wales (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing) p. 171
  James, T.B., 1990, The Palaces of Medieval England (London; Seaby) p. 22
  Jackson, G.G., 1927, The Sussex Highlands (London: The Homeland Association 96) p. 46 online copy
  Morewood, Caroline C., 1910, 'Introductory Chapter' in Rait, R.S. (ed), English Episcopal Palaces (Province of Canterbury) (London; Constable & Co) p. 4 online copy
  Bell-Irving, E.M., 1903, Mayfield: The Story of an Old Wealden Village
  Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1853, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol. 2 p. 290-3 online copy
  Hasted, Edward, 1801, The history and topographical survey of the county of Kent Vol. 12 p. 524-5 online transcription
  Grose, Francis, 1787, Antiquities of England and Wales (London) Vol. 5 (supplement) p. 178-81 online copy
Periodical Articles
- Roberts, E., 1867, 'On Mayfield in Sussex' Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vol. 23 p. 333-59 online copy
  Hoare, H.R., 1849, 'Historical and Architectural Notices of Mayfield Palace' Sussex Archaeological Collections Vol. 2 p. 221-46 online copy
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Harris, R.B., April 2008, Mayfield Historic Character Assessment Report: Sussex Extensive Urban Survey Download copy
  Payne, Naomi, 2003, The medieval residences of the bishops of Bath and Wells, and Salisbury (PhD Thesis University of Bristol) Appendix B: List of Medieval Bishop's Palaces in England and Wales (available via EThOS)

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.

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