It was originally the largest and grandest house in the village and belonged to the Lord of the Manor. Whilst medieval peasants lived in wattle and daub huts, the Manor House was built of stone and built to last.

Medieval manor houses are extremely rare in this country, so the ruins are of national importance. Thus Portslade Manor House has been declared a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Grade II listed building.

The original house consisted of two stories built mainly of flint rubble and some knapped (cracked open) flint. The pale stone around windows and at corners of the ruins is Caen stone which William the Conqueror had shipped over from Normandy and which was used to build many fine buildings of the day, including Canterbury Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London.

The ruins include parts of the original east and south walls as well as part of an early 17th century west wing extension. A decorative frieze in one of the west wing ground floor rooms was conveniently dated ‘1611’ to help accurately date its construction. The more sophisticated first floor was probably supported by a row of wooden posts down the centre of the lower story and was lit by a series of two-light windows, two of which remain and which are separated by a mullion.

Portslade Manor has had many different owners since the 12th century. The oldest recorded owner is the Earl of Surrey. In 1226 Hubert de Burgh, who was immortalized years later in William Shakespeare's play "King John", held the Manor of Portslade while he was Justiciar of England and Earl of Kent. In 1312, the Lord of the Manor, John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey, was granted a charter by King Edward II to hold a Fair at Portslade annually on 6 December, the Feast Day of St Nicholas. This would have been an important event for the peasants of the village, giving them the rare opportunity to relax and socialize.

The old Manor House was in use until a new Manor House was built in 1807, after which it was used as an almshouse for the poor and destitute.

During the Victorian era, sadly much of the old house was brutally demolished and used to provide material to build a garden folly in the grounds of the new Manor House. No-one knows why the old manor house was destroyed, but there is a theory that the Lord of the Manor, sitting proudly in his new manor house, did not like the idea of the impoverished living immediately on his doorstep.

The new Manor House eventually became St Marye’s Convent and is currently occupied by Emmaus, whose cafe provides a good view of the old ruins.

Portslade Old Manor House is one of a very few examples of Norman Manor Houses that still exist in England. People often, but incorrectly, use the word ‘manor’ to mean a house such as this. More accurate are people who refer to the area where they work as their manor - “Not on my manor!” someone might say, not realising that this slang expression is evoking a part of our history that goes back almost a thousand years.

As you may have now guessed, a ‘manor’ is an area of land, not a house, and formed the nucleus of English rural life in medieval times and was the pivot of the feudal system. Though the word ‘feudalism’ was not coined until the 18th century, it is the term used for the political system of social hierarchy implemented by William of Normandy after he conquered England in 1066.

Under feudalism, most of the rights and privileges went to the upper classes. The King occupied top place and had absolute authority, followed by Bishops, Earls and Barons, Lords and Knights and, at the bottom of the rung, the peasants.

After William defeated King Harold II and his English army at the Battle of Hastings and became King of England, he kept about 25% of the land for his own use and gave around 25% to the Church. He distributed the remainder of land amongst his loyal Norman allies to reward them for fighting for him. These areas of lands were called manors and the beneficiaries of the land, normally barons and earls, were known as tenants-in-chief. These great 'nobles' of the period expressed their wealth, and therefore their power, through the number of manors they held.

As they were often unable to oversee all their manors, they appointed sub-tenants, often knights, to the Lordship of some manors. The Lord of the Manor’s role evolved around his Oath of Fealty to his immediate superior and/or the King and they were expected to provide military aid when needed. He would be expected to fight and to provide soldiers and arms from his manor.

The earliest recorded owner of Portslade Manor is the Earl of Surrey. King William I created the Earldom of Surrey in 1088 for William de Warenne, who received the Lordship of Reigate Castle in Surrey and also holdings in twelve other counties, including the manor of Portslade. It is unlikely he ever lived in the manor house of Portslade, and in fact held his court at Lewes Castle.

Though in theory all land belonged to the King, the Lords were responsible and had command for everything on their land, which most often consisted of agricultural land, forests, common pasture land and a village for the serfs and peasants. Their own residence - the manor house – would be built away from the peasants’ village. Whilst the Lord of the Manor’s house would be built of stone, the peasants lived in small dark wattle and daub houses and had few possessions. It was not common to own a bed and the peasants slept on straw on the floor. They did not have many clothes and usually slept in their work apparels and covered themselves using animal skins.

The Lord of the Manor had certain manorial rights, such as the right to hunt, shoot or fish. The Lord of Portslade Manor had rights to all wreckage cast up between the west hedge of Aldrington and the ditch of Hove. The Lord used to keep a certain portion of land directly under his control to support himself and his retinue and this land was called a ‘Demense’. Peasants were tied to the land and were not allowed to move away from the land or change their profession unless they became freemen. In return, the Lord of the Manor promised to give protection, peace, and safety to his vassals. At the same time, he could have them executed for any wrong doings!

There were many reasons that eventually contributed to the decline of feudalism, one being the Black Death in the 14th century, which reduced England’s population by a third. Labour now became a valuable commodity and was followed soon afterwards by the Peasants Revolt, as peasants realised their worth and demanded changes. Many peasants moved away from the country into towns they were eventually allowed to buy their freedom.

One of the last recorded Lords of the Manor of Portslade is John Borrer, who is buried in St Nicolas’ cemetery. It was the Borrer family who built the new manor and demolished the old one. On 12 February 1904, the Lordship of the Manor of Portslade was purchased on behalf of the Poor Servants of the Mother of God, a Catholic order of nuns and a convent was established at the manor house and thereafter the building became known as St Marye’s Convent.

Redundant feudal titles can now be bought. Local celebrity and former boxer, Chris Eubank, purchased the Lordship of the Manor of Brighton in 1996 and at the same time acquired feudal rights to 4,000 herring and three cows a year - plus one slave!