Normanhurst Court
Normanhurst Court was a large manor house in the village of Catsfield in East Sussex.
History[edit]
The building of the house was initiated by Thomas Brassey, one of the leading railway builders of the nineteenth century.[1] The works, which were carried out by Lucas Brothers,[2] were completed shortly after he died in 1870[3] and the house was occupied by Lord Brassey, his son.[1] The house was designed to resemble a French Chateau, and was home of the Brassey family for many years.[1]
The house contained some important portraits by Walter Goodman of Lord Brassey, his wife, Lady Anna Brassey, their children, and Thomas Brassey senior.[4]
It was approached by two entrances each with a lodge.[5] An octagonal water tower rose in the South-West corner of the site.[5] The water tower, a museum and the bachelor's quarters were all situated away from the main building.[5] The estate extended to some 3,400 acres (14 km2) with farmhouses and other buildings.[5]
During World War I it was used as a military hospital for wounded soldiers and, then having been used as a girls' school between the wars,[6] it was used as a Prisoner of war camp during the Second World War.[1] The house was demolished in 1951[6] and the grounds are now used as a caravan park.[3]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d Normanhurst Court - Battle's Prisoner of War Camp
- ^ Charles Thomas Lucas at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ^ a b Adorning the rolling Sussex Countryside Sussex Notebook
- ^ The Herald and Observer September 24th 1870
- ^ a b c d Sale particulars - Normanhurst Court in Sussex
- ^ a b 'A Tapestry of Battle - its people and their stories'