At the foot of the South Downs, in East Sussex, Firle Place looks like an elegant Georgian house in light stone. But beneath this eighteenth-century dress beats a Tudor heart: it was here that the Gages, one of the great court families of Henry VIII's reign, established their house, around a late-fifteenth-century manor.
The house of a great officer of the Crown
The original Tudor manor of Firle was raised by Sir John Gage (1479-1556), one of the most important courtiers of Henry VIII. His career sums up the service of the high Tudor nobility: Constable of the Tower of London, vice-chamberlain of the king's household, he was one of the major cogs of government. As the supreme sign of royal trust, he was among the executors of Henry VIII's will in 1547, charged with seeing to the sovereign's last wishes and the transition of the reign. A faithful Catholic, he then served Mary I. The Tudor heart of his house — an arrangement around a central court — survives beneath the later Georgian dress in Caen stone, which gives it the air of a French château.
A house of collections
Remaining the property of the Gages across the centuries, Firle Place has accumulated a rich décor and a fine collection of paintings — Van Dyck, Reynolds, Gainsborough, and a work attributed to Raphael. The adjoining church of St Peter keeps the family's monuments. The house thus illustrates the continuity of a great court family, from the service of Henry VIII to the splendours of the following centuries. To see: the Tudor-style interior with central court, the Georgian Caen-stone dress, the painting collection and the adjoining church of St Peter.
Did you know?
The master of Firle was one of the men to whom Henry VIII entrusted his last wishes: Sir John Gage was among the executors of the royal will of 1547. To see to the death of a king and the succession of the realm was the mark of the highest trust — and the master of a Sussex house thus found himself, for a moment, at the heart of the destiny of England.
Notes
Firle Place lies at Firle, East Sussex, at the foot of the South Downs; house and park open to the public seasonally. Hours to check.
Quiz
- Who built the Tudor manor of Firle?
- Sir John Gage, courtier of Henry VIII
- Cardinal Wolsey
- Anne Boleyn
- What supreme honour did Gage receive in 1547?
- To be an executor of Henry VIII's will
- To be crowned king
- To be made pope
- What does Firle's Georgian dress hide?
- A Tudor heart with a central court
- An empty ruin
- A Roman chapel