Lucas of Warnham Court

Records of the Lucas family and Warnham Court Estate in Warnham and Horsham

These records of the Warnham Court estate contain items of outstanding interest for both the agricultural and art historian. The Warnham Court farm had an excellent herd of cattle and this aspect of the estate is well represented by a series of sale catalogues of cattle and livestock (32,247-32,559). There is also a late 18th cent. field book which shows the state of cultivation of a large part of the parish of Warnham (31,927). The Warnham Court House contained many paintings and objets d'art. A series of sale catalogues, mainly from Christies, have survived and these have been annotated to show items purchased by the Lucas family (32, 563-32,599).

<span class="wrapper"><p>See Add Mss/32, 722-32, 725 for additional records relating to the Warnham Court Estate</p> <p>See MP 2371 for a concordance of WSRO Add. Mss. numbers with the earlier reference numbers used for original bundles and notes on the title deeds by Capt. Villiers.</p></span>

Deposited by C. Lucas Esq. in December 1976, October 1979 and February 1982

[Acc 4240, 4974, 5685]

The core of the Warnham Court estate consisted of a mansion house, built by Henry Tredcroft in 1829, with park, gardens and pleasure grounds that were formerly part of Street farm (31,836-31,927); Thatchers farm (31,785-31,835); Southford and Enhams farm (31,997-32,005); Dawks and Sands farm (31,928-31,959); Collins croft (31,741-31,784) and a messuage, formerly a workhouse (32,092-32,095). This estate was acquired by Nathaniel and Henry Tredcroft between 1806 and 1844 and descended to Edward Tredcroft in 1849, who sold it to Sir John Henry Pelly in 1855. Charles Thomas Lucas purchased the whole estate in 1865.

The following farms were added to the Warnham Court Estate in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Charles Thomas Lucas and his son Charles James Lucas: Warnham Place farm from Sir P.F. Shelley in 1875 (31,960-31,975; 32, 121); Miles farm and Rookwood farm in 1875 (32,121); Broomhall, Roberts farm and Chantry farm from James Wood in 1877 (32,006-32,016); Lower Chickens and Hollands farm from the trustees of George Smith in 1881 (32,029-32,059); part of Horsham Park farm from Robert Henry Hurst in 1882 (32,147-32,152); Cider Mill farm from the trustees of James Wheeler in 1885 (32,088-32,091); Andrews farm from Mrs. Rosina Redford in 1888 (32,153-32,155); Weston's farm from Henry John Broadwood in 1898 (32,178-32,181); part of Farthing farm from Alfred Agate in 1902 (32,156-32,172); Cox's farm from Miss B.M. Broadwood and trustees in 1907 (32,200-32,203); Bailing Hill and Swans farm from Rt. Hon. Lord Abinger in 1914 (32,206-32,209).