Dean’s Place in Alfriston, Sussex is a building of historical significance and is listed on the English Heritage Register. It was built in the 17th Century or earlier and was the residence of several notable people over the next three hundred years. Today it is a hotel which provides restaurant facilities and caters for special events.
Early owners
The earliest owners of the house were the Gyles family. They moved to the village in about 1580. The house is shown in the map of 1618 by John DeWard. The last member of this family who was William Gyles died in 1724. He left his property to his nephew William Batchelor who was the eldest son of his sister Elizabeth Gyles and her husband James Batchelor of Hastings. William Batchelor lived at Alfriston with his wife Martha Gravely. They were married in Alfriston in 1726. When he died in 1852 he left the property to his son William Batchelor. However he died two years later in a horse riding accident and as he had no heirs the house was passed to his sister Mary Margaret Bachelor. She married Thomas Diamond in 1757 and her eldest son was Joseph Diamond who subsequently inherited the property. Joseph Diamond lived in Brenchley, Kent. In 1786 he married Frances Gibbons and had several children. Their grave is in All Saints Cemetery in Brenchley which can be seen at this reference. He sold Dean’s Place in about 1800 to Thomas Henry Harben. Thomas Henry Harben was from the Harben family of Corsica Hall in Seaford. He was born in 1768 and was the son of Thomas Harben and Elizabeth Playstead. In 1790 he married Jane Durand. He sold Corsica Hall in 1812 and for some time lived at Dean’s Place. In the 1822 the house was sold to Lieutenant ColonelJohn Henry Tilson John Henry Tilson owned Watlington Park in Oxfordshire. He lived there until his death in 1836. When he died he left his property including Watlington Park and Dean’s Place to his only surviving child Maria Susan Tilson. In 1842 she married Thomas Shaen Carter and the estates came under his ownership. The Tithe Map of 1843 records him as being the owner. The couple retained ownership of Dean’s Place until 1854 when it was advertised for sale. The advertisement is shown. At this time it was part of a large farming estate of over 700 acres.
Later owners
Dean’s Place was again advertised for sale in 1871 and 1878 By about 1882 William Reynold Gade appears to be the owner of the property. He was married to Isabelle Julie Daelman and when he died in 1887 the house was inherited by her. In 1893 she decided to sell the whole estate and a major sale was held. The property was subdivided into many lots and sold separately. The first sale was in June 1893 and was preceded by a sumptuous champagne lunchion. Dean’s Place was advertised again later in December 1893 and bought by Charles Goble Champion, a solicitor, who also owned property in Eastbourne. He died in 1919 and soon after the house was advertised for sale and bought by General Sir Herbert Lawrence. Sir Herbert Alexander Lawrence was the son of John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence who, for some years, was the Viceroy of India. In 1892 he married Isabel Mary Mills who was the daughter of Charles Henry Mills, 1st Baron Hillingdon. After they bought Dean’s Place they commissioned the famous architect Walter Godfrey to conduct restoration work on the house which was completed in 1923. The couple lived intermittently at Dean’s Place until 1935 when they sold it and moved to Woodcock Lodge in Little Berkhamsted. In 1936 an application was approved by the Hailsham Rural District Council to convert the property to a residential hotel.
