History

As far back as the 12^thCentury, Broyle Place belonged to Theobald Archbishop of Canterbury. In the 16^th Century Broyle Place became the property of Queen Elizabeth I.  It was subsequently owned and managed by a succession of prominent families including Sir Thomas Sackville, 1^st Earl of Dorset, an ancestor of Vita Sackville West. In the early part of the 17^th Century the property passed to Sir Herbert Springett, grandfather of Gulielma Maria, the first wife of William Penn who later founded Pennsylvania.

Broyle Place was part of an enclosure within the Broyle, a large deer-park that served as the main area of common land for the parish of Ringmer, and was brought about by a private Act of Parliament of 1767. This was the first Parliamentary Enclosure Act in the county of Sussex and one of the largest. Prior to this it is presumed that a house, a royal hunting lodge of timber construction, must have existed within the estate, during the period 1200 to 1500.

In the late 16^th or 17^th century the house was substantially rebuilt with brick and stone facings and the façade of this house still remains today. A watercolour of Broyle Place by Grimm in 1885 (who made a large number of sketches of important houses in Sussex) now resides in the British Museum.

As far back as the 12^thCentury, Broyle Place belonged to Theobald Archbishop of Canterbury. In the 16^th Century Broyle Place became the property of Queen Elizabeth 1; it was subsequently owned and managed by a succession of prominent families including Sir Thomas Sackville, 1^st Earl of Dorset, an ancestor of Vita Sackville West. In the early part of the 17^th Century the property passed to Sir Herbert Springett, grandfather of Gulielma Maria, the first wife of William Penn who later founded Pennsylvania.

Broyle Place was part of an enclosure with in the Broyle, a large deer-park that served as the main area of common land for the parish of Ringmer and was brought about by a private Act of Parliament of 1767. This was the first Parliamentary Enclosure Act in the county of Sussex and one of the largest. Prior to this it is presumed that a house must have existed within the estate, during the period 1200 to 1500, as a royal hunting lodge of timber construction. In the late 16^th or 17^th century the house was substantially rebuilt with brick and stone facings and is the façade of the house that still remains today. A watercolour of Broyle Place by Grimm in 1885 (who made a large number of sketches of important houses in Sussex) now resides in the British Museum.