ALLINGTON MANOR

Identity: confirmed — The registry location matches the historically separate Allington manor in the remote part of Lewes St John sub Castro, now St John Without. Independent historical sources identify Allington as a formerly extensive manor in this location, distinct from the better-known Allington manors in Kent and elsewhere. The supplied manorial records also form part of the Barony of Lewes record group and repeatedly associate Allington with neighbouring Lewes manors.
Representative point: 50.9052, -0.0312
Basis: documented_estate_centre — Allington Farmhouse, Allington Lane, St John Without, at Historic England NGR TQ3852513594. The farmhouse is the surviving named Allington manorial/estate centre and is situated within the historically identified manor location.
Point confidence: medium
Boundary status: representative_point_only
Boundary period: Medieval to nineteenth century; exact perimeter not established
Boundary confidence: none
Boundary basis: The evidence confirms that the manor was formerly extensive and included land around Allington, Beechwood and Chapel Barn, with at least some associated holdings extending into Hamsey, Chailey and Wivelsfield. A medieval manorial boundary between Allington and Warningore is recorded through Ashcombe Bottom. However, the accessible evidence does not provide a sufficiently clear, complete and georeferenced perimeter of the historical manorial land. The 1625 map of lands in Lewes St John Without and later rentals/maps are archive leads, but they cannot safely be converted into a manor-wide polygon from the available catalogue descriptions alone. The modern St John Without parish boundary must not be substituted for the manor boundary.
Sources:
- Historic England: Allington Farmhouse, Grade II, listing no. 1273727: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1273727 — Identifies Allington Farmhouse in St John Without, Allington Lane, with National Grid Reference TQ3852513594; this supplies the defensible representative location.
- Notes on the Churches in Sussex: Lewes St John sub castro and Allington: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Notes_on_the_churches_in_the_counties_of_Kent%2C_Sussex%2C_and_Surrey/Sussex/Notes_on_the_Churches_I-P — States that the remote part of Lewes St John sub castro under the South Downs contained the formerly very extensive manor of Allington, including Beechwood, Chapel Barn and Chapel Field at Allington Farm.
- Hamsey North End Farm Land Records: 17th–19th Century: https://studylib.net/doc/9004516/1---barcombe-and-hamsey — Records part of Beechwood as waste of the manor of Allington in Lewes St John Without, and documents Allington-related holdings and leases extending into Hamsey and other neighbouring parishes.
- National Trust Heritage Records: Parish boundary, Ashcombe Bottom, Blackcap: https://heritagerecords.nationaltrust.org.uk/HBSMR/MonRecord.aspx?uid=MNA127680 — Records the historical boundary through Ashcombe Bottom as a manorial boundary between Warningore and Allington.
- Mapping the Medieval Countryside: 1415 inquisition concerning Lewes and the Barony of Lewes manors: https://inquisitionspostmortem.ac.uk/view/inquisition/20-654/670.html — Lists Allington among the manors held with the castle and lordship of Lewes, confirming its place in the wider medieval Lewes manorial complex.
- Arundel Castle archive catalogue: hallmote roll for Allington and other Lewes manors, 1343–1344: https://www.arundelcastle.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Vol-2.pdf — Confirms the 1343–1344 hallmote roll for Allington alongside Houndean, Northease, Rodmell, Meeching, Rottingdean, Brighton, Patcham, Clayton, Keymer, Middleton, Ditchling and Cuckfield.
- The National Archives: Allington Manor record F254795: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F254795 — Supplied registry record for the exact manor identity.
Warnings / uncertainty:
- The representative point is based on the surviving Allington Farmhouse/Allington Farm manorial centre, not a confirmed surviving medieval manor-house structure.
- The historical manor was apparently extensive and may have included detached or outlying parcels; its extent did not necessarily coincide with St John Without parish.
- No complete historically evidenced and georeferenced manor perimeter was found, so no polygon is supplied.
- Do not use the modern civil parish, ecclesiastical parish, South Downs boundary or current farm boundary as the historical manor polygon.