Cowdray House ruins ruin England Tudor palace Midhurst West Sussex
Cowdray House consists of the ruins of one of England's great Tudor houses, architecturally comparable to many of the great palaces and country houses of that time. It is situated just east of Midhurst, West Sussex standing on the north bank of the River Rother. It was largely destroyed by fire on 24 September 1793. The original fortified manor house was built in 1284 by Sir John Bohun across the river from the town of Midhurst. He named it Coudreye, the Norman word for the nearby hazel woods. In the 1520s, Sir David Owen, uncle to Henry VII began construction of the current Cowdray House on the site of the former home Coudreye which he had acquired upon the death of his wife Mary Bohun in 1496. In 1529, Sir Owen's son, Henry, sold the estate of Cowdray to Sir William Fitzwilliam. He received license from Henry VIII to empark and crenelate the house in 1533. In 1536, following the dissolution of the monasteries Sir William was given the nearby Easebourne Priory and other properties, whilst in 1538 his half-brother and heir who later inherited Cowdray, Anthony Browne, received Battle Abbey. It is rumoured that a dispossessed monk from Battle cursed the family and house by fire and water, thy line shall come to an end and it shall perish out of this land. Henry VIII made three visits to the house during his reign, in August 1538, July 1539 and August 1545. The house was later visited by his son, Edward VI in July 1552 and by his daughter Elizabeth I in August 1591. Mary of Guise, widow of James V of Scotland stayed a night at Cowdray in October 1551. In November 1538, the last surviving member of the House of Plantagenet, Lady Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury was imprisoned at Cowdray until September 1539 when she was removed to the Tower of London. She was later executed in May 1541.
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Photo credit: © SOTK2011 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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