Deeds of 41 High Street with property in St Nicholas Lane, Lewes

As to 41 High Street, purchased by Thomas Whiteman in 1798

In 1796 the property was described as:

a messuage in Lewes All Saints occupied by John Smart (late John Fuller the elder) (N: High Street; W: St Nicholas Lane; S: a yard leading to a public house called the Dolphin; E: messuage occupied by William Brown), with the use of a wash-house and well in common with the occupiers of houses occupied by William Brown and George Palmer, and the shared use of a privy and yard.

The property formed part of that purchased by Thomas Sergison of Cuckfield, esq from John Baker and Edmund and Ann Crow in 1735 [for details of the earlier title of which see AMS 6463]. By his will of 31 October 1766, Sergison bequeathed his Lewes property to his brother-in-law Anthony Nott and his son-in-law and nephew Charles Langford in trust for sale. Sergison died in November 1778 and his will was proved in PCC (8).

The trustees failed to sell the estates. By his will of 10 November 1778, Langford left the property to his wife Jane; he died on 23 January 1783 and his widow proved his will in PCC. On 23 October 1783 the estate was settled on Jane Langford's marriage with George Hickes of Bishopsgate Street, London; the trustees were Nathaniel Bristed, clerk and John Cocker, gent. Cocker predeceased Bristed, who renounced his trusteeship on 2 October 1787, whereupon James Trimbey of London, merchant and John Nainby of Kennington Road, gent, were appointed on 8 October 1787 (8).

In Hilary 1781 Charles and Jane Langford had brought a bill in chancery against Anthony Nott the elder and his wife Prudence, his sons Sergison Nott and Anthony Nott and grandchildren Ann Nott and Prudence Jane Nott, then wife of James Redit, which was recommenced by a bill of reviver in Michaelmas 1783. A decree of 29 June 1787 called for an account to be taken by Master Graves (8).

By his will of 28 January 1790, Anthony Nott left the estates to his son Sergison Nott and Anthony Nott; the will was proved in PCC on 13 July 1791. By her will of 29 August 1791, Jane Hickes appointed Fowler Hickes and George Trimbey trustees, for the benefit (after her husband's death) of her sister Ann Nott the wife of Thomas Collier, her brother Anthony Nott and Prudence Jane, wife of James Redit. Jane Hickes died in December 1792 and her will was proved by Fowler Hickes. The estates of Thomas Sergison were auctioned at the Star inn, Lewes on 12 June 1794; lot 10 was purchased by Richard Cosens for £350, subsequently confirmed by reports and orders of 12 June, 6 November and 9 December 1794 and 9 June 1795 (8).

On 28 and 29 January 1796 the property, described as above, was conveyed to Richard Cosens of Lewes, gardener, and his trustee John Fisher of Lewes, gent, by Sergison Nott of Brighton, esq and his brother the Rev Anthony Nott, rector of Little Horsted (the sons of Anthony Nott of Little Horsted, esq and his wife Prudence, the surviving devisee of her brother Thomas Sergison), Thomas Collier of Enfield, gent and his wife Ann (née Nott), George Hickes of Mile End, Stepney, gent, Fowler Hickes of Grays Inn, esq and George Trimbey of Queens Street, Cheapside, gent (executors of Jane Hickes, née Nott), and James Redit of Cooks Court, St Clement Dane, gent and his wife Prudence Jane (née Bristed, grand-daughter of Prudence, wife of Anthony Nott) (8).

On 6 October 1796 William Cooper of Lewes, gent, who had purchased lots 7, 8, 9 and 12 in the Sergison sale, covenanted to produce deeds to the properties, which had been conveyed to him on 29 and 30 June 1796 (for which see below) (8).

On 22 and 23 May 1798 Richard Cosens sold the property to Thomas Whiteman of Lewes, tailor, and his trustee Thomas Boxall of Lewes, bricklayer, for £390, of which £300 was raised by mortgage at 5% to Josias Smith of Lewes, gent, the previous day (8). The mortgage was increased by a further charge of £50 on 8 November 1800 (3).

As to property in St Nicholas Lane, purchased by Thomas Whiteman in 1808

Like 41 High Street, the property formed part of that purchased by Thomas Sergison of Cuckfield, esq from John Baker and Edmund and Ann Crow in 1735 [for details of the earlier title of which see AMS 6463].

The property formed part of the estate of Thomas Sergison, and formed lots 8 and 9 in the sale of his property under the chancery decree of 29 June 1787. Master Graves allowed William Cooper of Lewes, gent, to be the purchaser of lots 22, 14 and 38 and Anthony Nott, clerk of lots 6-9, 12 and 42 by a report of 12 June 1794, the day of the sale. Orders of 17 June, 5 and 22 July, 8 August, 30 October and 28 November confirmed the sales. Nott subsequently agreed to sell his lots on to Cooper, to whom the properties were conveyed on 29 and 30 June 1795. Cooper's purchase in St Nicholas Lane (including lot 7, subsequently sold off to William Verrall) was described as:

three messuages with a yard in Dolphin Lane, lately occupied by Edward Stanford, Stephen Coleman and Stephen Brown (W: Dolphin Lane; N: messuage occupied by John Smart [41 High Street]; S: The Dolphin inn)

[In 1805 Cooper contracted to sell the three messuages for £400 to Thomas Whiteman of Lewes, tailor, who sold one of them for £183 to William Verrall, owner of The Dolphin. The conveyance of the single messuage, divided from the others by a new wall, was executed on 28 and 29 September 1805 - AMS 6463/12, 13 - but the conveyance of the remaining pair to Whiteman did not take place until 1808].

On 7 and 8 October 1808 Cooper conveyed the two houses for £259 to Thomas Whiteman of Lewes, tailor, and his trustee John Whiteman of Pevensey, yeoman; they were described as:

two messuages with a yard in Dolphin Lane occupied by Israel Medhurst and John Gates, before William Smart, [blank] Turner and Francis Miles, before Stephen Brown and Widow Heather (W: Dolphin Lane; N: messuage owned and occupied by Thomas Whiteman, before John Smart, hairdresser; S: messuage and ground of William Verrall, occupied by Michael Walden and David Wells (10).

As to the whole property

On 10 July 1810 the owners of 39, 40 and 41 High Street made an agreement to partition the yard and well behind the houses which they shared in common.

Benjamin Ridge and his wife Sarah [39 High Street] and Hannah Brown, widow [40 High Street] were to continue to share the northern part of the yard and the well which it contained; Thomas Whiteman [41 High Street and St Nicholas Lane] was to have the southern part of the yard, divided by a new brick wall which he was to build, and to dig a new well. Whiteman (who perhaps wished to build over part of the yard) was to allow his neighbours access to their part of the yard through a passageway at least three feet wide. The cesspool and its maintenance was to remain a joint responsibility. The agreement, which survives in the form of a copy of 1838, is illustrated by a plan (9).

Whiteman made a further charge of 41 High Street to Josias Smith for £150 on 31 October 1817 and on 24 and 25 March 1826 assigned the mortgage, for a further charge of £500 (making £1000 in all) to Frances Faulconer of Lewes, widow and her trustee Plumer Verrall of Lewes, auctioneer. The property was occupied by Benjamin Flint, that to the east owned by Robert Moon, and the well was shared with the tenants of the houses of Moon and William Smith. Whiteman also charged two leasehold houses on the north side of Lewes High Street as further security for the loan (4-6). The title, based on a schedule of deeds surrendered to the mortgagee, appears in the next paragraph.

For a lease of 41 High Street, Thomas Whiteman to Benjamin Flint, 3 April 1828, see ACC 4113 box 5 parcel 17.

As to 171-172 High Street, Lewes St Michael, mortgaged by Thomas Whiteman in 1826

The property was owned by the trustees of Blunt's Charity [for the deeds see AMS 5996]. On 27 January 1759 Gabriel Ayres [the surviving trustee] conveyed the property to new trustees (named), who on 5 April granted a lease for 150 years at £6 to Edward Verral. It was then described as:

a messuage formerly occupied by James Savage (W: messuage of Thomas Pardoe, clerk, late Thomas Holmwood; E: messuage of Richard Barnard, before his ancestor Richard Barnard; S: High Street; N: the castle ditch)

The lease [AMS 5596/3/6] permitted demolition, and the mortgage of 1826 recites that the house was rebuilt, a coach-house, stable and other buildings erected and the house divided into two tenements (6). The lease was assigned by George Verral the elder to Araunah Verral on 16 November 1792 and to Ann Brett, spinster, on 12 December 1792. The land-tax on part of the property was redeemed on 15 February 1799 and Miss Brett's administrator Joseph Molineux assigned to Araunah Verral on 26 March 1802. His will was proved on 19 September 1806 and his widow Elizabeth buried on 16 November 1812. An agreement was made between Thomas Cooper of Lewes, gent and Thomas Whiteman on 6 July 1820 and Edward Verral assigned to Whiteman on 23 December 1825 (7).

As to the whole property

On 4 May 1822 Whiteman mortgaged property, including the two houses in St Nicholas Lane, occupied by James Hall and Benjamin Flint (before James Medhurst and John Gates) for £400 to William Verrall of Lewes, brewer (owner of the house to the south [for the title of which see AMS 6463], occupied by Timothy Ewins); he made a further charge of £350 on 27 February 1827 (10).

Whiteman and his mortgagees sold the whole property to Joseph Flint of Charlwood in Surrey, miller, in 1838. Abstracts of title were drawn by George Whiteman of Eastbourne and Hailsham [for whose papers concerning the Lewes property of the Whiteman family see ACC 6011/24] and on 7 and 8 November 1838 the property was conveyed to Flint and his trustee John Hother of Lewes, breeches-maker, for £1400, of which £1000 was paid to Frances Faulconer to discharge the mortgage of 1826 and £400 to George Grantham, the son-in-law and co-executor of William Verrall, to whom the mortgage-debt of 1822 and 1827 had been assigned in the division of Verrall's residuary estate. The conveyance contains a detailed plan of the site, and makes clear that the building to the south was then occupied by James Pollard (11, 12).

By his will of 5 October 1861, Joseph Flint bequeathed his property in trust for sale for the benefit of his daughters, Susannah wife of Thomas Marchant Moon of Horsham, tanner, Ann widow of Thomas Cotching of Islington, grocer and Emily Sarah wife of Peter Palliser of Finsbury, coach and harness maker. He died on 8 December and his will was proved by George Irving of Chichester, gent, William Blaker Caffin of ifield, yeoman and T M Moon on 18 February 1862 (14). On 28 August 1866 the executors granted a yearly tenancy of the property at £75 to the occupier Frederick Flint (13).

Caffin died on 27 May 1869 and was buried at Ifield, Mrs Palliser died on 8 September 1870 and Moon died on 4 November 1875 and was buried at Horsham. Irving appointed Joseph Flint Alexander Cotching of Horsham, solicitor, an additional trustee on 1 January 1876. The property, including a bacon-drying house, was valued at £1400 by F Hulme King of Horsham on 13 May 1886 and at £1125 by Henry Card of Lewes, surveyor (who also estimated the dilapidations) on 31 May (15, 16). Cotching, who had survived Irving, agreed to sell 41 High Street to the occupiers, Frederick Flint and Charles Stanley Flint of Lewes, grocers, for £1275 on 23 October 1886 (19). The roof was repaired, according to Henry Card's specifications, by Messrs Berry and Bussey between October 1886 and January 1887, although their contract had specified completion before 4 November. the bill was finally settled on 1 February 1887, and included charges for extra work on raising the ridge of the roof (17, 18, 21).

The conveyance to the Flints does not survive, but notes on the abstract make clear that Joseph Flint's daughter Ann Cotching had subsequently married a Mr Burstow (14).

Documents deposited 11 June 1968 (ACC 914)

41 High Street was part of the property of Robert Stapley of Lewes, butcher, who was owner when the survey of the manor of Lewes Burgus was carried out by John Rowe in 1624 (SRS 34 (1928) 9). The land behind the houses stretched back to include the site of The Dolphin inn, the deeds of which (AMS 6463) enable the title to be traced from 1664. The three houses 39-41 High Street shared a common yard with property in St Nicholas Lane until a partition in 1810 (for which see 9 below), and probably represent Stapley's property.

The whole Stapley property was purchased by Thomas Sergison of Cuckfield (1701-1767) in 1735 and sold in lots in 1794. 41 High Street and the houses in St Nicholas Lane were bought separately, but reunited in 1808 when Thomas Whiteman, who had bought 41 High Street in 1798, purchased the St Nicholas Lane houses from the attorney William Cooper. Part of his purchase, a cottage at the southern end of the site, was sold to William Verrall, owner of The Dolphin, in 1805.