West Dean House

The earliest known reference to the West Dean Estate is found in the Domesday Book in 1086, where it was included in the manor of Singleton as, a forest and hunting park. The Earls of Arundel and the Dukes of Norfolk held these lands for almost 500 years until 1572, when Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk was accused of treason. He was stripped of his possessions by Elizabeth I and then beheaded. She later restored the properties and title to the Duke's eldest son Philip. It was Philip who built the first manor house at West Dean in 1603, then known as Earl's Court, later to be renamed Canon House due to its connections to Chichester Cathedral.