Mayfield Manor and Ironworks

Topic: Mayfield Manor and Ironworks

1. Verified Sourced Facts

• The user-supplied History of Parliament transcription for Sir Henry Neville III states:

“The eldest son and heir of Sir Henry Neville I ... was born in 1588 at Mayfield in Sussex. Mayfield was sold in 1597”

• A Privy Council entry dated 5 May 1591 refers to:

“Henrie Nevel, of Mafeld, esquier”

• The same Privy Council entry requests that he be added to the Sussex deputy lieutenancy commission.
• Eva Margaretta Bell-Irving writes of Sir Henry Neville:

“upon first coming into possession in 1596, held the lordship or manor of Mayfield in its entire state”

• Bell-Irving states:

“By an indenture of 14th August 1597, he sold to Thomas Aynscombe ... all the waste lands in Mayfield, Wadhurst, and Lamberhurst”

• Bell-Irving also states:

“By an indenture 6 May, 1598, Sir Henry Nevill sold to Sir Thomas May ... for the consideration of £6,387”

• Bell-Irving describes the 1598 conveyance as including:

“all that the Manor of Mayfield and all houses etc. and all the glass and wainscott of the chief Manor House or mansion house of the said manor”

• Bell-Irving states of Mayfield in the ironworks chapter:

“there were forges in the parish of Mayfield”

• Bell-Irving states of the mid-Tudor ordnance industry:

“This was Ralphe Hogge, or Huggett, before mentioned, whose furnaces were between Mayfield and Buxted.”

• Bell-Irving writes that a January 1574 petition from Ralphe Hogge complained of infringement of his patent:

“for the sole exportation of Ordnance”

• Bell-Irving states that a return of 15 Feb. following gave:

“a list of the owners of ironworks in Sussex, Surrey, and Kent”

• Bell-Irving states:

“Included in the list are the following names of Mayfield founders: Sir Thomas Gresham, 1 furnace in Mayfielde.”

• In the same passage Bell-Irving lists:

“Isted, 1 fordg in Mayfelde”

“Thomas Isted of Mayfelde.”

“Nicholas Fowle of Mavill (Mayfield) for furnes and forge in Wadhurst.”

“Thomas Ellis of Biblesam (Bibleham).”

• Bell-Irving states of 1587:

“Henry Nevil (of Frant and Mayfield, considered the chief Sussex ironmaster), and the rest of that occupation”

• Bell-Irving states that the arrangement made in 1587 was:

“that a fixed quantity of cannon should be cast annually ‘for the necessary provision of our own navigation,’ a certain proportion being allowed to each founder.”

• Bell-Irving states of a letter dated 8 August 1589 from Lord Buckhurst:

“Their lordshippes doe see the little regard the owners of furnaces and the makers of these peeces have of their bondes”

• Bell-Irving states of another letter dated 6 October 1590 that it directs magistrates:

“to ‘straighten restraints of making shott and ordnance,’ and to take bonds of £1,000 each of every furnace owner”

• Bell-Irving also writes:

“The noble families, such as the Ashburnhams, Pelhams, Nevills, Sidneys, Sackvilles, Howards, Gages, and others, turned ironmasters”

• Dunkin’s feet-of-fines index records for East., 40 Eliz. [1598]:

“Thomas Maye of Burwash, esq., plaintiff, and Henry Nevyll, esq., and Anne his wife, deforciants”

• The same 1598 entry records:

“Manors of Maighfeld and Battersden alias Pentbridge, and rectory of Maighfeld and park of Maighfeld”

• The same 1598 entry also records:

“tenements in Maighfeld, Wadherst and Lamberhurst, and half hundred of Loxfeild, and free warren in Maighfeld, Wadherst and Lamberherst, also advowson of vicarage of Maighfeld, quitclaimed to plaintiff and heirs”

• Dunkin’s feet-of-fines index records for Mich., 7 Ja. I. [1609]:

“Mayfield Park, Court Meadow and Pennybridge, and the advowson of vicarage of MAYFIELD alias MAYGHTFIELD, quitclaimed to plaintiffs and heirs of George Snelling”

• Sussex Archaeological Collections states:

“The initials on the Andirons are those of Henry Neville, of Mayfield”

• The same catalog entry describes a fire-back with:

“crossed staples with the initials H.N. (Henry Neville ?)”

• The same entry states of that fire-back:

“supposed by Mr. M. A. Lower to have been made by Henry Neville, of Mayfield, Sussex.”

• Another Sussex Archaeological Collections Mayfield article states:

“On the death of Sir Thomas Gresham, on 21st November, 1579, the estate came, by devise, to Sir Henry Neville”

• The same article states:

“from entries in the registers, resided here.”

• The same article also states:

“ultimately, on 6th May, 1597, he sold the mansion and manor to Thomas May, of Franchise, in Burwash.”

• The local Neville letters corpus includes a letter dated 1590-01-01 to William Cecil that states:

“my Lord of Warwick sent a gentleman of his one mr Blyncoe with a letter of commandment unto all the Gunfounders in Sussex”

• The same 1590 letter states:

“upon complaint made by my lords of the Council of the abuse of transportation of ordnance into foreign countries”

• The same 1590 letter also states:

“some quantity of ordnance should yearly be made for the necessary provision of our own navigation”

• The local Neville letters corpus includes a letter dated 1593-08-01 to Robert Sackville that states:

“they have made delivery to your use at millall , of 44 ton 200 & 3 quarters , and at Lewes of 28 ton and 1300”

• The same 1593 letter also states:

“which in all comes to 152 ton & 3 quarters of a hundred”

• The Wealden Iron Research Group data site entry for Thomas Hodgson states:

“Teesdale (p. 126) notes him working for Henry Neville, presumably at Mayfield Furnace, in 1592.”

• The same WIRG page lists the person connection:

“Neville, Henry (b.1564, d.1615) is Thomas Hodgson's employer”

• The same WIRG page lists the iron site connection:

“Mayfield Furnace - ?gun founder in 1592”

• The WIRG data site also records that Thomas Hodgson was associated with Pounsley Furnace in 1608. His father was Robert Hodgson (d. 1598). His brother was Barnaby Hodgson. These family details are preserved here to distinguish this Thomas Hodgson from others in the WIRG database and to extend the ironmaster-network picture beyond the single 1592 Mayfield entry.
• Bryan Lawton writes:

“Sir Thomas Leighton and Sir Henry Neville obtained separate patents from Elizabeth I to send their ordnance abroad”

2. Ken Feinstein Twitter and Blog Information

• No Ken Feinstein Twitter/blog material is isolated in this packet at present.

3. Quoted Source Text

History of Parliament transcription

• “was born in 1588 at Mayfield in Sussex”
• “Mayfield was sold in 1597”

Privy Council entry, 5 May 1591

• “Henrie Nevel, of Mafeld, esquier”
• “These are therfore to pray your Lordship to add Henrie Nevel, of Mafeld, esquier, unto the nomber of the rest of the Deputie Lieutenantes”

Bell-Irving, Chapter XII

• “Sir Henry Nevill, upon first coming into possession in 1596, held the lordship or manor of Mayfield in its entire state”
• “By an indenture of 14th August 1597, he sold to Thomas Aynscombe”
• “By an indenture 6 May, 1598, Sir Henry Nevill sold to Sir Thomas May ... for the consideration of £6,387”
• “all that the Manor of Mayfield and all houses etc. and all the glass and wainscott of the chief Manor House or mansion house of the said manor”

Bell-Irving, Chapter XIII

• “there were forges in the parish of Mayfield”
• “This was Ralphe Hogge, or Huggett, before mentioned, whose furnaces were between Mayfield and Buxted.”
• “for the sole exportation of Ordnance”
• “a list of the owners of ironworks in Sussex, Surrey, and Kent”
• “Included in the list are the following names of Wealden founders: Sir Thomas Gresham, 1 furnace in Mayfielde.”
• “Isted, 1 fordg in Mayfielde”
• “Thomas Isted of Mayfelde.”
• “Nicholas Fowle of Mavill (Mayfield) for furnes and forge in Wadhurst.”
• “Thomas Ellis of Biblesam (Bibleham).”
• “Thomas Nevill of Mayfelde.”
• “Henry Nevill (of Frant and Mayfield, considered the chief Sussex ironmaster), and the rest of that occupation”
• “for the necessary provision of our own navigation”
• “Their lordshippes doe see the little regard the owners of furnaces and the makers of these peeces have of their bondes”
• “to ‘straighten restraints of making shott and ordnance,’ and to take bonds of £1,000 each of every furnace owner”
• “The noble families, such as the Ashburnhams, Pelhams, Nevills, Sidneys, Sackvilles, Howards, Gages, and others turned ironmasters”

Feet of fines / manor and rectory entries

• “Thomas Maye of Burwash, esq., plaintiff, and Henry Nevyll, esq., and Anne his wife, deforciants”
• “Manors of Maighfeld and Battersden alias Pentbridge, and rectory of Maighfeld and park of Maighfeld”
• “tenements in Maighfeld, Wadherst and Lamberhurst, and half hundred of Loxfeild, and free warren in Maighfeld, Wadherst and Lamberherst, also advowson of vicarage of Maighfeld, quitclaimed to plaintiff and heirs”
• “Mayfield Park, Court Meadow and Pennybridge, and the advowson of vicarage of MAYFIELD alias MAYGHTFIELD, quitclaimed to plaintiffs and heirs of George Snelling”

Sussex Archaeological Collections / fire-back

• “The initials on the Andirons are those of Henry Neville, of Mayfield”
• “crossed staples with the initials H.N. (Henry Neville ?)”
• “supposed by Mr. M. A. Lower to have been made by Henry Neville, of Mayfield, Sussex.”

Sussex Archaeological Collections / Mayfield article

• “On the death of Sir Thomas Gresham, on 21st November, 1579, the estate came, by devise, to Sir Henry Neville”
• “from entries in the registers, resided here.”
• “ultimately, on 6th May, 1597, he sold the mansion and manor to Thomas May, of Franchise, in Burwash.”

Neville letters corpus

• “my Lord of Warwick sent a gentleman of his one mr Blyncoe with a letter of commandment unto all the Gunfounders in Sussex”
• “upon complaint made by my lords of the Council of the abuse of transportation of ordnance into foreign countries”
• “some quantity of ordnance should yearly be made for the necessary provision of our own navigation”
• “they have made delivery to your use at millall , of 44 ton 200 & 3 quarters , and at Lewes of 28 ton and 1300”
• “which in all comes to 152 ton & 3 quarters of a hundred”

WIRG data site

• “Teesdale (p. 126) notes him working for Henry Neville, presumably at Mayfield Furnace, in 1592.”
• “Neville, Henry (b.1564, d.1615) is Thomas Hodgson's employer”
• “Mayfield Furnace - ?gun founder in 1592”
• “Pounsley Furnace” — listed in Hodgson's WIRG site connections, 1608
• Father: “Robert Hodgson” (d. 1598); brother: “Barnaby Hodgson”

Lawton

• “Sir Thomas Leighton and Sir Henry Neville obtained separate patents from Elizabeth I to send their ordnance abroad”

4. Citations

• Bell-Irving, Eva Margaretta. Mayfield: The Story of an Old Wealdon Village. London, William Clowes and Sons, 1903.
• Dasent, John Roche, editor. Acts of the Privy Council of England: A.D. 1542-[June 1631]. Vol. 21: 1591. Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1900. State Papers Online, Gale. PC 2/18 f.252, entry dated 5 May 1591.
• Thrush, Andrew. “NEVILLE, Sir Henry III (1588-1629), of Billingbear, Berks.” The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1604-1629, https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1604-1629/member/neville-sir-henry-iii-1588-1629.
• Lawton, Bryan. “Renaissance and Early Modern Metal Working.” Various and Ingenious Machines. Volume Two: Manufacturing and Weapons Technology. Brill, 2004, pp. 933-1004. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004531697_007.
• Lower, Mark Antony. “Supplementary Notices of the Iron-Works of the County of Sussex.” Sussex Archaeological Collections, vol. 3, 1850, pp. 240-248. Archaeology Data Service, https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/library/browse/issue.xhtml?recordId=1185064.
• Dunkin, Edwin H. W., editor. Sussex Manors, Advowsons, Etc., Recorded in the Feet of Fines, Henry VIII to William IV (1509-1833). Lewes, Farncombe and Co., 1914. Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/sussexmanorsadvo02dunkuoft.
• Blaauw, W. H. “Mayfield.” Sussex Archaeological Collections Relating to the History and Antiquities of the County, vol. 21, Sussex Archaeological Society, 1869, pp. 1-20. Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/sussexarchaeolog21suss_0.
• Salzman, L. F., editor. Sussex Archaeological Collections Relating to the History and Antiquities of the County. Vol. 46. Lewes, Sussex Archaeological Society, 1903. Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/sussexarchaeolog46suss.
• Neville Letters Corpus. Version 8. XML corpus of 138 letters and 3 documents, /Users/kenf/Neville Book/08_Neville_Letters_Vocabulary/source_xml/Neville_Letters_Corpus_v8.xml. Letter letter_001_1590 (Neville_Letter_1590_Burghley.txt) and letter letter_119 (Neville_Letter_1593-08-01_Sackville.txt).
• “Hodgson, Thomas.” WIRG Data Site, Wealden Iron Research Group, https://wirgdata.org/searchpro2.cgi?personid=552.

5. Notes on Access

• The History of Parliament wording used above comes from user-supplied transcription.
• The Bell-Irving book is available locally at mayfieldstoryan00irvgoog.pdf.
• A public catalog/view record for Bell-Irving’s book is available at Google Books.
• The NevilleResearch Mayfield page is a source-aggregation page rather than a primary or secondary authority: Mayfield - Henry Neville Research Wiki.
• The Privy Council source is available locally at Mayfield_Star_Chamber_Privy_Council_1591.pdf.
• The Lawton quotation is available locally at Neville_iron_ordnance.pdf.
• Bell-Irving explicitly cites M. A. Lower’s Sussex ironworks article in the Mayfield ironworks chapter; the ADS record above provides a public access point to the journal issue.
• The Dunkin and Sussex Archaeological Collections quotations above were extracted from the Internet Archive text layers of those printed volumes.
• The sale date is in three-way tension across the sources used here: the user-supplied History of Parliament transcription says Mayfield was sold in 1597; Blaauw gives 6th May, 1597; Bell-Irving gives 6 May, 1598, and the feet-of-fines material used elsewhere in this packet points to 1598. The packet preserves the wording of each source rather than harmonizing the dates.
• The Neville letters quotations above are transcribed from the local XML corpus. The extracted letters do not themselves name Mayfield in the quoted passages; they are included here because they document Neville’s direct involvement in Sussex ordnance matters during the 1590s.
• The WIRG data page is a tertiary research database entry. Its wording and uncertainty markers are preserved here as quoted.
• The WIRG data page gives Henry Neville’s lifespan as b.1564, d.1615; that birth year conflicts with the project’s separate birthdate packet, which favors 1563.
• The NevilleResearch page lists additional archive leads under the labels Details on the Sale of Mayfield, Henry Neville Fireback, Details on Gunpowder and Saltpetre, quitclaim of Mayfield, Mayfield lawsuit, and Mayfield sale. Those labels should be checked against the underlying archive items before their contents are treated as sourced facts.