Chosen by Annabelle Hughes, researcher
I came across this deed in my work as a researcher of historic buildings. I had been trying to find a link between what was thought to be an early 19th century house in Thakeham called Cumberland House and an earlier farm dating from around 1349 belonging to William Payn, which later became an alehouse and workhouse. This deed, which refers to the intention to demolish and replace the earlier house on the site, was my ‘clincher’. It also refers to the clearing and sorting of the original building materials and so provides evidence of traditional recycling at work!
The only questions still remaining relate to why the Chatfields did not appear to actually live there, and the actual time-span of it being an inn called The Duke of Cumberland, as the only documentary reference found so far is 1855-64).
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West Sussex Record Office 