Preston Manor is the former manor house of the ancient Sussex village of Preston, now part of the coastal city of Brighton and Hove, England. The present building dates mostly from 1738, when Lord of the manor Thomas Western rebuilt the original 13th-century structure (part of which remains inside), and 1905 when Charles Stanley Peach's renovation and enlargement gave the house its current appearance. The manor house passed through several owners, including the Stanfords—reputedly the richest family in Sussex—after several centuries of ownership by the Diocese of Chichester and a period in which it was Crown property.
Since 1932, when the Stanford family bequeathed the building to Brighton Corporation, Preston Manor has been a museum and exhibition venue evoking upper-class and below stairs life during the Edwardian era. A walled garden, designated as being of historic interest, has old flint walls, a ruined wellhouse and a pet graveyard, among other features. The manor house is reputed to be one of the most haunted buildings in Britain: it has been the subject of ghost tours and television programmes notably Most Haunted, and a wide range of ghostly sightings have been alleged over a long time period. English Heritage has listed the house at Grade II* for its architectural and historical importance; some other structures in the garden are listed at the lower Grade II.
Preston Manor re-opened to the public in April 2025.
History Preston village originated in the Saxon era—probably during the 9th or 10th century—as evidenced by its name (derived from Preste-tun, meaning "priest's farmstead"). The old spelling was still in use in the 11th century; by the 16th century, the term "Bishops Preston" or "Preston Episcopi" was in common use to avoid confusion with other Prestons elsewhere. Roman occupation of the area was confirmed in 1877. In its original form, the ecclesiastical parish covered a area north of Hove and Brighton.
By 1086, when the Domesday survey was carried out, Preston's importance had grown, and it had the status of a manor. A manor house—likely to have been a simple timber-framed structure—would have existed at this time, but no trace survives. The manor was held by the Episcopal See at Selsey, then by the Bishop of Chichester after the See transferred there in 1075. The Domesday survey calculated the manor's value to be £25, and recorded 12 ploughs (a team of eight oxen), a church, the manor house and a mill of unspecified type. A parish population of about 50 is suggested by the existence of 12 ploughs. The present St Peter's Church, built in the mid-13th century, stands on the site of two earlier churches.
Although the manor belonged to the Bishopric of Chichester, it would have been administered on their behalf by a steward or bailiff. By 1510 the bishops had given up on farming and began renting out their lands. The first tenant at Preston was Edward Elrington and his wife Beatrix Shirley. Edward died in 1515 (his tomb is in St Peter's Church) and his family, including his son Richard, stayed at Preston to farm sheep.
The present manor house has its origins in a simple mid-13th century stone-built building with two rooms of unequal size. Remnants of this house, which has been dated to 1250, survive in the basement. It faced north and measured . The stone walls were thick. The main hall was on the right-hand (western) side; it measured and was raised slightly above the steeply sloping ground to provide space for a cellar underneath. The second room, on the left-hand (eastern) side, measured . Both rooms had a centrally oriented chimney-stack on the south (rear) side, rising from fireplaces in the rooms to the roof. Only the general layout of these rooms can now be made out; parts of two original arched doorways between the two medieval rooms, and a chamfered arched opening, are the only other 13th-century features.
After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the Crown took possession of the manor and the Elrington family became tenants of the Crown. The transfer was completed in 1561, at which time the property was valued at £38.12s.4d. When he died with no sons in 1569, Richard Elrington left his property to his widow, who in turn left it to her son by her previous marriage to William Shirley, named Anthony. He married several years later and eventually had twelve children. Anthony's wife pre-deceased him by one year, and when he died in 1624 the manor passed to their son Thomas. In 1628 he bought the reversion of the lease of the manor from the Crown and became the first Lord of the Manor.
It was either Anthony or his son Thomas who undertook the first significant structural changes to the manor house during the 1600s. Elaborate (but "clumsily executed") moulded entrance doors were added in the east and west walls; designed in the Classical style, with flanking pilasters, architraves and cornices with a frieze. These survive, although not in their original condition. An extension may have been built during the time the manor was in the Shirley family: the lower part of the staircase (most of which dates from 1738) terminates at a first-floor landing and may date from about 1685. East of the staircase, there is a late 17th-century marble chimney-breast. The walled garden was also established at this time.
Thomas also named his eldest son Thomas, and in 1654 this Thomas's son, named Anthony inherited the estate. Sir Anthony Shirley, 1st Baronet Shirley of Preston, was involved in public life as a Member of Parliament for Arundel (1654), Sussex (1656) and Steyning (1660). In April 1658 an enquiry was held at Preston Manor by Oliver Cromwell's Council of State concerning a Royalist plot in Sussex. After serving the Commonwealth, Anthony somehow gained the favour of King Charles II and became a baronet in 1666. He was succeeded by his son Sir Richard, 2nd Baronet Shirley of Preston, in 1683, and when Richard died the property passed to his son, also named Richard, 3rd Baronet Shirley of Preston. Richard Shirley died unmarried in 1705 and Preston Manor was inherited jointly by his three sisters named Anne, Mary and Judith. Anne married Robert Western in 1698 and Mary married Robert's nephew Thomas Western in 1712. Judith died unmarried in 1711 and her share was split between the two surviving sisters. Thomas Western then purchased Anne's portion for £6,275 the following year. By the early 18th century, therefore, the Western family were in possession of the manor.
Thomas Western had estates in Essex and came from a mercantile family. When he died in 1733 he was succeeded by his son, also called Thomas. Under this Thomas Western's oversight, Preston Manor was rebuilt around the core of the 13th-century building and was given a new interior. He may have designed the additions and alterations himself: a foundation stone in the basement is carved with the date 1738 and the name "Thos. Western". He gave the building a symmetrical five-bay Palladian/Georgian-style façade across its full width. This had five entrances (of which the centre one formed a porch leading to an entrance hall), but the unequal width of the two medieval rooms inside meant the interior layout would not match the symmetry of the exterior. The lopsided appearance (unusual for this era and the chosen architectural style) was perpetuated when Western added unequally sized western and eastern wings, in the style of pavilions, containing a dining room and library respectively.
When Thomas died, the succession then passed jointly to two of his sons, Charles Western and Reverend Thomas Walsingham Western. Thomas exchanged his estates for lands in Essex, while in 1766 Charles married Frances, daughter of a colonial agent in the American colonies. Their married life was short as during a phaeton ride, the horse stumbled and her husband was killed. Their eldest son, also named Charles, was saved when Frances threw him from the phaeton into the safety of a bush. Soon after her husband's death, Frances took their children to Essex and never returned to Preston Manor. In 1794, Preston Manor which included about 1,000 acres of land was sold to a tenant William Stanford for £17,600 ending the long association of Preston with the Western family.
William Stanford came from an established farming family near Horsham in West Sussex. When he bought Preston Manor it included the house, farm and surrounding lands in Brighton and Hove. He was already a wealthy man. Around this time, the interior was redecorated in the Adam style, and a columned screen was added in the entrance hall. William married Elizabeth Avery, and they had two children, both of whom died in 1790. Their mother died the following year. In 1802, he took another wife, Mary Tourle of Lewes, and had seven children with her. He sold his farm produce in the growing town of Brighton and was awarded a contract by the Town Commissioners to clear night-soil (sewage) from the streets and cesspools. In 1808, he became High Sheriff of Sussex. When he died in 1841, he was considered to be one of the richest private individuals in the county. His eldest son, William Stanford the younger, inherited Preston and continued the life of a rich country farmer. In 1842, he married Eleanor Montague Morris, the daughter of a London solicitor. Their first child, a son, died aged only five months. A daughter, named Ellen, was born in 1848. William died in 1853 and Ellen became the heir to the Stanford Estate.
The following year Eleanor married Captain George Varnham Macdonald, and the couple went on to have three daughters, Flora (born 1857) and later twins Diana and Christiana, known as Lily (born 1866). Ellen was educated at Miss Russell's private school in Montpelier Road, Brighton and after graduating spent two social seasons in London. In October 1867, she married Vere Fane Benett-Stanford (1840–1894) of Pythouse near Tisbury, Wiltshire, in a ceremony at St Peter's Church, after which a wedding breakfast for forty guests was held at Preston Manor. After the marriage, under the terms of William Stanford's will, Vere took the Stanford surname. Vere and Ellen spent their married life at Pythouse or their London townhouse in South Kensington. Vere and Ellen had one child, a son named John Montague Benett-Stanford (born 1870). After an unspectacular academic career, he left Eton at sixteen for an apprenticeship on the railways and then joined the army. In later life, he gained a reputation for erratic and eccentric behaviour, and had a very difficult relationship with his mother.
The Stanford family's influence grew in the nineteenth century as they acquired more land in strategically important places around Brighton and Hove: they were able to control the two towns' expansion by choosing when to sell land and stipulating how it would be developed. The rapid expansion of Brighton in the early nineteenth century made for high income from rents and William Stanford the elder made a steady income from the collection of fees for surrendering his feudal rights over building land on the Adelaide and Brunswick estates. When the railway lines crossed the Stanford estate he received £30,000 compensation for the loss of his land and the spoiling of the westerly view from Preston Manor.