Deeds of 3-5 North Street, Lewes

These three houses were built in 1799 on part of Townsends Field, the descent of which from 1673 can be traced from an abstract of title (see HF 1/1-14).

By 1833 the three houses were owned by William Balcombe Langridge. He bequeathed the houses to his daughter Frances, who later married John Cussen Turner of Glyndebourne, MD. In 1868 their property was divided between their two children; Rosalie Frances Turner of the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin, spinster, received 5 North Street and Lieutenant Walter John Turner of the 3rd Hussars, the Cavalry Barracks, Chichester received 3 and 4 North Street (AMS 5706/20, 24).

For a photograph of 1-3 North Street in c1878, see C Brent and W Rector (1980) Victorian Lewes.

On 20 and 21 October 1789 Thomas Harben of Lewes, esq, and his trustee Thomas Dicker of Lewes, gent, sold for £152 to George Wille of Lewes, carpenter, and his trustee George Grantham of Lewes, basket maker, property described as

a piece of land (N-S 203', E-W 99r; 1r 34p 189') in Lewes, occupied by Wille and lately taken out of the south east corner of Townsends Field (S and E: road, N: land purchased for the site of the House of Correction, W: land of Jonathan Standley)

On 22 October 1789 Harben covenanted to produce the earlier deeds relating to the whole of Townsends Field (1-3).

On 23 and 24 March 1798, in exchange for a piece of land or garden in All Saints and St John sub Castro, Lewes (part of a garden lately purchased by Soper from Thomas Standley (AMS 5733)) and £115, Wille conveyed to Abraham Soper of Lewes, stationer, and his trustee James Soper of Lewes, patten maker, property described as

a piece of land in All Saints, Lewes, occupied by Thomas Dicker and Thomas Allwork, part of a larger piece purchased by Wille from Harben (S and E: road, W: bakehouse and garden of Soper, N: Wille's messuage and garden, occupied by [blank] Clarke)

subject to the right of Wille and the occupiers of the two adjoining houses (then Thomas Dicker and [blank] Clarke) on the north side of the land conveyed to use the drain flowing into the cesspool in the north east part of the land just conveyed (10).

On 19 and 20 November 1799 Soper sold the property above (the messuage on the north then occupied by [?James] Ticehurst) for £210 to John Marten of Lewes, draper and broker, and his trustee William Marten of Lewes, draper (10). The same day Marten executed a £200 bond to George Wille of Lewes, timber merchant, to employ Wille's son George Wille on carpentry and joinery work and as a supplier of materials for any buildings to be built on the land conveyed by Soper to Marten (AMS 5569/60).

On 24 and 25 March 1806 Marten conveyed part of the property for £160 to George Grantham of Lewes, basket maker, and his trustee Stephen Steer of Lewes, baker, (in trust for George Wille of Lewes builder); it was then described as

a piece of land (N-S 40', E-W 100') in All Saints, Lewes, part of a larger piece of land purchased by Marten from Soper, (E: road from Market House to the House of Correction, W: William Marten's buildings and garden, N: George Wille's messuage and garden, occupied by James Ticehurst, S: Stephen Steer's messuage and ground)

with a covenant to produce deeds of 23 and 24 March 1798 and 19 and 20 November 1799 (4-5).

On 13 and 14 July 1810 Wille conveyed to Thomas Fisher of Lewes, grocer, and his trustee Thomas Woollgar of Lewes, gent, for £1850 (6-7)

1 messuage with yard or garden on the west side of North Street, Lewes, occupied by James Ticehurst (E: North Street, N: George Wille's messuage and yard or garden, occupied by Thomas Dicker, W: garden of William Marten, S: northernmost of the two messuages below occupied by Henry Saxby)

2 two messuages with yards or garden on the west side of North Street, Lewes, occupied by Thomas Fisher and Henry Saxby, gent, (E: North Street, N: messuage above, W: garden of William Marten, S: messuage and yard or garden of Cater Rand)

On 14 July 1810 Wille and Fisher agreed that, until Fisher should build a wall between 1 above and Wille's house (occupied by Ticehurst and Mrs Mason) to the north, then Wille's occupiers shall be free to take water from the pump in Ticehurst's yard (8). Fisher mortgaged the property on 16 July 1810 for £1850 at 5% to his uncle William Fisher of Blandford [Forum] in Dorset, gent (9).

On 21 July 1826 James Berry the younger of Malling Street, Lewes valued the property at £1550; it was then described as

1 shop, warehouse, cellar, counting room, paved yard, privy and bacon house, room over the shop, three garrets and engine pump (£400)

2 Mr Fisher's house, cellar, front and back parlour, passage and staircase, sitting room, bedroom, two attics, kitchen, warehouse and privy, yard and small garden (£575)

3 house near the offices, occupied by Miss Button at a rent of £35 per year (£575)

Fisher released £850 of the debt to Wille's nephew, now described as an auctioneer, and assigned the remaining charge to William Balcombe Langridge of Lewes, gent, on 22 January 1827; on the same day Fisher entered into a bond as collateral security (10-13). On 9 October 1828 Langridge advanced a further sum of £300 at 5%, protected by a bond for £600 in which Fisher was joined by Nathan Hammond of Lewes, confectioner (13,15).

Fisher insured the property, then described as 3-5 North Street, Lewes (occupied by Harry Bull, Fisher and John Griffiths, plumber, glazier and painter) against fire on 1 September 1829 (14).

Langridge advanced a further £100 at 5%; on 1 June 1831 the property was mortgaged to him with a power of sale for the total debt of £1400 (15-16). It was then described as

1 messuage with yard or garden, occupied by John Griffiths (E: North Street, N: George Wille's messuage and yard or garden, occupied by John Griffiths, W: garden of Frederick Masters, S: Thomas fisher's house)

2 two messuages with yards or gardens, formerly occupied by Fisher and Eliza Button and now by Fisher and Daniel Wymark (E: North Street, N: messuage above, W: garden of Frederick Marten, S: house and garden late Cater Rand's)

Langridge gave notice to Daniel Wymark and Harry Winton on 26 November 1831 to pay their rents to him (17). On 24 and 25 March 1833 Fisher sold the property to Langridge (AMS 5706/24) and on 25 March 1833 he undertook to reconvey the property to Fisher on payment of £1459 15s 3d (18). On 1 April 1833 Fisher of Lewes, gent, agreed to let 3 North Street (inventory of fixtures) to Robert Osborne Neale of Cuckfield, attorney, for one year from 5 April 1833 at £28 (19). On 23 April 1833 Fisher transferred all his interest in the property to Henry Hurly of Iford, banker (18) and on 30 April 1833 Hurly acknowledged receipt of £23 8s from Langridge for the fixtures (inventory) of 3-4 North Street, valued by John Adams (20).

Documents given by Messrs Peacock, Fisher and Finch 18 May 1967 (ACC 816)